The date…June 30, 2011.The location…Scotland.
The players…Don Rosemann and friends.
Converging from all corners of the United States, bathed in excitement, expectations high, Don and three of his fellow golfing comrades had arrived. Embellished with crashing waves and open water at the beautifully sculpted rocky shore, the cascading levels of green presented the perfect day…. a life’s dream come true. The guys were here to play The Ailsa at Turnberry, Scotland’s #1 golf course and home to more than twenty British Opens.
One by one, each golfer strolled to the tee box, fully expecting to show unprecedentedly perfect form and style… as all Scots do. Caddies on hand, bursting with tips and counsel, the first ten holes, ripe with good-natured conversation and exchange, were beautifully uneventful, mixed with rain, wind and cool temperatures… On to #11.
Then, as if to the sounds of Rocky’s final championship match, Don grabbed his pitching wedge, stepped into box and sharpened his highly-trained stance and grip, to take the perfect swing. Whoosh…the young man from Kansas, 35 years of golf under his belt, had just taken the most brilliant swing of his life.
Off the club, the ball begins its ascent into the blue sky of the remarkable Scottish beauty… rising, rising, rising. Don loses sight of the Titleist… but only for a second; a split second! At the perfect time and to every wondering eye, the unimaginable happened… an inevitable result of a perfect stroke. Screams, squelches, yelps, sighs, screeches…Don Rosemann, hardworking architect, dedicated husband, father and grandfather, had just hit a hole-in-one!
3,000 smiles wide…that describes how Don Rosemann appeared on hole #11…and from that moment on, he fell into a dream… a dream where drama played out…for only a chosen few…a dream of hitting a hole-in-one at The Ailsa at Turnberry!
