Hole-in-One

Well, I have done it. I shot a hole-in-one. I was playing golf at Timberline Trail just South of Birmingham on Saturday. The second hole on the course is a 126 yard par 3. I was the first one to tee off and pulled out my 9-iron; the original Ping Eye. I've never purchased a golf club in my entire life as I am a Stegall and our elders practice the discipline of filling up their garage with clubs while their wives aren't looking (much to the benefit of we younger Stegalls). It should be noted that the clubs are older than I am and were originally owned by my grandfather in the late 1970's.

After my club selection, I went through my pre-swing routine and let it rip. I struck the ball clean and knew it felt like a great shot. Little did I know that it would end up being the best shot of my life (thus far!). The trajectory and direction looked perfect. Distance was suspect but yet to be determined.

The pin placement on the green was in the front middle. A bunker protected the right side of the green and an elevated lip to the front. I could see the pin but not the cup due to the elevated lip. After the ball landed, we talked about how it might have gone in and I thought to myself that there was no way. John Howell thought otherwise and walked up to the elevated ladies tees, where he could see the entire green. After John notified me that he couldn't see my ball, I started to walk/jog towards the green. I get up there and no ball. I peaked into the hole and their it was, my Titelist ProV1 #4 golf ball. I of course went nuts.

My fellow golfers/witnesses were John, Brandon Owens, and Brent Botsford. It was a great outing that I will remember for the rest of my life.