PENN TWP— Bill Kemper knows the odds — and he beat them.

Kemper, 62, of Penn Township recently made holes-in-one only eight days apart, sinking the first July 16 at Oak Tree Country Club in West Middlesex, the second July 24 at Edgewood Country Club near Pittsburgh.

"I've been doing some research trying to find out just how rare this is,"Kemper said. "Odds of getting a hole-in-one anywhere are one in 20,000.

"Odds of getting two holes-in-one during the same round are one in 17 million. Odds of getting two in one week?Ihaven't been able to figure that one out."

He did find out that 40,000 aces are recorded in the United States each year.

"When I discovered that, this didn't seem like that big a deal," Kemper said. "But it has to be rare."

Kemper had made a hole-in-one before 15 years ago with a 5-iron on the No. 9 hole at Suncrest. But he had no witnesses.

"When nobody sees it, it's almost like it never happened," he said. "I was playing by myself that day. That hole had an elevated green, so I never saw it go in.

"I walked up to the green and the ball was in the hole. You try to tell people and everyone's like, 'Yeah, sure.' ... Finally, 15 years later, I feel validated."

A longtime member of Butler Country Club, Kemper was playing with three fellow BCCmembers, Bob Jackson, Joe Vantura and Mark Santia, when he sank his ace at Oak Tree Country Club.

The hole-in-one came on the par-3, No. 9 hole, which plays over water. He hit a 7-iron.

"It happened so fast,"Kemper said in describing the shot. "The ball hit three feet in front of the pin, clanked off the pin and dropped into the hole.

"You expect to see a ball roll toward the hole and drop in, but it wasn't like that at all."

Kemper's ace at Edgewood came during an interclub event with 120 golfers on the course. The shotgun start had his group beginning the round on No. 13.

The hole-in-one occurred on No. 14, a 130-yard par-3 that played uphill. He hit an 8-iron.

"I saw the ball heading right for the stick and I was hoping it'd stay on the green, but you couldn't see it,"Kemper said.

"When we got to the green, the ball mark was three inches beyond the cup, yet the ball was in the hole. It must have spun back into it.

"All I could do was stand there and laugh,"Kemper added.

Kemper said he played two rounds of golf in between the rounds that featured holes-in-one.

"The funny thing now is I expect to get a hole-in-one every time I play a par-3," he said. "I know that sounds strange, but I'm convinced I'm gonna get another one. Good things happen in threes.

"My wife and I just played at Foxburg and my tee shots on the par-3s were good. I thought they were both going in."

Also a regular at Birdsfoot Golf Course, Kemper learned how to play golf at age 12, when his father, Ernie Kemper, taught him the game.

Kemper still plays in a Wednesday afternoon league at Oakview Golf Club in Slippery Rock with his brother and father, who will turn 88 this weekend.

"Dad used to take us out to Hiland when we were kids. For 50 cents, we could play all day. Obviously, that was a long time ago,"Kemper said.

But practice made perfect — at least for one memorable week.