Hole in One!! 12/06/09
My son has been golfing for 6 years now. While he likes a lot of sports, golf is king. He has an unquenchable thirst to play and compete and for his game to continually improve. West Hill Country Club is a Par 3 course near our house...a very challenging Par 3 course I should mention, especially some of the greens. Par is 54 and he has been getting so close to breaking 60 in the last few months.

December 6, 2009 is NOT the day he first broke 60 but it IS the day he records his first hole in one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The round started off a bit choppy and it should be mentioned he played and I caddied in mid-30's degree type weather with a bit of a breeze. Most of you that would ever read this probably think we should have our heads examined but this speaks of the passion my son has for this game. As long as no snow or frost is on the fairways or greens it's fair game he'll want to play.

First hole he got a par, bogeyed #2 but then sent his drive on #3 out of bounds and wound up getting a 6. Needless to say he was very upset and we were both a bit chilly. I asked if he wanted to stop and play some other time. Flash back to about a month ago. We had a conversation after I thought he had given up on his round with a few holes to play after realizing his goal/dream of breaking 60 would not happen that round. He emphatically said "I may get upset when I hit bad shots but I DO NOT QUIT. I AM NOT A QUITTER". Flash forward to yesterday and my question after he hit the shot out of bounds. Without saying a word he gave me an "I'm not a quitter" look so we decided to continue the round.

Hole #7 was playing about 149 yards. He took out his Striker club which is a 5 wood hybrid club. The flight of the ball looked awesome and my guess was the ball was real close to the hole, maybe a few inches out. He ran ahead and just short of getting to the green started yelling it was a hole in one!!!! Obviously I started running towards the green with golf bag in hand. The ball was on top of the hole wedged by the flag. That's why we could see it from the tee box. When I got up near the green the flag moved a little (from the breeze)and the ball went from being on top of the cup to IN the cup!!!!!!!! I yelled enough that the echo had to cover every hill in Camillus!!

If I had to predict whether he would break 60 first or get a hole in one, I'd definitely have picked the breaking 60!! The beauty of this moment we shared was its pureness and its unpredictability and really life is a lot like that moment. People that know me know I have a deep sense of faith and strong belief not only in God but also that he has a master plan for all of us. The better we can start each day with open eyes, ears and heart the better the chances something special will happen in the course of the day. The lesson of this moment for all parents is...in making your children the center of your universe you can be witness to the amazing things they'll do in their lives. Make them a PRIORITY and not an OBLIGATION. Don't think that showering them with material gifts and/or throwing money at them and situations will guarantee their success, much less assure you as parents of their love. This moment yesterday cost $8, which is the fee for a round of golf at West Hill. What do we get for $8? A minimum of 2-3 hours of quality Father/Son time of which I already have a lifetime of memories built into 6 short years. We experience the highs and lows of what a round has to offer and realize, as mentioned before, that golf mirrors life a lot. For every good shot there's a couple we're not happy with. I think we're more defined (in life and sport) not by the good shots made but how we deal with the bad ones/adversity that we face. Give your children the best gift of all...your time.