Selma CC golfer aces par-4 No. 11 for double eagle

Published 11:16 pm Wednesday, May 13, 2009

When Beau Boyd stands over his golf ball on a par-3 hole, he thinks it can go in the hole with one shot, he admitted Wednesday.

On a par-4? Nah.

“Not like a par-3, where I stand over the ball and think I might have a chance for a hole-in-one,” Boyd said, looking back on Saturday morning’s drive off Selma Country Club’s par-4 No. 11. “I just rared back and let it go.”

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Only this time, his golf ball hit the front bunker “and squirted out into the hole,” he said. “The bunker slowed it down just enough.”

Boyd, 29, had his once-in-a-lifetime golf shot — a hole-in-one on a par-4 hole, 3-under on one shot, a double eagle.

From there, the Titleist Pro V1 went into his pocket and will be placed in a shadowbox with the scorecard, Boyd said.

He will be among the 125 golfers expected this weekend at the club’s 81st annual Men’s Invitational.

Shotgun starts are 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

The 293-yard distance for No. 11 had not been a problem for Boyd, but the accuracy was always in question.

“I’ve hit over the green before, so I knew I could make it to the green,” said Boyd.

A 5-handicapper, Boyd uses a draw on his drive to swing the ball over Dallas Avenue and bring it back to the hole.

“No one else has had a witnessed hole-in-one on No. 11.”

In the threesome with Boyd were John Hanning and his son, Bain. They were competing with two other groups behind them.

Long-time Selma CC golfer Dr. Phillip Moss said he doesn’t remember such a feat in the club’s history.

“I do not recall in the 80-some-odd years of anyone having a hole-in-one on No. 11,” he said.

“Many of us have driven the green and made a lot of 2s. But I certainly don’t recall a hole-in-one there.”

Selma CC pro Tommy Burns said No. 11 has not yielded a hole-in-one in his tenure.

“I’ve been here since 1955, and I’ve never heard of anyone hitting a hole-in-one except on a par-3,” Burns said, adding that Boyd’s advantage is his driving strength. “The hole would favor Boyd because he is a long, long hitter.”

Boyd said his focus went haywire on the final seven holes of Saturday’s round.

He got to No. 11 at even par. After the hole-in-one, he had a bogey on No. 12 and double bogey on No. 13.

He finished with three bogeys and a double bogey with two birdies.

“I had to make a birdie on the last hole just to finish even,” Boyd said.