Published: September 19, 2009 11:48 pm      

MARK MAYNARD: Armstrong defies odds with 38 lifetime aces 9/21/09

According to USHoleInOne.com, which insures hole-in-one contests, the odds of getting a hole-in-one on a par-3 are 12,500 to 1 for an amateur.

Jim Armstrong has done it 38 times.

He didn’t just beat the odds; he went all Mike Tyson on them.

Thirty-eight aces — and he’s not counting any that made it into a clown’s mouth or crossed through a windmill — from the 64-year-old Boyd County man.

Now that’s remarkable. Here’s putting it in some perspective.

Tiger Woods has 18, and his first came when he was 6.

Jack Nicklaus has 20 aces, the last coming in a practice round at the 2003 Senior British Open when he was 63.

Armstrong aced No. 38 on Thursday at The Oaks Golf Club in Flatwoods, with a pitching wedge. Four people witnessed the shot, which found its way to the bottom of the cup like 37 others had previously done from Armstrong’s seemingly magical stroke.

Armstrong, who started playing golf when he was 10, got the first one as a 14-year-old, on No. 13 at Twin Valley, a golf course that was located off U.S. 60 in Boyd County.

He hasn’t stopped making them since.

“It’s just luck,” he says matter of factly. “I play a lot of golf.”

There’s no disputing that fact. He’s from a family of golfers. His brothers Calvin and Keith Armstrong both play regularly and his sons, Shawn and Shay, had their college paid for through golf.

“I’ve got a brother, Calvin, who has 27 (holes-in-one),” Jim Armstrong said. “Keith has not had a one. He likes to say ‘Between us, we now have 65.’”

Jim Armstrong has had hole-in-ones at Twin Valley, Sandy Creek, The Oaks, Rolling Meadows, Sundowner, River Bend, Sun Valley on Rt. 5, Mason, W.Va. and Morehead State’s old college course to name a few.

“I can remember just about every one of them,” he said. “It’s a great thrill.”

Armstrong has made them in competitive situations, too, like when he used a 7-wood and aced at hole at Mason, W.Va., or when he pulled out a 6-iron and dropped one in the cup in Morehead. He’s had three other aces in tournaments as well.

Last year at Sundowner Golf Course he had seven aces. “We had a par-3 game over there,” he said.

But when Arizona Diamondback pitcher Brandon Webb purchased Sundowner last winter with plans to build a house on it, Armstrong and his buddies had to look for a new place to golf. That’s when he came to The Oaks. Thursday’s hole-in-one was his first of the year.

“I knew he’d had a bunch,” said Greg Meade, the golf manager at The Oaks. “You know what, I’ve heard of guys having a lot of hole-in-ones and I’m sure guys have had more. But as far as around here, I don’t know. It’s great and unbelievable.”

Armstrong’s 38 aces probably would rate high nationally.

Amateur Norman Manley of Long Beach, Calif., had 59, including four in one year.

Mancil Davis, who played briefly on the PGA and Canadian tours, has 51, which ranks as the most for any professional player. His nickname is the “King of Aces.”

Armstrong’s aces have come on par-3s at a variety of courses.

“Regardless of where he had them, it really doesn’t matter,” Meade said. “I play golf and my dad was a golf professional. I’ve played all my life, played college at Marshall. I’ve had two in my life and I’m 49 years old. It’s a great feeling if it’s the first one or the 38th one.”

Armstrong, who has had his share of eagles and double eagles, gets some doubting reaction when anyone learns of his hole-in-one feats.

“They don’t believe it,” he said.

But it doesn’t matter to Armstrong, who can tell you about each and every one of them in great detail.

He’s not making this stuff up and I’m not either.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.