NHIOA Helps Golf Tourney Pay Off For Charity

For 3 years golfers in California have supported children and police at the WCPD Met / LACITEA TOURNAMENT. It has been a good tournament. But this year it was great!

Especially for golfer Duran Villegas. It was the 10^th hole at the California Country Club. Duran faced a 167 yard shot, downhill, with water to the left. “I saw the whole thing. The ball hit and drew back one bounce into the cup. Everyone started jumping up and down. It was amazing!”

That shot was worth $10,000. National Hole in One Association insured the prize. And Tournament Director Roberta Floyd could not be any happier than to have NHIOA on her side. “To be honest I am a non-golfer. I had to be lead by the hand through some of this. The help I received from NHIOA was great!”

A friend had used NHIOA and recommended the company to Roberta. “NHIOA provided the signs, everything. It was fantastic!”

Not only has the tournament already received a lot of publicity from its first hole-in-one winner, but Roberta says there is already a buzz for next year’s event.

This one tournament supports two organizations. One provides scholarships for students interested in technology. The other helps police officers pay for special equipment the department’s budget cannot cover

143 golfers tried to win the $10,000 prize on the 4^th hole of the St. Theresa’s Church Fund Raiser Golf Tournament at Sea Oaks County Club in Little Egg Harbor New Jersey. 143 failed. With the sun setting on a stifling hot day, the 144^th and last golfer pulled out her 9 wood on the 135 yard hole.

Cindy Malet had played well all day. But because of the heat she and the rest of her foursome were just thinking about getting into the clubhouse. “I knew I hit it well, but with the sun behind the flagstick I couldn’t see where the ball went. When we got close we were very disappointed the ball was not on the green”.

The four ladies searched the ruff with no luck. One of the witnesses told Cindy she knew were the ball was. “She kept saying you need to come more this way. We moved closer to the green but kept searching the ruff. Finally the woman said I think you might want to look in the cup!” That’s when the celebration erupted.

Cindy says she didn’t even know there was a prize. “I was just thrilled with the hole-in-one. It was just a great experience.” There might not have been a prize if not for National Hole-In-One Association.  NHIOA is the company allowing women to shoot for the hole-in-one prize with a distance that is more than 15 yards shorter than the men’s tee. Cindy’s shot was 135 yards while the men shot from 155 yards.

Cindy is still clearly on cloud nine. “It has been an amazing ride with my picture in the newsletter, cards and calls of congratulations. The whole community is talking about it and I have the ball mounted on my wall”.

A long layoff and a baby could not stop Allyson DeMatteo. Allyson had not touched her golf clubs in about 3 years. And she had recently given birth. Despite that, she decided to play in the Friends Of Jon Golf Tournament because it is such a good cause.

It was a beautiful day for the tournament and Allyson was playing with three men. The men teed off first on the 150 yard par three. They moved up to the lady’s tee for Allyson to take her swing from 123 yards away. That’s closer than most companies allow women to compete in hole-in-one contests. But not NHIOA.

Allyson used her driver and hit a line drive. “The ball hit the green which in of itself is unusual,” said Allyson. “It was rolling pretty hard so I hoped it would hit the pin and stay close. But it hit the pin and dropped in the hole!”

Allyson says even without the $10,000 prize, hitting a hole-in-one is great. “It’s inspiring! I think I will dust off the clubs for next summer.”

Vicki Holder is back home in Arizona after the dream vacation of a lifetime in Branson, Missouri. Vicki, her husband, her brother and a friend decided to play in a golf tournament. Vicki had not brought her clubs on the trip, so she rented a set of Spaulding clubs from the pro shop for $7. That turned out to be the best money she spent on her trip.

Vicki had not been playing well when she stepped into the tee box on the third hole at Ledgestone Golf Course. The hole was 151 yards away for the men, but only 107 for the women. Vicki’s brother joked she should use a driver because she was playing so poorly. All three men proceeded to miss the green. Vicki concentrated extra hard. Her tee shot went high and straight toward the pin. It hit, rolled toward the cup and dropped.

“It was a flat green and I was able to see it. That was really cool. My husband and brother were shocked!” That shot was worth $10,000.

National Hole-In-One Association is the only insurance company allowing women to compete in hole-in-one contests from such a short distance. Vicki says she really appreciates that and how quickly NHIOA paid the prize money.

As for the rental clubs, Vicki says “I really wanted to take them home”, but in the end she took home a big check and left the clubs behind.

Former club pro Richard W. of Maple Rige played in a charity golf tournament winning a brand new Bentley and a 1975 restored Rolls Royce. He aced a 183 yard 7th hole with seven iron at the Annual charity tournament to benefit the Canuck Place children’s hospice. Also, after the hole in one insurance event, he played in a reverse draw ticket promotion for a restored Rolls Royce and won that too! Congratulations to Richard, enjoy the rides!

Welcome to the blog where we will be discussing Golf tournament tips, contest information, golf prizes and other news as well as posting some of our notable hole in one insurance winners. We hope you will post your questions and comments as our tournament professionals are looking forward to hearing from you.