A Miracle… A Lot of Fun…,
and a Forever Memory!!

Len Ziehm, author of this memory… with playing partner Fred Altvater to witness the “miracle on the 16th tee.”
With Picture Proof… provided by Joy Sarver

Yep, I made a hole-in-one. 

I guess everyone who is lucky enough to make an ace has a story to tell about it and I’m getting a chance with mine. 😉 It came on August 2.

Actually, the most noteworthy thing is that it was my second one – and it came 65 years after the first one. A Chicago media buddy noted that “the first hole-in-one is now eligible for Social Security.’’

Well, yes, it was a long time ago.  I was 15 and playing with a high school buddy in late afternoon at Inverness Golf Club in Palatine, IL. It was on a hole that was long since remodeled – now it’s still a par-3 but over water.

Fred Altvater (l) and Len Ziehm (r) with the lucky ball in his pocket.
The foursome that witness the Miracle

No. 2 ace came in the second round of the Cadillac Country Club Member-Guest tournament in Michigan.  Fred Altvater, a buddy who publishes the Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and new American golf journals, invited me to be his partner.  Though playing a bit hurt (a story too long and weird to detail here), I holed an 8-iron from 120 yards on the No. 16 hole, a par-3 calling for a tee shot over water. The ball landed just short of the green and rolled into the cup with a few other players in addition to our group watching it drop.

Anyway, a big thrill though it didn’t help Fred and me climb much on the tournament leaderboard.Guys with handicaps in the 20s don’t get many of these moments in the sun.  Can’t wait for the next one!!??!

As a closing note… Hope I don’t have to wait that long for my next one.  I’d be 145 years old and the shot would have come in 2089.

Publishers Note:

I guess I really can’t get in trouble… and he doesn’t have the password to change it. This is an incredible picture shot by photographer, Joy Sarver after the round was complete. They had laughed about the round, and making a “Hole in One”…

Len was sitting on the couch watching TV and paying attention to the dog… then there was an eerie silence… well… for a couple of seconds. Then they realized Len was sound asleep.

And… Check you out taking the ball out of the cup with your “Sqairz Shoes”… Your “Zero Friction” Glove… and marketing for “The Annika by Gainbridge”… wow… You look like one of the NASCAR Drivers or something.

WAKE UP LEN…
It was all “Just a Dream.”