Ace In the Hole

Most golfers spend a decades, if not their lifetime, hoping to score a hole-in-one.

For West Deptford eighth-grader Jarryd Ley, just 13, the feat came a bit quicker, as he scored his in just his second summer playing the game when he aced the 120-yard eighth hole at Pitman Golf Course Thursday.

Ley, who was playing there as part of the Pitman Junior Golf League, stepped to the tee and took his time picking a club, eventually settling on a seven-iron. He teed up a Titleist Pro V1, struck it solidly over a gully and right at the flag–and after one bounce about five inches from the cup, the ball dropped in for the rare “1” on the scorecard.

“I was in shock–I dropped my club and dropped down to my knees,” Ley said. His partners were floored, too, and couldn’t even get out a word of congratulations.

And, as any teen would, the first thing he did was text his parents with the good news, and got “No way!” texts back from both of them.

His father, Greg, wasn’t sure if it had really happened at first.

“I actually thought he was teasing,” Greg Ley said.

Of course, Jarryd wasn’t joking, and that became even more evident as he and his playing partners had to sign affidavits to authenticate the hole-in-one.

Now, the challenge is to back up his ace with improved play–Jarryd said he’s aiming to hit the links on West Deptford’s golf team when he goes into high school in 2012, and this early success will help motivate him.

“That hole-in-one is going to help me think I have to get more (aces) or try harder,” he said.

For now, he has the junior league and the Dick Smith Golf League to keep him busy on the links, as he’s slowly moving away from his old sport, baseball, toward golf.

That might be the smart move–it turns out the ace was almost prophetic for Jarryd, who was joking about the possibility with his playing partners on the walk over from the seventh green.

“I was saying to them, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome to get a hole-in-one on this hole?’” he said.