Aces up

I picked up the paper and saw that veteran county golfer Jim Pease recently aced the 17th hole at Berkshire Hills. Jim, being a top notch player for many years, got me to wondering how many other times he has avoided taking his putter out on par threes around Berkshire County.

I knew that this was not his first. It was time to snoop around.

I ran into John Dawley and passed the news along about Pease’s good fortune. “That must be no. 10 for Jim, I know that he is getting close to my father [Bud Dawley], who had 15 aces in his career.” John himself has had two.

A hole-in-one for most golfers can be very elusive. Some skill is required, but luck certainly comes into play.

It was time to make some phone calls to area folks who might be able to identify some of the local golfers, who, at times, made the game look easy. It seems everyone had some interesting tales.

John Wells, longtime PGA Professional at Cranwell: “Joe Piretti had 13 aces at Cranwell – five on the third hole alone, and he really didn’t start playing until he was 55 years old. He also had eagles on every par four out there”.

A great deal of Joe’s shot making was witnessed by partner John Pignatelli of Lenox, who also made one himself.

Wells added, “I had my first one when I was 12 years old on no. 7 at Greenock, and I had five total.”

Taconic member and former McCann Tech power forward in the ’70s, Jeff Polucci has put it in the ground on his first shot eight times.

“One time, I was involved in an intense match and knocked it in on no. 5 at Taconic,” he said. “I got in the cart with my opponent and he looked at me and said, ‘PRESS.’ I expected him to at least say, ‘Nice shot.'”

Brad Benson, PGA professional at the Country Club of Pittsfield: “I believe Bob George has seven aces, one of them on a par four. Because of heavy rain, we had to move a tee up on a par four and made it a par three for the day. He put one in there also.”

Bruce Cardin, director of golf at Forest Park Country Club in Adams: “Babe Shaw had five aces on our third hole, his last one came when he was 81.”

Set ’em up, Geritol and tonics for everyone!

“Paul Roy won a $20,000 car by acing our third hole,” Cardin added. “His tee shot hit the road, bounced off a mogul next to the green and it rolled in. Jay Strange has also had multiple gems, at least seven or eight.”

That story brings to mind the ace that was made at Beaver Brook in Haydenville years ago. Some lucky hacker knocked his tee shot over the green, and it hit a car on Route 9 , bounced back and went into the cup. That shot got him an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Jim Mitus, PGA professional at Skyline: “I’ve played a lot of golf, and I have never had one. Our bartender, Stacy Morrissey, recently defied all logic.

“Playing her first round of golf ever, the sixth hole that she ever played, she aced no. 15 up here. She hasn’t played since.”

John Wells recalled hearing that Ben Hogan, one of the best players ever, never made a hole in one. There are seven current PGA pros on tour without one.

Ray “Red Light” Cote (a goal judge for the Hartford Whalers) had two and had a swing that nobody would emulate and carried a 26 handicap. Go figure.

Former Mt. Greylock teacher Fran Cardillo brought back memories. He played left handed and made four aces. He must have gotten bored and switched to playing right handed, adding two more to his total.

Without a doubt, it is harder to make a double eagle in golf than an ace. Former Drury High School Golf Coach George Petropulos has those covered also. He scored twos on holes eight and 17, both par fives at Waubeeka. He also found time to record three aces in his career.

Luke Salvatore of the Cranwell staff has never had an ace, but he should be proud of his double eagle on no. 15 at the resort. Jim Pease also has a deuce on no. 2 at the Hills. Those skins could live for life!

Editor’s note: Dick Syriac will continue his discussion of local aces in next week’s column.

Beacon bump

I’m beginning to think there is something to this “Beacon Bump” phenomena. PGA Tour pro Tom Gillis had missed five cuts in a row until he was mentioned in our Trevor Gliwski feature. Gillis is coming off a T-7 and a nice paycheck from his efforts in the Byron Nelson Classic.

In the better late than never/local angle department, it was nice to see North Adams native Kelly Wheeler on Kentucky Derby Day on NBC. That was her tending to 2012 Horse of the Year Wise Dan on the under card.

Kelly has taken her Equine Management Degree from Midway College in Kentucky to trainer Charley Lopresti’s operation where she works with Shug McGaughey’s son and the Phipps family. No “bump” required for Wise Dan , he has won six straight.

Posted by Dick Syriac on May 23, 2013. Filed under Berkshire Sports Guy,Columns,Opinion,Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry