John Willbanks of Colleyville, Texas, has been playing golf for more than 55 years, but thanks to good friend Ken Jackson, who introduced him to hickory golf, he reports “a new love and respect for the great game of golf.” Here’s his account of a new appreciation for golf and the joy of a hickory ace.

“I was introduced to the game by my friend, Ken Jackson, in December 2017. I was, shall we say, “HOOKED.” Ken encouraged me to go all in and I began searching for clubs, clothes, and courses. Hickory golf reinvigorated my love for the game. We entered the Houston Hickory Team Challenge last year, a tournament managed by Michael Sloan, and had a wonderful time. We entered again this year. The tournament was in Magnolia, Texas at High Meadow Ranch Golf Club. After the first round on Saturday we were a stroke back with a 65 and were trailing by one stroke to the team of Scott Pilgrim and Nick Flaim. On Sunday it was slightly overcast with no wind. Ken and I were tied with Scott and Nick through 10 heading to the par 3, 11th hole, 119 yards to an elevated green that sits about 12-15 feet above the tee box. The green is firm and it’s hard to stop the ball. The pin was in a back right location. I had just missed a 2-foot birdie putt on 10 that would have tied us and was not happy going to the 11th tee. Ken said “shake it off” but you know how difficult it is to do that after missing a big putt. 

I was last to hit on the 11th and chose a Louisville Precision Model mashie niblick. (It was a Wilson Duo 29-compression ball, by the way.) I am not a particularly high ball hitter, but this shot was perfectly struck and dead at the flag. I knew it was going to be close. The ball landed about 20-22 inches in front of the flag and one-hopped into the cup. Although I could not see it go in, I could hear the ball hit the cup and I knew immediately I had just made my fourth hole-in-one, and my very first hickory ace.

I have played that hole maybe eight times before with little success (as a matter of fact, I’m not sure I’ve even hit the green before), but today the shot was straight and true and I was blessed to make a one-hop hole-in-one, which by the way, happened to flip the match and Ken and I were fortunate to win the tourney by three strokes.

The joy of a hole-in-one is almost indescribable, but what made this shot so memorable was the gentlemen with whom I could share the moment – my friend, Ken, who introduced me to hickory golf; Scott Pilgrim (secretary of our regional playing group), who is one of the hardest working men I know promoting our game, and proprietor of Knickerdog Knickers, a great source of great knickers; and Nick Flaim, who is as good a hickory player as there is in our area. It was a delight to share the moment with them and see they were as pleased about the shot as I was; truly a wonderful memory.