NAPLES, Fla. — One was pretty and one was ugly, but both of Herb Pike’s tee shots at the High Point Country Club in Naples ended up in the same place — in the hole.
Pike, 84, buried two aces on the same hole using the same 9-iron over three days earlier this month.
“It’s a nine-hole par-3,” said Pike of High Point. “So you’ve got nine chances every time you go out.”
After nearly 4 decade wait between hole-in-ones, Naples’ JD Schlotterback buries two in a round last month.
Pike began playing golf regularly when he moved to Naples in his 50s. With more than 30 years of experience, he’s memorized the course in such a way that culminated in two aces across three rounds of golf.
The fun started on Thursday, March 16 at hole No. 7. With his 9-iron in tow, Pike hit what he considered to be an “all right shot, but nothing magical.” He hit it over the hole and Pike assumed it rolled off the green, but it broke the other way and went straight into the hole.
“The first one was almost accidental,” he said. “When you hit it like that and it spends half its journey on the ground, it’s not a good shot but it’s a lucky shot.”
After another round on Friday without any fireworks, Pike went out with their club’s morning group on Saturday as he typically would. That’s when he buried his second ace of the week on the same hole with the same club.
“That second one was more memorable because of the circumstances,” Pike said. “It was special because it was a nicer shot.”
The impressive week brings Pike’s total holes-in-one to six since he began golfing. He seems to have a knack for hitting aces by the bunch, having hit his first in 2013 and his second just two weeks later.
“You never know who is going to be out there when you play,” he said. “You have good days and not-so-good days. But not really any bad days because you’re out there on the right side of the grass enjoying the weather and the camaraderie.”