c5278125ef9a1abc16d5184e3da44444.jpg

HILLSBOROUGH: His stroke of luck

Former high school golfer scores rare ace on a par-4 hole

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Michael Powers had a great time on the "19th hole" — shall we say the "watering hole" — on July 20, thanks to his performance on the seventh hole.
Mr. Powers, a former Hillsborough High School varsity golfer who now lives in Flemington, scored a particularly special hole in one at Neshanic Valley Golf Course.
Playing the Meadow Course, he scored his ace on the seventh hole — a 295-yard par 4, playing about 305 yards. He was playing with one of my High School friend, and former varsity golf teammate Joey Vazzano, along with two others.
Mr. Powers, a trust and estate specialist for a financial firm in Pennington, said his research told him the odds of an average golfer hitting a hole-in-one on a par 3 at 1 in 12,500. The odds on a par 4 — also known as an albatross and double eagle — are one in 1 million, he said he discovered.
"Certain studies estimate that there are 40,000 aces per year, while only 200 double eagles! Pretty cool!" he wrote in an email.
According to his Internet research, the last hole in one in Somerset County was in 2010.
"I felt confident in teeing up my driver and going for the green in one," wrote Mr. Powers. "I teed the ball up slightly higher than usual, further up in my stance and hit a high boomer right toward the green. I knew it was close to the pin, though no one in the foursome was able to see the ball land."
After the other players hit their approach shots, my friend, he drove the cart toward the green. There were no balls on the green, so he took my wedge and putter with me assuming my ball landed just short. His friend Joey checked the hole and was in shock.
"There is a ball in the hole!" he yelled. "There is a ball in the hole!"
"As I approached the hole, my heart sank into my stomach and once I saw the logo on the ball, I knew it was mine. I dropped my clubs, celebrated with the foursome and called and texted family and friends," he said.
Mr. Powers graduated from Hillsborough High School in 2002, playing on the golf team for four years. He went to Virginia Tech, but did not play golf on the college team.
"It was certainly the best 19th hole I will ever have," he wrote.