Oak Harbor golfer Sid Hebert and three of his friends took a trip to Bay St. Louis, Miss., last Saturday to play a round of golf since one of his playing partners, Larry Abney, had a free round.

What Hebert probably didn’t know before the trip was how memorable the day would turn out to be. Playing at the Bridges Golf Club, an Arnold Palmer designed course on the grounds of the Hollywood Casino, Hebert collected his first career ace on the seventh hole using a pitching wedge from 120 yards away. Larry Abney, Clint Schwaner and Marty St. Germain witnessed the feat.

Hebert, 64, who has been playing golf for 40 years, said he wasn’t sure how good the shot was when he cut it loose.

Oak Harbor golfer Sid Hebert got his first hole-in-one at the seventh hole at the Bridges Golf Club in Bay St. Louis, Miss. (Staff Photo by Chris Kinkaid)

“You have to carry a swampy area to get to the green,” Hebert said. “I stepped up and hit a pitching wedge. There was a little breeze behind my back. I peeked a little soon because I hit it low and on a line-drive trajectory.”

Hebert thought it was in the water until it reached the green.

“I hit it hard enough, it carried the bulkhead, hit on the fringe, took a hop and then hit the pin kind of hard. It looked like it stayed right by the pin. When we looked up, one of my other playing partners Clint Schwaner said, ‘it hit the pin,’” Hebert said.

Hebert said he could see the ball and knew it was close to the hole, but wasn’t sure how close. The group got in the cart to go finish the hole. That’s when more excitement occurred.

“We drove around the side of the green around the marshy area to get to the green,” Hebert said. “As we were walking up, Marty St. Germain (another playing partner) said, ‘I don’t see the ball.’ When we got up there, sure enough, we looked in the hole and there it was. The only thing we could figure was that the ball lodged between the pin and the cup and that some wind had moved the pin slightly.”

Hebert didn’t let the excitement throw him off his game as he came back with a birdie on the par four eighth hole. He finished the day with an 80, eight over par.

“First of all, I was relieved that I got over the hazard. When it hit the pin, I said ‘well it’s got to be close, I might get a birdie out of this.’ When we got up there and it was in the hole, I was shocked. Nothing had happened like that before,” Hebert said.

Abney, who saw the shot, talked about Hebert’s ace.

“It was low,” Abney said. “It cleared the bunker dead online. The pin was holding the ball, but when the wind shifted, it went in.”

Abney added he was happy for Hebert.

“We were very very excited,” Abney said. “He’s been playing golf for a long time, and they (aces) are hard to come by.”