By Gary Curreri
Deerfield Beach’s Chris Arnold has been playing golf for nearly eight years, but never had a hole-in-one until he aced the Par-3, 190-yard fifth hole at Crystal Lake Country Club recently.
“I just hit an easy 5-wood on a windy day and flew the ball into the hole landing on the lip making a keyhole,” said the 45-year-old Arnold, who plays to a 15-handicap. “I was pretty excited. I’ve had some birdie chip-ins and hit balls in out of the bunker, but this is tops for me.”
Arnold said he saw the ball hit close to the middle of the green near the hole and thought it went long. His two playing partners, Steve Mowry and Will Jorge, were both searching long and short of the green trying to locate the ball.
“I had landed right on the edge of the hole and it blew the side of the hole up,” said Arnold, a cabinetmaker, who said he got as close as 1-ft., 9 in. about a year ago. “It looked like a keyhole, so it went straight in the hole, no bounce, no nothing and, on the bottom of the cup, there was some turf. The whole cup was filled with turf. Will spotted it in the bottom of the cup and I screamed, ‘don’t touch it.’ I ran over and pulled it out. I couldn’t play the next few holes (at all), I was so excited.”
Arnold, who tries to play once or twice a week, said what made it so exciting was the way the ball entered the hole.
“It basically flew into the hole,” Arnold said. “It never bounced and rolled. It literally just flew into the cup. I never realized it went in like that.”
Simply soccer camp slated
Simply Soccer has its final summer soccer camp in Pompano August 13-17. Registration is being held at the Pompano Beach Civic Center. The soccer camp is for boys and girls, ages 5-14, of all skill levels, who are taught a variety of soccer skills from dribbling to shooting.
There are three sessions each day ranging from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Cost is $100 weekly); extended hours camp is available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $125 each week, and a Tiny Tot program is offered for kids ages 5 and 6 from 9 a.m.to noon for $55 weekly.
Campers must bring a soccer ball, swimsuit, shin guards, water bottle and lunch. For more information, call Pompano’s Parks and Recreation Department at 954-786- 4119 or 954-786-4111.
