A young ace in the hole
BUTLER TWP — Most golfers wait a lifetime and a hole-in-one never comes.
Butler resident Stone Spack only waited six years — and began playing golf at age 5.
Stone, 11, scored an ace on the No. 5, 129-yard par-3 hole Wednesday at Aubrey's Dubbs Dred. He was playing on the first day of the golf course's Wednesday Junior League.
“We've had this junior league in place for 30 years or more and I've never seen a kid get a hole-in-one,” Jeanne Aubrey, who formed the league, said. “This was pretty special.”
The Junior League at Aubrey's covers ages from 7 to 16. She decided to form the league “when my children were sitting around watching TV, saying they had no one to play golf with.”
The No. 5 hole is a straight shot, with the green sitting on a slight hill. Stone said he saw the ball sailing toward the hole.
“It had to just plop in, I guess,” he said. “It didn't roll along the green or anything. You can't see the actual hole from the tee.
“When I walked up to the green, I couldn't see the ball anywhere, I thought it went across the green and over the hill on the other side.”
After a short search, Stone looked in the hole.
“I couldn't believe it was in there,” he said. “When I saw it, I started walking backwards, away from the hole. It was like ... Wow!”
Golf has been in Stone's family for a while. His father's uncle, Jay Weitzel, was a longtime golf pro at Hershey Country Club.
Besides playing in the Junior League each Wednesday, Stone takes golf lessons from Elaine Carson at The Perfect Swing, as does his 13-year-old brother, Carter.
Carter was playing in the group behind Stone's when the ace occurred.
“I told him I got a hole-in-one ... At first, he didn't believe me,” Stone said. “It took me a while to convince him that it happened.”
Stone's grandmother, Kathleen Spack, scored a hole-in-one at Hiland Golf Course two years ago.
“The two of them can share stories now,” said Shane Spack, Stone's father. “My wife and I were at work when Stone was golfing.
“My father takes the boys to the Junior Golf League. He texted me to tell me what happened .. It was unbelievable.”
Stone realizes the magnitude of the achievement.
“I know people play golf all their lives and never get a hole-in-one. I don't expect to ever get another one,” he said.
