West Caldwell, N.J. (June 25, 2012) – Errol Cook, a member for the past 35 years at Mountain Ridge Country Club, made two holes-in-one in the same round on Saturday, June 23, at the classic Donald Ross course. Cook aced the par-3 14th hole and par-3 16th hole, about 15 minutes apart.
According to the National Hole In One Registry, the odds of making two holes-in-one in the same round are 67 million to 1.
Cook, 73, a retired financial executive and cancer survivor who currently chairs the Board of Directors of the Lymphoma Research Foundation, has played golf most of his life, but until Saturday had not made a hole-in-one.
That changed on Mountain Ridge’s 14th hole, which plays 154 yards uphill to a flagstick that is hidden from the tee. Using a driver to hit into the wind, Cook hit a solid shot, uncovering the ball in the hole after he and his foursome looked around the green for a few minutes.
Two holes later, on Mountain Ridge’s signature hole, which plays 115 yards over water, Cook took out his 11-wood and asked his group, “What will you give me if I make another hole-in-one?” After some good-natured joking, he hit his shot and was able to see the ball land on the green, roll to the left and drop into the hole.
“I collapsed on the tee, laughing,” said Cook, who was playing with three friends and regular golf partners – Dr. Alan Echikson, Tom Meier and Dr. Joel Notkin. “Nobody could believe it.”
Cook, a 19 handicap golfer, finished his round with a score of 86, 15 over par. Also a member at two golf clubs in Florida (St. Andrews and Banyan), Cook plays two to three times a week, year round, with residences in Short Hills, N.J., and Boca Raton, Fla.
“I love golf,” he said. “It was instrumental in my recovering from a bone marrow transplant 19 years ago. When I got sick, my goal was to play golf six months after the surgery, and I did.”
Host of the 2012 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship Sept. 29-Oct. 4, Mountain Ridge Country Club is ranked among the top golf courses in the United States by both Golf Digest and Golfweek magazines. For more information about the club, visit www.mountainridgecc.org
Contact:
Ed Vyeda
Hunter Public Relations
831/375-1747
evyeda@hunter-pr.com
