There are hole in ones, and then there’s making a hole in one at one of the great cathedrals of golf.
Christian Clark, a freshman at SMU, made a stunning ace on Friday at Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, Calif., the famous par-3 16th hole of 233 yards.
Gary Williams, a golf broadcaster, tweeted “Is this the holy grail for 1’s?”
It was no less than the NFL legend Tom Brady who commented on Instagram that it was “amazing!”
It was.
What could be better than a hole in one at Cypress 16? You can see the ace on video.
Christian Clark, a freshman golfer at SMU, was a Highland Park alum who had a hole-in-one on 16 at Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, Calif.
Casual Par 3, 230 yards, over water on the signature hole
Tom Brady commented “amazing!” on the Instagram post.pic.twitter.com/kIpfFuda93
— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt November 4, 2022
Below, you can hear the waves breaking against the Pacific coast. This must be drowning Clark’s anticipation.
Clark didn’t consider bailing out and instead took a fairway wooden and aimed at the green from the dead end, over the chasm.
Someone said “Go in”, and Clark and the others on the tee lost all their minds shortly after it did. I love the way Clark jumps up and down. His mind is blown.
George Plimpton, a famed sports journalist, once described the 16-hole tee shot as: “The golfer stands at an elevated tee that faces the Pacific Ocean. It boils below the rocks and its swells are laced with long strands kelp. Sometimes, you might see a sea lion lying around, like a log caught in slow current, or turning lazily. If it wasn’t for the promontory, which hooks to the left of the golfer, it would have been a clear shot towards the horizon.
Plimpton pointed out that the average score for the entire field at the1952 Crosby was five. This average was bolstered by Lawson Little scoring a 14, and Henry Ransom scoring an 11. Ben Hogan scored a seven. Porky Oliver made a famous 16 at the 16 th.
Young Christian Clark from SMU was not so lucky. For his first hole in one, he made a one on one of the most famous holes in golf. It’s as good as it gets. You can capture the celebration and it on video for future reference. One of the people wearing the tee said, “That’s amazing.”
