Howie Tiger
On Thursday, May 24 Dick Ruder and Brad Johnston both scored holes-in-one on the Eagle’s Nest course during a PebbleCreek Men’s Golf Association weekly tournament. Dick made his on the 8th hole and a few hours later, Brad made his on the 4th hole.
Dick Ruder: Dick hit his 6-iron from the white tees which was playing 142 yards. The pin was on the back of the green situated on the plateau, always a tough spot to get close. Dick’s playing partners were Bill Todd, Jerry Kurtz and Mike Der Manual. He hit a nice fade over the bunker and the ball rolled right up onto the plateau. He could not see it go in. Jerry and Mike arrived at the green first. Dick took his putter and wedge to the green thinking he went long. Mike looked in the hole and then grinned at Dick. Dick asked Mike, “Is it in the hole?” Mike said, “Yep!” Dick didn’t need either club after all.
This was Dick’s second hole-in-one. His first came in 1998 at the Indian Head Country Club in Mosinee, WI. He has been playing golf for 40 years. One every 20 years, not bad! Dick spent his working career selling dental equipment and has lived all over the country. He had checked out PebbleCreek as a possible place to retire about six years ago. He said he found nothing nicer than PC and moved here three years ago. He joined the PCMGA in December after playing his first two years with the PCM9GA.
Brad Johnston: Brad hit an 8-iron to a middle pin 148 yards from the blue tee. Brad’s playing partners were Dave Willison, John Adams and Phil Smyth. Brad hit a high fade onto the green but could not see it go in. He thought it rolled into the swale on the right-hand side of the green. Brad had hit a yellow ball while his partners all played white ones. He got to the green and only saw three white balls. Brad then said, “Where’s my ball?” Dave looked into the hole and said, “It’s in here and I’m not pulling it out!” This was Brad’s last shot of the round. His ace enabled his team to win their flight by one shot.
This was Brad’s fifth hole-in-one. He had two at Sunol Golf course in CA in 1992 and 1993. He had another at Stevenson Ranch in CA in 1996. His fourth one was on the 12th hole at Eagle’s Nest. Brad is originally from Menlo Park, CA. He spent his career as a calibration engineer in the plastics industry. He has been playing golf for 35 years and qualified for the US Amateur (held at Spyglass Hill in 1999) by winning the Palo Alto Public Links tourney, a four-round event. Brad moved to PebbleCreek in 2003 and retired in 2016.
Dick and Brad join Bill Anderson and Keith Tingelhoff in the PCMGA hole-in-one annual prize pool.
Congratulations to Dick and Brad. Well done!