Local golfer drops second hole-in-one
POST FALLS — According to the United States Golf Register, the odds of a golfer hitting a hole-in-one fall somewhere between 20,000 to one and 33,000 to one, and many a great golfer never experiences the thrill.
Popular Sandpoint High School chemistry teacher Woody Aunan is certainly bucking those odds, dropping his second career hole-in-one on Friday at the Links Golf Course in Post Falls. He used a five-iron to ace hole No. 17, a 170 yard Par 3, admitting the result was far superior to the shot itself.
“Not the prettiest flight, though straight at the hole,” described Aunan, who was playing with local golfing buddies Steve Leake and Dean Press. “It rolled on to clank the pin so we were all pretty sure it went in because it disappeared.”
Aunan also aced the old No. 8 at Hidden Lakes more than six years ago. Surprisingly, he hasn’t even earned bragging rights within his own family, noting his sister Patty has three holes-in-one on her golfing résumé.
Golfing tradition mandates that anyone lucky enough to get a hole-in-one is also lucky enough to pick up the bar tab in the clubhouse after the round. Aunan admitted to getting off fairly easy, ultimately buying drinks for the group ahead of them, which stuck around in the clubhouse after playing a little prank on the course.
“The people in front of us were very quiet when I pulled it (the ball) out of the hole,” recalled Aunan, who also sports a mean table tennis game. “Then they all cheered their way up the 18th.”
He golfs about once a week in the summer, and last carried a 12 handicap when Hidden Lakes closed. Like many amateur golfers, he carries a definite love-hate relationship with the sport, which Mark Twain once aptly called “a good walk spoiled.” Echoing a popular golfing mantra, Aunan said a few good shots is all it takes to get him back out.
“Sometimes I feel like the best reason to play is because it feels so good when I stop,” he said, adding what he loves most about golf. “The mental challenge is simply off the charts for me. Letting the club do the work is a wonderful mystery.”