Terry Williamson is 81, but he’s not done learning on the golf course.
The Hampden Country Club member plays most days at the nine-hole course. But July 22 wasn’t like most days.
Playing his second nine holes of the morning, Williamson stepped up to the tee at the par-3 second hole and did something he hadn’t done in 30 years: hit a hole-in-one.
“I was at the forward red tees. Because if you’re 80, you can play from those. I hit a very nice, straight, high shot,” Williamson said. “I hollered at it to go in the hole, and the guy with me said, ‘Yeah, it went in!’”
It was the second ever hole-in-one for Williamson.
“I looked in my records — 30 years ago I had a hole in one on that same hole,” he said.
Williamson is plenty familiar with the Hampden course and the game of golf in general, but that doesn’t stop him from getting an occasional lesson when things aren’t going well on the course.
He had a recent lesson with golf teaching professional Russell Gamble, and was hitting the ball better after that. Gamble’s brother, Rich Gamble, is the Hampden course’s superintendent.
Rich Gamble described Williamson as a “very dedicated golfer” and “probably one of the kindest people that you could have out here playing.”
Gamble said that Williamson’s ace was the first of the season at the course, and that the 81-year-old can reliably be found playing there most mornings during the week.
“We could only be so lucky to be 81 and still playing golf,” Gamble said.
Williamson said he can’t hit the ball nearly as far as he used to, but he still keeps it fairly straight. And he credits the occasional lesson for helping him through stretches when he isn’t hitting the ball well.
“I encourage everybody to take some lessons if they can, because it almost always helps. It seems like it helps me,” Williamson said.
Lessons may not always pay off with a hole-in-one, which carries 12,000 to 1 odds for an average golfer according to the National Hole-in-One Registry. But it’s hard to argue with Williamson’s results.
“I tell them, Tiger Woods had lessons all the time he was growing up,” he said. “And so don’t be afraid to take those lessons.”
Williamson knows from years of experience that not every shot is going to be a good one.
“The key is having a good time, and so when you do hit a bad shot, you just shake it off and don’t let it upset you for the day,” he said. “Just be pleased with all your good shots.”
As far as good shots go, it will be tough to beat last week’s hole-in-one.
“I’ll remember that for a long time,” Williamson said. “I still remember the first one.”
