GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLL

🚨 Hole in one ALERT on the 45 yard 6th hole at Belle Isle Golf!!!

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Details: Last day of summer. 6:41pm. Sunny. Clear skies. 73 degrees. 8 mph headwind. Sterling Irons SW bent to 57 degrees. Titleist ProV1x Left Dash golf ball.

This is my 4th hole in one and I'm getting closer to a hole-in-one for every day of the week, haha!

• 1st - Saturday, November 6, 2004, 9th hole at Pebble Beach’s Peter Hay Golf Course with a 9-iron from 74 yards
• 2nd - Sunday, October 9th, 2005, 8th hole at Pebble Beach’s Peter Hay Golf Course
• 3rd - Tuesday, October 10th 2006, 3rd hole at Pebble Beach’s Peter Hay Golf Course
• 4th - Friday, September 22nd, 2023, 6th hole at Belle Isle Golf with a SW from 45 yards

In the time since I first started playing Belle Isle Golf in 2021, I've come close so many times.

In fact, just last week I hit the flag stick on #2 and almost hole out on #4 and #5.



After all the close calls, it's nice to finally get another one to drop!

Labor Day weekend is past, kids are back to school, the weather is shifting cooler here in Detroit, and Fall is technically only 8 days away. Belle Isle Golf is set to close sometime in October, weather pending. After spending much of the day on my laptop, I decided to head over to Belle Isle to play the 6-hole Par 3 course while the weather is still warm enough to play.

I love Belle Isle. Astrologically, with me having a birth chart that is so heavy in air and light in water and nature, going over to Belle Isle to be surrounded by water (it's an island) and amongst the nature really helps balance my energy out and get me out of my head (air). Subjectively, I would say that I feel better after just about any trip I make over to Belle Isle.

I'd have to check the exact distances, but the Par 3 course's holes are only about 35-80 yards each. At the moment, the greens are long and slow. I'll usually just bring my sand wedge and three balls, pitch three balls in to each green, and then putt out with my sand wedge so as not to throw off my putting for fast greens in professional tournament play. From there, it's just going around and around taking in the water and nature.

On my first go around, I played for score, also focusing on making hole-in-ones. I hit the flag stick on #2 and I almost had a hole-in-one on both #4 and #5, both finishing on the back side of the hole.



It's been awhile since I had a hole-in-one. The three that I have are from Pebble Beach's Peter Hay Golf Course on November 6, 2004, October 9th, 2005, and October 10th 2006. I remember thinking how awesome it was to get one every year. Little did I know that 17 years later, I'd still be stuck on 3. I've been close again a lot over the years…and even since we've lived in Detroit since Halloween of 2020 and I've been playing Belle Isle Golf, I've hit the flag and been within inches a number of times.

I realize I'm incredibly lucky to have the ones I already have, but I hope to one day have more!

Here is a current snapshot of my lag putting over the last 2 weeks...50 randomized putts from each distance with no 2 putts being the same and no distances repeated twice in a row. Average distance of all 3-putts was a little over 50 feet.

Tied the championship record for golf score shooting a 72 in 55 minutes 42 seconds using only 6 clubs at the Speedgolf World Championships at Bandon Dunes.

Here’s a little clip of me playing my approach shot in to the 9th hole during the 2nd round.


Click here for some other photos from the event.

Be sure to check out Jaacob's featured video about "Gauging Distance in the Short Game" in this issue of Universal Golf Magazine.

Interested in how I went from an average length hitting 14-handicap golfer to tour professional and long drive champion?

Check out my new website SwingManGolf.com!