Cole Hammer, 15, caps memorable summer with first hole-in-one, at Pine Valley, no less

Cole Hammer’s summer began with his becoming the third youngest ever to play in the U.S. Open. It has ended with his making his first hole-in-one and he did so on one of the finest golf courses in the world.

Last Saturday, Hammer, still only 15, aced the 198-yard, par-3 third hole at Pine Valley Golf Club, ranked No. 2 in Golf Digest’s latest ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courss, having been supplanted as No. 1 by Augusta National Golf Club.

Hammer noted the accomplishment on Twitter.

It seems likely that he shot 66 at Pine Valley for that round, too. Hammer posted to GHIN (Golf Handicap and Information Network) two scores recently on an unnamed course with a course rating of 72.8 and a slope rating of 153. Those numbers match those from the back tees at Pine Valley. He shot 74 in his other round there,

Hammer’s handicap index, incidentally, has improved to +4.9 (see below).