'This is pretty special here': Golfers card two historic hole-in-one's from same Sebastian foursome

Walt Landino and John Ramsey were just looking to have some fun when they played in a recent Men’s Association League event at Sebastian Municipal Golf Course.

They weren’t looking to make history.

But that’s exactly what they did.

Playing in their usual Wednesday foursome, Sebastian resident Landino got things off to a rousing start at the 156-yard fifth hole. He selected a 5-iron and took a mighty swing at the pin in the center of the green.

“It landed just short of the green and bounced up about 15 feet,” Landino recalled. “The other guys started saying, ‘I think it went in!’”

Landino wasn’t sure.

“I thought it went by the hole,” he said. “We got a rangefinder out and couldn’t see the ball on the green. It had to have gone in the hole.”

Yes, it had for a hole-in-one!

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Now’s a good time to mention Landino is 81 and the former tool salesman had only taken the game up at 60.

“I was quite excited, considering it was my first one,” Landino said.

The magic of this foursome wasn't done in Sebastian

The excitement had started to wear off when the group reached the elevated tee of the 137-yard par-3 14th, Sebastian Municipal’s signature hole. Ramsey, a former fire fighter, grabbed an 8-iron.

Since getting serious about the game six years ago, the 69-year-old Vero Beach resident had come within an inch of a hole-in-one. Twice. But close doesn’t mean much in golf.

“I had resigned myself to the fact I would never get one,” Ramsey said

Could the magic of their foursome rub off on him? He took his shot.

“I thought I hit it good, but I saw it roll past the flag and I thought it rolled over the green,” Ramsey said. “I was discouraged.”

But not for long.

The foursome drove to the green and started looking for the ball. One of his partners, Roger Wiedmann, took a peek in the hole and gave Ramsey a thumbs-up.

Another hole-in-one! From the same group!

“I was pretty thrilled I finally got one,” Ramsey said. "We also we’re pretty happy as a group, because we had picked up four strokes on those two par-3s.”

The duo truly didn’t appreciate what they had done until the round was over. It wasn’t until Landino told Greg Gardner, Sebastian Municipal’s PGA Director of Golf, that they became aware of the significance.

“I immediately realized this is pretty special here,” said Gardner, who has been at the club since 1995. “I looked it up and it doesn’t happen but a couple of times a year worldwide. It was a pretty exciting time here.”

It’s difficult to determine the exact odds. According to the National Hole-in-one Registry, a hole-in-one is made about once every 3,500 rounds in the U.S.; the odds of two players making an ace on the same hole is 17 million to one.

So maybe the odds of Landino and Ramsey both making hole-in-ones in the same round playing together are about 4 million to one, given most courses have four par-3s. Gardner said there are about six aces a year at the club.

But who cares about the numbers? The only one that mattered to Landino and Ramsey were, well, the “1” they wrote on their scorecard.

Finally, each experienced the thrill every amateur golfer craves. And they got to enjoy it on the same team.

“Said Landino, 'We couldn’t stop talking about it.'”

Nor should they.

Chip shots: Maybe there’s something in the water hazards (OK, penalty area!) at Sebastian Municipal -- 94-year-old John Elwood made a hole-in-one Monday at the club while shooting 86. The longtime member routinely shoots under his age … Benjamin James of Milford, CT., the No. 2 player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, shot 3-under 207 to win last weekend’s Team TaylorMade Invitational at Jupiter Hills Club in southern Martin County. It was the last tournament of his AJGA career. It was the first time famed Jupiter Hills has hosted an AJGA event. The club is the only one in South Florida to host two USGA championships.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Golf duo card historic 2 hole-in-one shots playing in same foursome