Staff writer
History repeats itself, and in the case of Marion golfer Aaron Hett, so does scoring a hole-in-one.
Hett snagged his second ace Saturday on the banks of the Lake of Ozarks at Old Kinderhook Golf Course, in Camdenton, Missouri, while golfing with friends and family. He logged his first hole-in-one at Marion Country Club years ago.
“We came up on a par three and there were two guys selling chances to qualify for a chance to take one swing at a million dollars,” Hett said.
Closest ball to the pin would win the chance.
Hett decided to try his luck even though another golfer’s ball had stopped inches from the pin.
The hole was 165-yard par 3.
“I used my six iron,” Hett said. “Before I took the shot I remember telling the guys, ‘wouldn’t this be a sucky time to get a hole-in-one?’”
He teed up his ball and swung.
Moments later, it thumped down on the green about 12 feet out, and rolled toward the hole prompting Hett to exclaim, “Get in that hole.”
The ball listened.
The groups’ jubilation came in the form of whooping and hollering and a whole lot of high fives.
Andy Hett, Jeffrey Richmond, Don Potter, Paul Hannigan, Blake Conklin, and Aaron Hett’s sons, Nickolas and Travis, all witnessed the ace.
“We honestly thought dad won a million dollars,” Travis said. “I was picturing him standing on that green holding a seven-digit ‘Happy Gilmore’ style huge check. It was one of the most unforgettable 30 seconds of my life.”
Instead, Hett won a free round of golf for two, a free hotel stay, and a chance to take a swing at a million dollars Friday when he returns to Old Kinderhook.
“It’s going to be a 150-yard shot,” Hett said. “I guess they have a little shindig there every year. A guy said there are going to be about 2,000 people watching.”