Newsmakers 2007: Aces in Spades
November 23, 2007
With apologies to Art Wall and other legendary acers, holes-in-one got a lot of ink in 2007--not all of it positive. At the center of the controversy--or, at very least, growing skepticism--was 47-year-old Jacqueline Gagne (pictured), a self-described retired computer programmer who took up the game in 2002 and, more importantly, claimed 16 holes-in-one between Jan. 23 and July 13, most at her home course in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Midway into her streak The Desert Sun of Palm Springs chronicled Gagne's tale, and a flurry of media coverage followed, from "Good Morning America" and "Entertainment Tonight" to The London Times and Golf World (which ran a "Meet the woman who has made 10 holes-in-one--this year!" cover blurb). By October a Golf Digest story applied an asterisk: On the record, not a single witness said they saw one of Gagne's shots go in the hole. Gagne's acefest is believed to have occurred over 118 rounds; in contrast, PGA Tour players recorded 28 over 18,970 rounds this year. Gagne's feats, real or imagined, dwarfed other notable holes-in-one. Elsie McLean, 102, became the oldest acer ever. Amputee Colin McCrindle made a one-handed 1 on a Palmerton, Pa., course, about seven miles from where Sheila Drummond made one, likely the first by a totally blind female.
- Keywords:
- newsmakers 2007,
- Aces in Spades,
- Tim Murphy
