62-year-old woman nails ace on first swing of first round ever played

Like many of you golfers out of there, I’ve never had a hole in one. A couple close calls, but still no aces for your ol’ pal Bill. And while I never let that bother me, after reading a story out of Florida, I now feel like a complete an utter failure:

If you are a golfer who has played for any length of time, this story may make you want to quit the game. Or throw your morning coffee in disgust.

Unni Haskell, a 62-year-old native of Norway who moved to St. Petersburg last year from Stamford, Conn., took two months of golf lessons and decided she was ready to hit the course.

She stuck her tee in the ground, teed up a Top Flite range ball and took aim on the 100-yard first hole at Cypress Links, a nine-hole, par-3 course in St. Petersburg. Haskell swung as hard as she could with her purple Wilson ProStaff 12 degree driver. The shot went about 75 yards, avoided the bunker on the left, bounced onto the green and rolled in the hole.

First hole of her life. First swing on a course. Hole-in-one.

“I didn’t know it was that big of a deal,” she said. “I thought all golfers do this.”

Congratulations to Ms. Haskell. But for myself, and all other golfers living an ace-free existence - we suck. Here’s to a weekend of feeling bad about ourselves and wondering why we ever took up golf in the first place.

–WKW