A Blind Ace

Joel Ludvicek will go down as a legend in my book.

The Iowa native who got a hole in one a couple days ago isn't your typical golfer. Nor was this your typical hole-in-one.

First of all, and most amazingly, Ludvicek is legally blind. His vision is very blurry and he can't see things directly in front of him. How he even hit the golf ball is beyond me.

Secondly, this wasn't a 97-yard chip shot from the tee box. It was a legitimate 168-yard hole. In fact Ludvicek, who I'm guessing doesn't have a whole lot of strength left at 78 years old, had to use a driver to get it there.

Finally, when the ball rolled into the cup and his golfing partners told him about it, he didn't believe them because "they've said it before."

Forget the cruelty of a blind guy's golfing partners telling him he hit a hole in one when he hadn't, and just picture that moment. A blind guy hits the ball--a substantial feat in itself--it's well-struck and looks like it's on a good line. Then it lands on the green and drops into the hole. Three-fourths of the foursome erupts while the one who hit the ball is thinking the joke is starting to get old. But when he approaches the hole and looks in--not directly, of course--he
sees, barely, that he did in fact ace the hole.

If I was Joel Ludvicek, I would have walked off the course right then and there. I wouldn't play another hole of golf in my life. I would just go around telling people about my hole in one and watching them laugh. Then again, maybe I'd tee it up again and go for two in a row. With luck like that, you never know.