Bob Edelblut
Hole-in-One number two for the MPMGA happened a mere 14 days after the ice had been broken. John Kraus, playing at SaddleBrooke Ranch on February 16, scored his first ever hole-in-one on the fourteenth hole. Congratulations! What an experience! His playing partners John Bidegain, Ted Knapp and Jerry Westra performed the witness function. Any chance, Jerry, you need a partner next week?
When John and his group arrived at the fourteenth the wind was blowing into their faces. Sound familiar? The flag was nestled at the back of the green about 125 yards from the tee. John was last to hit and decided to take an extra club for his shot because all of his partners landed well short of the pin. Good choice moving up to a 5 Hybrid. All John wanted to do was get the ball on the green but as soon as that happened and the ball was rolling nicely toward the hole he quickly changed his tune. Slow down ball; don’t go too far past the hole, please. Suddenly, the ball disappeared and all realized they had witnessed John’s first hole-in-one. The shouting and high fives continued until the group reached the green. Do you think John was excited when he saw his ball in the cup? Absolutely! I believe monumental was the word he used to describe his feelings. Yes, his partners permitted him to buy the drinks.
John has been a resident of SaddleBrooke since 2004 and swears that until then he did not play the game of golf. Furthermore, he swears that he only plays the game when he is actually here for the winter. I agree, his story just got better—playing for only a dozen years and only playing 50 or so times a year. Wow! Don’t worry there is still more good stuff to this story. John’s first instructor was Mike Jahaske and he also attended quite often the free clinics Mike has offered to residents for years and years. Great story, John.