Bob Skyrpnchuk waited until he was 80 to shoot his first ace on a golf course he’s been playing for nearly 50 years.
During league play at Bear Creek Golf Club in Utopia on July 4, the Barrie man shot a hole-in-one on the seventh hole with a four iron from 130 yards away.
“It was a lucky shot. I don’t hit the ball very far,” Skyrpnchuk said. “But it’s the hardest par three on the course.
“I saw the ball land short of the green, bounce up on it. The green is really difficult. It’s got a big slope on it and my ball sort of turned sideways and started rolling back and it rolled in," he added. “The ball was just trickling along the ground.”
Skyrpnchuk said the shot did not feel any different than the hundreds of times he’s played that hole since 1965 on a golf course which has changed names a few times since then.
Peter Heal, Skyrpnchuk’s golf buddy of many years, saw the hole-in-one happen.
He saw Skyrpnchuk tee up the ball, take a waggle or two and hit his shot in the direction of the green.
“We all watched as the ball landed near the front of the green and rolled towards the hole,” Heal said. “Then all we could see was an empty green, no ball in sight, a hole-in-one, no way! The shouts and cheers started and spread around the course, but Bob would not join in until he was sure.
“Off in the cart he goes, pulls up behind the green and slowly strides over to the hole only to see his ball resting at the bottom,” Heal added. “Reaching down and pulling out his ball, I see the biggest smile I have ever seen on Bob’s face as he shows us his very first hole-in-one, ever! So awesome to witness it.”
Skyrpnchuk said he’s lived in Barrie all his life, worked at General Tire until it closed, finished working at Hayes Dana until his retirement. He now plays golf at Bear Creek five days a week.
“To get a hole-in-one is lucky for me,” he said. “I’ve never had a hole-in-one. I’ve come close quite often, but I’ve never had one.”
Skyrpnchuk said he’s played with golfers who have had holes-in-one, some having stroked two or three.
Now he’s joined the ace club.
