CHICOPEE — When Scott Bode lined up his shot on the eighth hole at Chicopee Country Club on June 29, he was struggling to see the cup nearly 200 yards away.
"I couldn't see because of the time of day with the shade and the sun," the 57-year-old Belchertown man told The Republican.
Bode, a Realtor, used his 5-iron recently to go the distance, with his ball landing, bouncing and rolling into the cup for his first-ever hole-in-one.
"Since I couldn't see it, the only reason I knew it went in was because a group in front of us was able to watch it and they started going crazy," he said.
Bode is just one of several people that have sunk holes-in-one at local golf courses over the last few weeks. At the same time, a golfer may spend decades playing the game and dropping a ball in one shot is a career highlight.
A hole-in-one (ace) eludes even professional golfers.
"It's a very rare shot," said Tom DiRico, director of golf and the golf pro at Agawam Municipal Golf Course.
"Your distance and accuracy have to be spot on. It's a one-in-a million shot," said DiRico, who has played for 54 years and has two aces to his credit.
Thomas DiRico is a golf pro at the Agawam Municipal Golf Course, who also had two hole-in-ones in his career, said that Dickie Ford had a hole-in-one on the fifth hole on June 16, 2025. He said that in the past, golfing companies used to mount the ball if it was sent in. Nowadays, there are just so many golfers and in turn so many hole-in-ones that they don't do that anymore. July 31, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
According to the National Hole-In-One Registry, 450 million rounds of golf are played each year, but only 1-2% of players sink an ace. Golf courses have a long-standing tradition of alerting local newspapers when it happens.
"It was a thing way back in the day. Golf used to get a lot of coverage when I was a kid in the '70s and '80s. There would be a daily hole-in-one report from all the local golf courses," said Mike O'Neill, director of golf at Chicopee Country Club.
Several local golf courses have contacted The Republican this season, bearing witness to this notable sports moment. From July 1 through the Aug. 14 Sunday Republican there were 11 aces reported at five courses: Agawam, Amherst, Franconia, the Ledges and Twin Hills.
"It's such a rare shot. The person who gets it is excited and can't wait to tell his friends, that's why we try to get the information published," said DiRico. "It's a shot they remember for the rest of their lives."
When a golfer claims to have hit a hole-in-one, there had better be a witness — preferably several — otherwise there is a handshake but no call to the press.
There were plenty of people who saw Bode's shining moment.
"It was surreal because you play all these years, and you never really think about it," he said. "It was super exciting finally getting it with a bunch of guys I play with. It was a bucket list item."
It has been reported that Tiger Woods had 20 holes in one during his professional career while Arnold Palmer had 21.
Mark Perez is the general manager of East Mountain Country Club in Westfield. He has played the game for more than 50 years and has sunk the ball with one stroke, one time.
"I hit the shot, and it landed on the green. I thought it landed short, but it bounced up, rolled, hit the stick and went right in. I was a celebrity. That was my 15 minutes of fame," he said.
Perez has been around the game since he was 14, and other than his own, he has witnessed only one other ace.
"I walked into the clubhouse, and everybody was screaming because somebody got a hole-in-one," he recalls.
Scott Bode struck a hole-in-one on June 29 at the Chicopee Country Club. He said that the sun was in his eyes and only realized the achievement after his friends on the ninth hole, who had a clear line of sight onto the eighth hole, started cheering for him. July 31, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
While golf can be a solo experience, groups usually go out two or four a time. While they are competing against each other, everyone celebrates when one in the group drops the single shot.
"When you're a golfer and you see a hole-in-one, that's about as exciting as it gets," said Perez.
While it is the experience of a lifetime, hitting an ace comes at a cost. Tradition dictates the player of fortune buys a drink for everyone in the clubhouse — but "hole-in one-insurance" is available.
"You put money in (the fund) and if you get a hole-in-one, that insurance money pays for the round of drinks," said O'Neill.
Checking the wind, lining up the shot and gripping the club may all be part of approaching the tee, but launching the tiny ball into a 4-inch cup hundreds of yards away with one swing is usually a stroke of luck.
"There's no advice you can give a person," said golf pro DiRico. "There are not too many people that can say they were aiming for the hole. To be truthful, it's usually a nice bounce or a lucky shot."
Experience may also play a role. The Hole-in-One Registry reports 60% of acers are over 50.
When Bode and his friends played their final hole, the Belchertown man was able to brag about his one shot at fame, but not about the game.
"I still came in second in my group," he said. "Can you believe that?"
Golfer tees off on the tenth hole at the Agawam Municipal Golf Course. July 31, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
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