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    finally

    91-year-old hits first-ever ace in heartwarming video, never give up hope

    December 20, 2023

    Perhaps you, like me, have yet to hit a hole-in-one. The PGA of America has done the math and only 1-2% of golfers make an ace every year, so you’re in the vast majority if you haven’t bested a par 3 just yet.

    It’s infuriating when a story drops in which someone makes multiple in quick succession and it’s humiliating when someone younger than you sinks one, but this … this is the motivation we all need to keep on gunning for that ace we’re searching for.

    Willie Clinton, 91 years young, made his first-ever hole-in-one at the par-3 11th at the Forrest Little Golf Club in Dublin. “A strong par 3 waits, measuring 159 metres but watch out for the front right bunker,” reads the course’s website regarding No. 11. “The overhanging trees on the left can be avoided with a slight draw. It usually requires a half a club longer than it looks.”

    No matter what club he used, the befuddled Clinton is an inspiration to us all, hitting the course in his 90s and seemingly walking the entire dang thing. That's the real feat, an ace is just the cherry on top.

    “I don’t see a ball, honestly,” says the man behind the camera. “Go over there and check. Honestly, I don’t see a ball. Quick.”

    Of course, the ball is nowhere to be seen because it’s in the cup, but the nonagenarian doesn’t believe what he’s hearing until he sees it himself. With a fashionable cap like that, it was bound to happen. Just watch ol’ Willie Clinton get another ace before year’s end. When it rains, it pours. Except for us aceless folk. Maybe we’ll have to wait until we reach our 90s too.