GRAND HAVEN, MI -- Mel Boonstra of Zeeland never dreamed he'd shoot a hole-in-one.

Boonstra, a lefty, has been golfing a little more than 50 years without one, why would it come now?

The elusive ace has a way of surprising people as it did on Aug. 14 when Boonstra, 96, scored his first on hole No. 1 at Evergreen Golf Course just west of Allendale.

"I was playing with my neighbor, Gord Grevengoed," Boonstra said. "When it was my turn to hit, it landed short of the green and it went on and kept rolling. Gord said it disappeared."

When Grevengoed said he thought it went in, Boonstra dismissed the notion.

"I said, 'That's doubtful.'"

As they approached the green the pair started to wonder, was it really in?

"I golf here every Tuesday," Boonstra said. "Once I was about an inch away, but I never dreamed of getting a hole-in-one."

Evergreen, an executive style course with an abundance of par-3's and 4's was designed to provide the occasion for all styles of play to shine.

"We're like the fountain of youth for golfers around here, we get a number of hole-in-ones," Evergreen owner Brent Fredricks said. "There's a lot of opportunities here with so many par-3's."

While most traditional courses offer just a few par-3's per 18 holes, Evergreen boasts 12.

"We've had an 8-year-old get a hole-in-one, and an 80-year-old woman. Bob Brown was the previous oldest hole-in-one at 86, so now we've got a 96-year-old. I've got goosebumps just thinking about it."

"It's just wonderful for me to see guys like (Mel) come out and play this course, it's what it was build for," Fredricks said.

Boonstra used his driver on the 110 yard par-3. He doesn't hit it as far as he used to but said he was fine with that.

"I'm surprised that I'm still golfing," Boonstra said. "I've slipped a lot this summer. Things change. I don't try to anticipate, I play for the moment. I still enjoy life and I'm blessed with friends."

Same course, of course

Former oldest hole-in-one record holder at Evergreen Golf Course, Robert Brown, 91, had a first of his own at Evergreen in June, shooting even par (30) on the front nine.

Brown plays often with friend Glenn Cunningham. They have duels on the course.

"I beat Glenn that day, that's all I care about," Brown said. "He lives here on the golf course, we compete. He's good."

Brown turns 92 on Sept. 3 and moves faster than most people half his age, Cunningham said.

"Bob has no patience, he always has to be going," Cunningham said. "I was playing with him when he got the (ace in 1986). He was already in the golf cart and going before the ball went in the hole."

As for his even par round, Cunningham finished two strokes behind Brown.

"I think he had two birdies, I don't even know who that guy was out there, he was on fire," Cunningham said.

The back nine at Evergreen is another story for Brown, who says it always gets the better of him.

"I just come to play golf, I don't keep track of numbers too much," Brown said.

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