Sunday, March 29 started as just a late round at St. Anne’s Country Club, but it turned into something I’ll never forget.

On the 3rd hole 130 yards, slightly uphill and into a breeze. I hit an 8-iron that felt perfect the moment it left the club. It never left the flag. It landed, rolled a bit… and then disappeared. I wasn’t sure if it went long, and as we walked up I saw something behind the hole that looked like a ball but it was just a leaf. I looked around, then finally checked the cup, and there it was.

My first hole-in-one after 46 years.

That hole has always meant something to me. I played so many rounds there with my dad growing up, and later we played together in a competitive league. My closest call ever was on that same hole, an inch away, with him right there. He passed a few years ago, but I still feel him with me on that course.

That’s why it felt so fitting that it finally happened there, on that hole.

Sharing it with my uncle, who’s meant so much to me, made it even better. We both felt like my dad was with us that day and honestly, I believe he was.