The Kansas golfer gets the rare par-4 albatross hole in a golf ace

The National Hole in One Registry poses the odds that you, the average golfer, will register an ace while you beat your local muni at 12,000 to 1. Your odds of shooting an “albatross” – one hole in one a par-4 (most of the holes in one are nailed on par-3) – they are even steeper:

Try an incredible 6 million to 1, according to the Double Eagle Club (although some believe it may be closer to 1 million to 1).

Yet that’s exactly what Geoffrey Schneider of Overland Park did last week.

On July 8, after leaving, Schneider and his friend, Dave Woodring, approached the ninth hole par 4 at the Painted Hills golf course in Kansas City, Kan. No. 9 in Painted Hills is a 288-yard uphill slogan with a bunker to the right.

With the wind behind him, Schneider, 36, had pulled the ball off the tee with a 3-wood, causing it to fly through the damp air. Schneider observed the flight of the ball and initially thought he had hit it too far, because the green was not visible from the tee box and could not understand where the ball had landed.

As he approached the front of the green, he still couldn’t find his ball. So he went to the back of the green and looked in the rough state – and he couldn’t even find it there. So Schneider headed for the pivot and surely when he looked down, the ball was there.

In the hole.

“There was a group on the green next to us and they started cheering – it was crazy,” he said. “It was such a strange situation because you usually see her come in or have someone see her come in.”

Schneider didn’t see the ball land in the hole – not unusual in one hole in one – Schneider said that Woodring and four nearby golfers on the course at the time saw it. Painted Hills, which confirmed Schneider’s hole in one, lists its aces on its website and only one other person, in 2014, had ever registered a hole in one out of 9.

The albatross is an extremely rare bird everywhere, even among professionals. Golf Digest notes that there has only been one Par-4 hole recorded in one in Andrew Magee’s history of the PGA Tour at the 2001 Phoenix Open.

Michael Christensen, who founded the Double Eagle Club to honor and preserve the history of each registered double eagle, said these things require more than luck: shooting an elusive albatross requires skill.

“I would say there are 80,000 to 1 (odds) right now for single digit numbers (handicaps) and professionals, and a million to 1 for those who are handicapped tall, no doubt,” said Christensen. “These guys are younger, they are athletic, they can drive a 280-yard ball with a 3-wood and get an ace. This is crushing the ball. “

Schneider and Woodring were actually on their way to a rematch that day. The summer heat of the KCK had become overwhelming their last time out, so they stopped playing after eight holes. Woodring had a slight lead at the time and made sure to rub it when their round resumed last week. Schneider, meanwhile, pointed out that the round was not over yet.

“Every time we play, I give him static and he gives me static,” said Woodring. “It is part of the friendly rivalry and will continue even if it has made the hole in one.”

That Wednesday afternoon was no different from the meteorological point of view, hot steamy with a maximum of 95 and a heat index higher than 100. The two men had planned to play the first nine to make up for their unfinished game.

But friends moved fairly quickly over the course. Schneider said he soon found his swing and brought momentum as they progressed. When Woodring realized that Schneider had made his epic shot, he said he was happy and thrilled to see how excited his friend was.

Schneider had already played on the field and said there are many ways in which that particular hole can be attacked. He said he was lucky and chose the right approach.

Despite how sultry and hot it was that day, in Woodring’s words, Schneider also decided to play the previous nine. He finished the day with 2-under and actually came with 12 feet to sink another ace.

Schneider has been playing golf with his father since the age of 10. He said golf runs in the family, his brother and mother also play. He won a state team championship with Blue Valley Northwest as a high schooler, but, in all his years of golf, he had never hit a hole in the lap.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given Schneider more time to play these days – and that extra time by playing safe dividends paid last week.

“It was a really nice escape during much of this COVID-19 timeline,” he said. “It was one of the few things you could get out of your house and do. I was probably doing it more than I should have done and I suppose it somehow paid off. “