He was a rabid Butler University basketball fan, widely known as the Bulldog mascot in the days before Blue (the live dog mascot) really hit the scene. He relished being in the frenzy on the court.

But that exhilaration just doesn't quite compare to walking upon a serene green and realizing with one swing of your club, a tiny ball has plopped into the cup -- on a 239-yard par 4.

Brad Hamann, a 2004 Butler grad, Butler-Tarkington resident and Indianapolis real estate agent aced the 8th hole at Saddlebrook Golf Club Monday afternoon. It is such a rare feat that only two golfers on the PGA Tour have ever scored a hole-in-one on a par 4.

The odds, according to PGA, are better to be struck by lightning or get injured by a toilet than to make an albatross -- the name for both what Hamann achieved and for scoring a 2 on a par 5.

"I am beyond excited," Hamann, 37, said via e-mail about his first hole-in-one, "and when my wife read the odds of this happening ... my jaw dropped."

It is estimated that the odds of an albatross are 6 million to 1, about the same as dying from a bee sting and and less likely to happen than being killed by a shark.

Hamann's albatross happened at 2:45 p.m. Monday when he hit a bright yellow Top Flite 1 ball with a Titleist Pro-Titanium 975J driver that his father-in-law had given him years ago.

He was playing with his friends, both past real estate clients -- and his official witnesses -- Scott McLaughlin and Mark Brouwer.

Brouwer is the executive director of annual giving at Butler, who just happened to be out riding along for his first round of golf. He is the one who first looked in the cup and revealed the masterful shot.

"When Mark screamed there was a yellow ball in the hole, I doubted it at first. There was no way," Hamann said. "I realized he was serious... oh gosh, shivers of joy and excitement. What a surprise. To experience a hole in one and on a par 4, I still don't know if I believe it."

And to think, Hamann said, he had consciously adjusted his aim at the hole 8 tee box after remembering McLaughlin had pointed out his aim was off on the previous hole.

A Peoria native, Hamann came to Indianapolis to attend Butler, where he graduated with a degree in marketing with honors. While at the college, he was twice named a Top 10 Outstanding Male Student (2003 and 2004) and was the 2003 Resident Assistant of the Year.

His final score for the round Monday was 92. A fun fact about the golf feat? Hamann's father hit his only hole-in-one on a par 3 sometime in the 1970s in Peoria using a Top Flite ball, too. He also once scored an albatross, a 2 on a par 5.

"How fun to share this joy with my father," Hamann said, "with the hole-in-one/double eagle combination in one shot."

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via e-mail: dbenbow@indystar.com