Lady Eagles recall hole-in-one stories as they hit stretch run

Hitting a hole-in-one is one of the most exhilarating things that can happen in sports. While there are roughly 128,000 holes-in-one in a year in the United States according to Golf Digest, those come during 450 million rounds played throughout the year, coming out to 1 in every 3,500 rounds. It is something that every golfer dreams of, but never really plans for. One of the unique things about this year's top-ranked Zionsville girls golf team is that four of their six players already have holes-in-one in their golf careers, with the other two coming very close to having an ace. It is one of the many things the team can bond over, one of their biggest strengths as a team. "It's all cool to say a lot of us have one and we can share stories," Olivia Patton said. "It's something we can tell our kids eventually, and tell our friends. It's pretty cool." Taylor Snively said that even if you aren't the one who hits it, witnessing a hole-in-one is something that everyone can enjoy. "Hole-in-ones are so rare," Snively said. "I've been around a few luckily, and it's just so cool. I remember when Olivia got one in middle school, just her little self, and we were all going nuts. You just don't know what to do. It's just a really fun moment. You don't get those too often in life, so you have to cherish them." She added that in the game of golf, accomplishments like that are something that golfers can bond over. While every player, course and shot is unique, the struggle and battle to get the ball in the hole is universal. "It's a cool moment that you can share with a bunch of people and tell people along the road," Snively said. "You got a story to tell, and it's so fun to share the moment and keep remembering and feeling it again." It's also something that can turn your day around in the blink of an eye. "It literally can, because you can be in such a bad mood from a double or triple, and then you can go onto the next hole trying to have a positive attitude and hit a hole-in-one, that's just awesome," Aubrey Tisch said. While Paige Henney doesn't have one herself, she has an idea of what the experience is like. "It completely changes your mood," she said. "It's probably the best feeling you can imagine. It's like getting eagle, but a lot better." At a recent practice, the Lady Eagles shared their hole-in-one, or near hole-in-one stories, and the feelings that come along with them. Kaitlyn Adler Senior Kaitlyn Adler has two holes-in-one to her credit, in two completely different circumstances. The first came when she was playing by herself at Chatham Hills, working on her game. She hit a hole-in-one, but had no one around her to share the moment with. "I went to somebody's backyard and asked them to take a picture of me because I knew my parents would be mad if I didn't get one," she recalled. "I called my dad immediately and told him. It was still fun, but definitely like a different environment." The second one was a little more memorable. Playing in a match at Broadmoor Country Club on Aug. 13, Adler holed a 9-iron from 117 yards away for her second career ace. "I had a really good number and I hit the shot and it went in," Adler said. "It was so fun because (coach) Maggie (Nobbe-Knecht) was on the green with my dad, and my first one, I was playing alone so I kind of never counted it for myself because it's not as fun. But all the support out there, and the girls I was playing with were super nice and super excited about it. It was a really cool moment." Adler said that coming into the hole, she had been on a "bogey streak" and had told Nobbe-Knecht that "I needed to not bogey the hole." And while it wasn't the best round she played all year, it will certainly be her most memorable. "It definitely made it more special and even though my teammates weren't there with me, they all poured water on me after the round and celebrated," Adler said. "I didn't play my best in the round, but that was definitely a highlight. Having my teammates come with open arms and support that, it was definitely a really cool moment." Avery Lewis Avery Lewis was one of the first Lady Eagles to hit her hole-in-one. She was playing with her mom at the Holliday Farms Par-3 course when she was 12-years-old. Lewis made a hole-in-one with a 56 degree wedge, from around 60 yards out. "I didn't have a range finder or anything, we were just playing for fun," Lewis said. "There was a hill over the green where the pin was. We couldn't tell at first, and then I walked up and was like 'whoa, it's in the hole.'" Lewis said hitting one at such a young age really helped grow her love of the game of golf. While you don't necessarily go out there trying to get one every round, it is a big boost of confidence. "It's one of the more monumental things you can do, especially for a beginner in golf," Lewis said. "It's something that's really cool." She said like a lot of things in golf, there can be an element of luck involved. Some of the best players don't have holes-in-one, but several high handicaps can have one. "It's kind of crazy," Lewis said. "Any one can get a hole in one, it's just like not all about talent." Olivia Patton Patton vividly remembers her hole-in-one, as do a couple of her teammates. She was in sixth grade at Zionsville Middle School. She had been really sick the week before, and hadn't played any golf. But that Monday, they played in a match at Stoney Creek and she beat Henney for the first time, and finished two behind Snively. The next day at practice, they were all paired together, and on the second hole, Patton was up. "I was hitting 7-iron and it was 113 yards out," she recalled. "There was a shadow that was kind of covering the hole, and I hit it well but I thought I flew the green. We walked up there, and Taylor was the first one to look in the hole and said it went in. I was just like 'you're kidding,' She knew what to do, and we took photos and I kept the ball. I still have the photo framed. Its was pretty fun." Patton said that any hole-in-one would have been special, but doing it with people she is friends with made it even more memorable. "It was quite lucky that I was with people I knew and not by myself," Patton said. "It's cool to say I have a hole-in-one, because that's what I feel like a lot of non-golfers ask, because they don't always understand golf and how rare it is." Taylor Snively How tough is it to get a hole-in-one? Snively has accomplished a lot in the game of golf, and until this spring, she had never even holed a wedge shot. But that changed this spring when she was playing with her dad at Holliday Farms. "It was on hole 17 and I had a 9-iron from 135 yards," Snively said. "We couldn't really see it, it was a back-right pin, and we drive up and my dad was joking saying 'oh, you probably hit it close again,' and then we got closer and saw it actually went in, and that was pretty cool. It was definitely really cool to have someone that's seen my entire journey and just share a moment like that with them." Snively said she had been close before, including famously breaking the cup at the sixth hole at Zionsville Golf Course, but hadn't holed one out before. But the hole-in-one has led to a couple more hole outs, including an albatross (a two on a par-5) at Broadmoor. "I made the albatross by myself. I was playing with Avery and she had to stop after nine and I made it at hole 12 at Broadmoor," Snively said. "I didn't even know it went in. After I hit it, I texted my coach Jon (Hoover) and was like 'I think I figured out the hybrids,' and then I got up there and thought I went over the green. Then I got up to the green and it was in the hole." But like Adler, having a hole-in-one experience around people is extra memorable. "I was kind of surprised myself with the albatross and that was really cool, but for me the hole-in-one was more special, because I was with my dad and got to share that with him." Paige Henney Henney has done a lot of impressive things on the golf course, but a hole-in-one just hasn't happened yet. But that doesn't mean she hasn't been really close. One memorable close call came this past June. "I have been close so many times, too many to count, and they just never drop," she said. "At Hole 10 at Kokomo Country Club this summer I had a five iron into the wind and it was just hanging on the edge of the cup. If I had blown on it, it would have dropped." Henney said that being close makes her want one even more, but she has also been happy to celebrate those around her who have one. "I get all these Instagram reels all the time and it's like all these golf accomplishments and I've done like every single one except the hole in one," Henney said. "I just want to do it so bad. But I got to the watch Kaitlyn's this year, and Olivia's and that was so fun and I am so happy for them." Aubrey Tisch Tisch has also been really close to her first hole-in-one, especially recently. Just a few weeks ago at the HCC Tournament at Bear Slide, Tisch nearly capped a fantastic day with a hole-in-one. "I was so close at Bear Slide during conference. It was a shorter par-3 where I had 105 (yards) and decided to take my 100-yard club and I just hit perfect," Tisch said. "It landed like three inches from the cup. It was so close." Tisch said even if the shot didn't go in, it was a good reminder to herself of what she is capable of on the golf course. "I saw my potential and how I can be when I'm dialed in," she said. "To know I can have not the best front-9, and then flip it all around on the back is great." The Eagles are locking in as the final weeks of the regular season are here. Zionsville is hoping to become the first team since Evansville North in 2014-16 to win three-straight team titles, while Snively is hoping to become the first player since Martinsville's Leigh Ann Hardin (1997-99) to win three-straight individual titles. And while their normal plans were somewhat altered, with the regional moving to Harrison Hills and the State Finals to Battle Ground due to the flooding in central Indiana, the Eagles are just focused on what they can control. "We're going to embrace it," Adler said. "We're going to figure out out. We have some practice rounds planned and we're going to do our best with what we have."