Many of us have been fortunate to have a hole-in-one during our time on the course.
But have you ever made one as a lefty and one as a righty?
Alex Hulanicki of Salinas, a semi-retired contributor to NCGA Golf Magazine (we keep trying to drag him back), completed the rare feat in January when—playing left-handed—he aced the par-3, 120-yard 8th hole at Monterey Pines GC using an 8-iron. The shot was witnessed by his longtime friend Gary Anderson and Dave Marin, one of Hulanicki’s former colleagues at the Monterey Herald.
Hulanicki’s first ace came in 2021 while he was playing right-handed. We aren’t sure of the exact odds getting one each way, but we know it’s extremely rare.
“The sun was in my eyes four years ago so I didn’t see the ball roll in the cup, and this time the hole was hidden by the hill,” Hulanicki said. “I knew I had hit a good shot near the hole, but I thought I might have gone over the green with the back hole placement. It was in the cup. Very sweet moment in my 59 years of golf, but not as sweet as sharing the game with all my friends and others I meet in the golf world.”
Added Hulanicki with a laugh: “Most people don’t know where to stand because I play both sides of the ball.”
And now we know why he refuses to work anymore.