This was my very first hole in one. I couldn’t have picked a better time for it to happened. It was during an annual trip with a number of buddies which is aptly named as the Fanatic’s Tour. This trip has been going for 37 years in one form or another and this was the first one in it’s history. For the past number of years, the tour plays for 5 days in the Kimberley/Cranbrook area and the group has grown in size to 20 to 24 guys from Edmonton, AB and Victoria, BC. This year we had one buddy come in from Ireland to play for the first time. He couldn’t stop talking about the amazing scenery and courses here...he’s never experienced anything like it back home. The last 2 days we have a formal Ryder Cup type competition between Alberta and BC and play for the Scotty Johnstone Memorial trophy (named after a good friend who passed away on the trip a few years ago). My hole in one was on Thursday. Sept 14th...day one of the Ryder Cup. It was on Hole #12 at Wildstone in Cranbrook. It’s kind of an island green playing about 120 yards and I used my 9 iron. I hit it clean and saw it hit the green and then it disappeared. I didn’t see it go in but my buddies Jim, Bill and Boyd all yelled “It’s in the hole!”. It wasn’t until I walked over the bridge onto the green and looked into the hole that I believed it. Can’t describe feeling as I picked it out...don’t think my smile left my face for the rest of the trip. All 24 of us plus a few more new friends we met in the clubhouse celebrated with a toast afterwards. It was a good bar tab but well worth it! The group at Wildstone was kind enough to present me with a flag in recognition of the accomplishment...something I’ll treasure forever. It was a special day and I can’t wait for next year’s trip!