Hole in One

Hickory Golfer Jeff Furnia Makes a Hole-in-One with a “Pitching Iron”

Howie Tiger

On Sunday, Feb. 6, Jeff Furnia made a hole-in-one on the 13th hole of the Tuscany Falls East course. The really unique part was that he made it while playing with hickory shafted clubs dating back to the 1930s or earlier.

Jeff was playing with 19 other members of the Southwest Desert Hickory Golfers. Many were dressed in “period attire,” sporting knickers and “Ben Hogan Style” caps. Courses that range between 5,700 and 6,000 yards (usually the white tees) are the perfect length to use these kind of clubs.

The 13th hole was playing 128 yards to a middle pin. Using his pitching iron (clubs back then only had names, not numbers), Jeff hit his shot straight at the hole onto the green. The ball one-hopped directly into the hole. One of his playing partners, Scott Stevenson said, “That went in!” When Jeff retrieved his ball from the cup, he noticed that the cup was dented from his shot.

Jeff has been playing golf for 50 years. This was his fourth hole-in-one, but his first with hickory clubs. Using modern clubs, he made his first in 1996 at the Bull Run Golf Course in Lamont, Ill. His second came in 2006 at the Freeport CC in Freeport, Ill. His third was in 2019 at the 12th hole of our West course.

Jeff’s friend, Ken Ogden, introduced him to hickory golf about 10 years ago. Jeff plays about 35 to 40 rounds per year using these “antique” clubs. He is a member of the Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), a worldwide organization founded in 2000.

The SoHG helps popularize the sport, provides guidelines and rules for hickory tournaments, establishes equipment standards, and manages hickory golf handicaps. They also host the U.S. Hickory Open. Last year, the event was played in Gearhart, Ore. Jeff participated in this event for the first time and took 3rd low net in the Senior Division. Not too shabby!

Born in a U.S. Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, Jeff was an Air Force brat who lived in several countries all over the world. He joined the U.S. Air Force right out of high school, serving six years mostly at Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. While in the service, he took classes at the University of Alaska-Anchorage and graduated from Wayland University with a degree in business. After his military service, he worked for the Alaska Public Health Service in their contracts department supporting the native population for 12 years.

Jeff moved to Chicago in 1992 to attend law school. He earned his law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. He practiced contract law until his retirement in 2013.

He and his wife, Ellen Enright, purchased a home in PebbleCreek in 2011 and moved here full time in 2013.

Congratulations, Jeff!

For those interested in more information about hickory golf, go to the SoHG website at hickorygolfers.com.

Jeanne Corn’s Third!

Carole Schumacher

“It was the best!” said Jeanne Corn about her hole-in-one on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022.

Jeanne aced number 4 at Eagle’s Nest, which measured 106 yards using her nine-iron, as witnessed by her fellow Coloradoan golf partners, Keith Granle, Julie Unkrich, and her husband, Jay Corn.

“It was the best day of my life. Oh, I mean, after my wedding,” she said about her third hole-in-one, which happened 23 years after her last one.

If you’ve ever golfed with Jeanne, you know she doesn’t usually see a thing after she hits the ball off the tee. But Feb. 27 was different. As the ball left the tee, the usual, “C’mon” was heard as the ball appeared to have a trajectory left of the hole. And then, the ball dropped and rolled off that left slope and directly into the hole anchored by the red flag. She saw it drop. That’s the best!

Congratulations, Jeanne!

Wendy Turriff Aces Number 17 at Tuscany Falls!

Carole Schumacher

Wendy Turriff aced hole number 17 at Tuscany Falls East on Feb. 10. Her 6 iron was the perfect club for the 138-yard shot, as witnessed by her golf partners that day, Cathy Weaver, Cindy Sota, and Claudia Tiger.

Wendy started golfing in her 40s (we won’t say how long ago that was) and initially came to PebbleCreek from Wichita, Kansas, in 2003 as a vacation spot. Wendy’s first hole-in-one was in Wichita. In 2017, Wendy and her husband, John, transitioned to living full time in PebbleCreek.

Following her PebbleCreek hole-in-one, 12 ladies from her golf group helped her celebrate. Congratulations, Wendy!

Mike Burke Scores an Ace

Howie Tiger

On Wednesday, Feb. 2, Mike Burke made a hole-in-one while playing the first round of the PCMGA Club Championship. He made it on the 8th hole at our Eagle’s Nest course.

The 8th hole was playing 130 yards from the white tee. The hole was located on the right side of the green about halfway back. It was in a precarious spot just over a hill. With wind to his back, Mike hit a 9-iron right on line with the pin. The ball landed in the middle of the green, bounced once, then rolled right. Jim Nowak, one of Mike’s playing partner’s said, “I think that went into the hole” just as it disappeared over the hill. Mike thought it would be close, but did not see it go in.

As Mike approached the green, he checked to see if the ball fell off to the right and down into the rough. He then looked into the hole, removed the ball, and raised his arms in celebration. Groups waiting on the tee started whooping and hollering. So did his other playing partners, Dan Schmillen and Roger Pierson. Jim was right after all. His recent experience must have helped. He saw Tom Sandgren make a hole-in-one just a week earlier.

This was Mike’s third hole-in-one. His first came in 2007 at McKenzie Valley Golf Course in Springfield, Ore. His second one was on the 13th hole on Tuscany Falls East in 2018.

Mike grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., but spent most of his life in Oregon. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history/education at the University of Oregon. He spent 30 years as a high school history teacher at Thurston High School in Springfield. He also coached sports there. Not only was he an assistant football coach, he was the head baseball coach for eight years.

Mike retired from teaching in 2003. He and his wife, Kathy, moved to PebbleCreek in 2008 as snowbirds, but now live here full time.

Congratulations to Mike on his hole-in-one but also to both him and Kathy on their upcoming 50th anniversary this September!

PCM9GA Hole-in-Ones

The Niners celebrated two recent hole-in-ones in league play for the 2021/2022 season. Bill Lansing presented Bob Sinclair a plaque for his hole-in-one on Eagle’s Nest hole 17 on Nov. 11, and Ray Dombrowski was presented a plaque by Trevor Ballinger for his hole-in-one on Tuscany East’s 4th hole on Dec. 3.

Cindy’s First!

Carole Schumacher

The day started as a fairly routine PCLGA tournament day. Cindy Sota and her member partner, Chris Stelplugh, started on Eagle’s Nest hole number 10 in the Member-Member Tournament.

When they approached the par-3 12th hole, Cindy mentioned, “I’m a hole-in-one lucky charm,” because she watched two recent aces by fellow PCLGA members Suzanne Kanaly (Dec. 30, 2021) and Wendy Turriff (Feb. 10).

Cindy’s been golfing sporadically for 40 years and upped her game after moving to PebbleCreek seven years ago with her husband, Gerald, from San Jose, Calif.

Upon arrival at hole number 4, the distance measured 103.5 yards to the back flag. Cindy teed off using her skinny 8 iron, and the ball hit the front of the green and started rolling. Cindy was hopeful for that elusive achievement as soon as it hit the green, but Chris, Teresa Christensen, and Darleen Lockhart joined in to cheer the ball to the hole. Cindy said, “We were all screaming so loud that I thought we might get into trouble for making too much noise!”

The noise must have helped. The ball rolled into the hole to score Cindy’s first hole-in-one. Cindy and her partner, Chris, went on to win number one gross in their flight for the tournament. Congrats Cindy!