04/20/24
October 04, 2006
I swear my mom! My home!: Alexander Ovechkin hit a hole-in-one on his first round of golf. Which seems even more unlikely after you check out his swing. Watch out Tiger!
I read someplace, I think, that it was the 16th hole. So it wasn't the start of the round but the video clip shows that his first concern had to be simply making contact with the ball, which wasn't a foregone conclusion.
posted by gspm at 08:46 AM on October 04, 2006
I was mad at him until I read Yukon's comment. Now I feel bad for being mad at him. And I'm just mad at myself for not being able to get a hole in one. Maybe he just had one hell of a teacher. That guy could make a fortune. I can see his commercial now... "John Doe Golf Lessons. We took this [insert clips of Ovechkin whiffing] to this [clips of him celebrating]. So call now space is limited."
posted by SummersEve at 09:03 AM on October 04, 2006
and I thought I was the man for getting a birdie on my first hole of golf....
posted by LA-4-Life at 09:44 AM on October 04, 2006
[odds from a very old (2000) Golf Digest article] A player making an ace in a given round: 5,000 to 1 Two players, same foursome, acing same hole: 17 million to 1 Acing a designated hole in a single round: 20,000 to 1 Two players in a field of 200 acing same hole in a single round: 5,000 to 1 Acing the same hole more than once in 1,000 rounds: 1 in 200 Two aces in a single round, same player: 67 million to 1 Getting an ace in a 1,000-round career: 1 in 5 Three aces in a single round, same player: 2 trillion to 1 Getting an ace in a 5,000-round career: Almost a sure thing Which begs the question, how many rounds have you played in your career, Yukon & Summerseve? I'm 31, have been playing since I could walk, was a pro for two years and a full-time amateur for two years before that. I reckon I'm not likely to have played more than 3,000 so far. We should have a SpoFi golf day... or we should go and find an easy par three and stand you there with a bucket of balls until you hole one.
posted by JJ at 09:45 AM on October 04, 2006
WOW!! JJ may have to call ESPN about being the new statboy on PTI. Where did you get those from??
posted by Debo270 at 11:50 AM on October 04, 2006
I've been playing for about 8 years now. And I'm completely addicted. I shoot in the 80's and have yet to record an ace. I wish now that I would have become addicted to heroin instead of golf. It would probably be cheaper and less frustrating!
posted by Desert Dog at 12:46 PM on October 04, 2006
I'll say this, if that doesn't make Ovechkin a lifelong golfer, I don't know what would.
posted by Joey Michaels at 01:34 PM on October 04, 2006
stand you there with a bucket of balls until you hole one That's what I keep doing and still nothing. The rangers don't seem to like how it slows down play, but who pays attention to them.
posted by YukonGold at 01:57 PM on October 04, 2006
Some people just have all the luck. I've come close but never had an ace. With my luck, I could have the winning Powerball numbers in advance and somehow still lose.
posted by dbt302 at 02:13 PM on October 04, 2006
I tried golf once. I got drunk (good), got t-boned in a golfcart by another golfcart (bad) and got sunburnt so bad I had water blisters on my back (worse). And don't get me started on the water moccasins, either.
posted by wingnut4life at 05:57 PM on October 04, 2006
got sunburnt so bad I had water blisters on my back (worse). Golfing without your shirt on? Ya might be a redneck if....
posted by LA-4-Life at 06:30 PM on October 04, 2006
I've just started learning golf and admit I never saw the appeal. I've hit so many bad shots that when I hit that one ball that actually goes in the direction I'd like it to - and for a good distance - I feel immensely satisfied. I think I am starting to understand the attraction of the game. Also, damn are my shoulders sore.
posted by Joey Michaels at 06:33 PM on October 04, 2006
When I played regularly, there were no holes in one at my club in a whole year. I think the Powerball analogy is apt in another way - holes in one are more like a lottery win than anything related to skill. The more tickets you buy, the more chance of winning, as JJ has pointed out.
posted by owlhouse at 02:32 AM on October 05, 2006
I've said it before, but I'll say it again - if you hit it to an inch, it's a great shot; if you hole it, it's lucky. if that doesn't make Ovechkin a lifelong golfer, I don't know what would. I don't know that it will - the essence of the game is frustration and hope - to achieve perfection first time out will probably make him think it's easy and not worth the effort. If he'd hit it to an inch instead of holing it, that might have made a lifelong golfer of him.
posted by JJ at 04:23 AM on October 05, 2006
Totally. If he's any sort of gambler, he ought to know to walk away now.
posted by yerfatma at 06:10 AM on October 05, 2006
I'm also 31, I started playing in my early 20s. I play maybe two or three times a month during the summer. I've never even come close to an ace, but I have a lot of rounds to go until I get to 5,000, so there's still hope. I like the inch-great-shot, hole-lucky line.
posted by SummersEve at 06:13 AM on October 05, 2006
Shit, I don't know...if I hit an ace, I might just walk away from the game forever. I've been playing since I was in the Navy (which, by the way, has some beautiful courses), and the closest I've ever come was on a par-3, 180-yard hole at Hell's Point in Virginia Beach; hit a 3-iron that bounce-rolled to within 6 inches, then died. Next hole, I put it in the swamp. Stupid ball.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 10:17 AM on October 06, 2006
I was mad at him at first. 17 years I've been at this awful game and haven't been lucky enough yet. Then he started screaming to someone on the next hole and I smiled. Although... was all that footage from the same hole? Because I'm pretty sure that was at least a five if it was. Who cares, we'll let him have his moment.