Quinn beats odds with ace at Idaho Club
(Courtesy photo) Local golfer Jim Quinn holds up the ball after acing hole No. 4 at the Idaho Club last Saturday, the second time he’s accomplished the extremely rare feat.
“I dreamed one night that I had 17 holes-in-one and one two, and when I woke up I was so goddam mad.”
—Golfing icon Ben Hogan
SANDPOINT — A quick Google search finds the odds of an average golfer ever making a hole-in-one at about 12,500 to 1, based on insurance actuaries.
For a PGA pro, the odds drop but are still an astounding 2,500 to 1, and those are the best in the world. If that’s not enough to convince you how rare an ace is on the golf course, a low handicap golfer who plays 1,000 rounds in his life has just a middling 20 percent chance of ever acing a hole.
Sandpoint golfer Jim Quinn blew all of those stats out of the water on Saturday, July 1, when he dropped the second hole-in-one of his life on the Par 3 hole No. 4 at the scenic Idaho Club.
His first, in case you were wondering, came on the same piece of property more than 15 years ago at the old Hidden Lakes Golf Course, before golfing legend Jack Nicklaus reconfigured the track more than a decade ago.
“It’s pretty cool to have one at Hidden Lakes and one at the Idaho Club,” said Quinn, who enjoys the social aspect of golf and the natural beauty and characteristics of each course, including the Idaho Club. “The holes are extra difficult, but it’s just breathtaking as far as visual aesthetics.”
Quinn,a 54 year-old from Sandpoint who works in the financial field, was playing last Saturday with golfing buddies James MacDonald, Mike Eiring and Wayne Lemley.
Hole No. 4 was playing 140 yards, and Quinn striped an eight iron that didn’t seem like anything special when it landed on the green.
“I hit on the right hand side of the green, and bent down to pick up my tee. They said ‘the ball is starting to move,’” recalled Quinn, who finished the round with a score of 91. “Halfway there you can look on the green, and there was only one ball. I assumed (it was in the cup), but didn’t start screaming and yelling until I saw the ball.”
And what about the time-honored tradition of having to buy the drinks in the clubhouse after any hole-in-one?
“James made sure we called out for the beer,” said Quinn, no doubt happy to be stuck with such a tab, hefty as it were. “It cost me a few extra dollars.”