Local notches first ace at Elks golf tournament

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint golfer Mary Stevens plays at the Elks 4-5 times a week and sports a 30 handicap, not too shabby for a 75-year-old.

Despite all of the golf she plays, she never thought a hole-in-one would be in the cards.

“No, I thought that’s only for good golfers,” she explained.

On Sunday at the Elks Youth Golf Fall Classic fundraising tournament, she accomplished the rare feat, using her trusty nine wood to ace the 103 yard No. 14 hole.

Playing in a scramble with Rick Holcomb, Holt Taylor and David Miller, Stevens stepped up and striped a shot she’ll never forget.

“I’m really short, and Rick’s really tall. I said ‘Rick, it went past,’ and he said ‘no, it went in,’” recalled Stevens of the tee box exchange. “We stood there and argued.”

Lo and behold, when the group got to the green, it was Holcomb who won the argument, as there in the hole sat Steven’s ball.

Stevens, who decided on a whim to purchase hole-in-one insurance beforehand, was able to escape the normally hefty bar tab that traditionally is paid by the lucky golfer. She was even able to donate some of the hole-in-one insurance money to the youth golf program, which raised more than $1,400 at the tournament.

“Mary has been an avid supporter for youth sports programs in Sandpoint and Clark Fork,” said Nita Garvey, also a regular Elks golfer. “She has supported her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in a variety of sports throughout the years.”

Stevens eschewed church on Sunday to support the youth golf tournament, and joked that it must have been all right.

“I said ‘God wasn’t even mad at me for not going to church,’” said Stevens, who won a new putter for her efforts. “Someone said ‘you don’t need a putter if you hit it in the hole.’”