Watertown's Mike Strandell hits million-to-one golf shot at Sutton Bay
It's pretty safe to assume the third hole-in-one in the golf career of Watertown's Mike Strandell is without a doubt his most memorable one.
The third ace came on Tuesday, Aug. 30 on an excursion with fellow Watertown golfers Eric Stevens, Dan Thorson and Jeff Orthaus to the Sutton Bay Golf Course near Agar.
The 18-hole course is considered one of the best in South Dakota and overlooks Lake Oahe on the Missouri River.
"I've had two other hole-in-ones at Prairie Winds, both on par 3s," said Strandell, a businessman and a 1977 Watertown High School graduate. "This one means more. Making a hole-in-one on a par 4 is very rare."
The rare shot is called an "albatross", a term associated with getting a hole-in-one on par 4 or a double-eagle on a par 5.
One golf writer said the shot carries odds of six million to one. Others say it's more of a million-to-one shot. The odds of a regular hole-in-one (on a par 3) carry odds of around 12,000-to-1.
Strandell's memorable shot came on the No. 4 hole at Sutton Bay, which is listed at around 300 yards.
"It was kind of funny, I was sitting on the cart adding scores from the last couple of holes when Thorson said go ahead and hit," said Strandell. "I went up and hit the ball. I hit it pretty much down the middle of the fairway."
Strandell said he knew it was going to be a good shot and that it was going to end up somewhere near the green.
"We got up by the green and couldn't see the ball. There's bunkers left and right of the green, but we couldn't find it in there," said Strandell. "I didn't want to say look in the hole, but finally Thorson did and he said: 'Oh my God, it's in the hole.' We all had a good laugh about that."
Strandell said he doesn't personally know any other any golfers who have recorded a hole-in-one on a par 4.
The combination of the shot and the location — this Sutton Bay course opened in 2013 — will be something Strandell isn't going to forget.
"Doing it at Sutton Bay was really cool. It's a pretty epic golf course," he said. "It's a tough course but the scenery out there is unbelievable. You're up high and looking down at the Missouri River. The views are breathtaking."
Apparently, so was Strandell's shot.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown golfer records hole-in-one on par 4 hole.
