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Niagara Falls
Friday, March 29, 2024
Golfer aces same hole twice in five days

NOTL’s Joe Doria has been on a real roll

Joe Doria is going to go broke buying beer for the clubhouse denizens, if the golf season doesn’t wrap up soon.

While most golfers go their entire careers without notching a hole-in-one, Doria, of Niagara-on-the-Lake has had a remarkable two in five days, on the same hole, at the NOTL Golf Club.

Last Thursday, he was playing with Paul Dickson, Brian McKillop and Stu Young when they all got to the par 3 fourth hole.

“Paul hit first, a nice shot that rolled right by the pin and to the back of the green. Stu stepped up and hit a low stinger that landed short of the green and just rolled by the pin. Both came close.”

Doria then smacked his shot 130 yards, into the wind, over a front bunker and into the cup. (It was his second career ace – the previous one was in 2007 in Alabama.)

“I hit an 8 iron high and left of the flag. It was fading back toward the pin. It landed on the left fringe of the green and bounced once, and rolled toward the pin,” he told The Lake Report.

“We saw it hit the pin and drop – although because of the foam in the cup – some of the ball was above the level of the green so we could still see part of it,” he said.

Due to COVID pandemic restrictions, foam fills the hole to about one inch below the rim to discourage players from touching the pin or reaching down into the hole.

That foam played a dramatic role in Doria’s second ace, on Tuesday afternoon.

This time, with a different pin placement, he hit a 9 iron 117 yards. The ball landed in front of the green, bounced once and rolled about 12 feet up a slight slope and into the cup.

Then off the foam – and out of the hole, stopping a few inches past.

“It had perfect speed. I saw it go in and bounce up,” said Doria, who was the 2019 men’s club champion.

“Noel Morris and Paedar Nolan witnessed it and both said it was definitely in,” he said.

He spoke to an official at Golf Canada on Wednesday and he confirmed that the “foam ball” counts as a hole-in-one.

“Two in five days. Amazing,” Doria said.

As for the beer budget, after the first ace he bought brews for about 20 people in the clubhouse.

Tuesday’s hole-in-one cost him another half-dozen beers when he met up with friends at the Irish Harp after his latest adventure.

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