Dom DeBonis was 36 years old when he made his first hole-in-one, some 20 years into playing the sport. But, at 81 years old, the Pennsylvania native had gone 45 years without one. That all changed in spectacular fashion over a 33-day span between September and October, including a three-day stretch with an ace each day.
On Sept. 3, DeBonis made an ace at the par-3 fifth on one of the many courses where he lives in The Villages, Fla., sinking a pitching wedge from 101 yards. That ended a drought dating back to 1969.
A few weeks later, DeBonis went to Myrtle Beach on a golf trip with 11 buddies. Little did he know what was about to happen.
On Day 1 of the trip, he made his first ace of the trip at Farmstead Golf Club in Calabash, N.C., when he used a 9-iron from 112 yards at the par-3 17th. The next day, DeBonis did it again. On the 129-yard, par-3 sixth at the Thistle Golf Club in Sunset Beach, N.C., he jarred a 7-iron for another one on the card.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Mr. DeBonis, who is from Sharpsburg, Pa., according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The guys were going bananas. They said we got to buy lottery tickets, so we went and bought a bunch of lottery tickets.”
Halfway through the trip, DeBonis did it again on Day 3 at Blackmoor Golf Club. This time, it was an 8-iron from 118 yards, though no one on the tee saw it go in the hole.
On Day 4 at TPC Myrtle Beach, DeBonis was hoping to complete the most improbable of superfectas, but alas no luck.
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