A 90-year-old Nova Scotia man has done something, and not just once, that I, in my wildest dreams cannot imagine accomplishing.
He has sunk two hole-in-ones this summer, using a nine-iron, nonetheless.
When interviewed, Gerald Atkinson said he has a lot of be proud of like a loving family, good friends, and an enjoyable retirement and, to add a little icing to this very rich and fulfilling cake, not one, but two hole-in-ones.
I wonder if making a hole-in-one was on his summer bucket list or if he just drove up to the golf course expecting to play a regular game with his buddies and ‘voila’ in it went.
According to Atkinson, who seems to be a humble, friendly man, sinking a hole-in-one is pretty much about luck and not much else.
I beg to differ, but I do believe the golf course can be a kind of magic place where, every once in awhile, great, and wonderful things do happen.
You know, things like making that perfect shot that sounds and feels like a golf shot should. Sharp and sweet and straight as an arrow.
It’s the kind of shot that keeps you coming back. It’s the kind of shot that reminds you, for a fleeting instant, of all that is good and beautiful.
There is, however, another kind of magic that happens on the golf course and that has nothing to do with the game, itself, but with who you happen to be with.
That happened to me the other day.
I certainly didn’t get a hole-in-one this summer on the golf course, and my perfect shots were few and far between, to say the least, but I did still manage to capture some of that golf magic.
In fact, I felt hole-in-one lucky when I walked onto the links with three of my grandsons. These boys, aged seven, 10 and 12 had agreed to spend the afternoon with their grandmother on the golf course.
Does it get any better?
Nope! It does not.
We golfed at Gull Lake Golf Course, a sweet little par 3 course that is made for grandparents and kids and, actually, pretty much anyone who wants to experience a little fun, healthy exercise, a whole lot of laughter and maybe even, if the golf gods are in alignment, a really good shot.
It was a great choice. The staff were kind to us even though we were late for our tee time because of the fact we had to stop and buy a booster chair along the way for the youngest one. We quickly let these two really good golfers go ahead of us and they rewarded us with gracious smiles and even gave the littlest one a bright orange Smartie golf ball they found in the trees.
End result. We laughed a lot. We tried hard. Some of us had some good shots, and some of us, not so much.
As for me, I felt lucky that one sun drenched blue and green day on the edge of summer, I had a chance to hang out with three boys on a quiet, serene golf course where everyone smiled at us for no other reason than just because.
In fact, I felt incredibly lucky. Hole-in-one lucky!
Treena Mielke is a Central Alberta writer. She lives in Sylvan Lake with her family.