Getting a hole-in-one is rare, and getting one on a par 4 is next to impossible. But that’s what happened last week at McKenzie Meadows Golf Club in Calgary. Alex Campbell, also known as Q, has been golfing for about 24 years. It’s his passion. He lives for the game. The golf course is his happy place. “Coming to the golf course, for the most part, I find peace. I kind of relax out here,” he said. Last week, Campbell really enjoyed his day on the course. He did what most of us could only dream of. He was playing in an alternate shot event with executive professional Scott Orban. He stepped up to the par 4 fifth hole and knew he got a hold of one. “I didn’t know for sure that it was going to be on the green, but I did know it was right on the flag stick,” he said. It was on the green, alright. And to his surprise, it was in the hole. Orban was the first to realize Campbell had jarred it. “I saw him make a sign like there’s something in the cup. So, I was like, it can’t be, and I grabbed my putter and clubs because we’re chipping and he’s always joking around,” Campbell said. But Orban wasn’t joking this time—Campbell had a hole-in-one on a par 4. The odds are six million to one. “I told Alex, ‘Too bad you just didn’t buy a lotto ticket because that would’ve been way better for me, too. He would’ve taken care of me. Now I have to listen to him around here all of the time,” Orban said. This was Campbell’s eighth hole-in-one. He has six at McKenzie Meadows. His advice: be a pin-seeker. “You don’t play for a hole-in-one in the first place, but I think in order to get a hole-in-one, you have to go at the flagstick,” he said. “So, my game inside 170, I’m going at the flagstick for the most part, regardless if there’s a bunker or water or whatever.” Orban is still in search of that first hole-in-one, but he’s seen plenty. “I had the privilege of doing that with Richard Hardy, our pro; he’s got two with me there. My wife has got two with me there. And I’ve got none,” he said. “And then Alex gets one and Alex is a good friend of mine and I’m happy for him. That’s it.” Campbell says he almost jarred another on the next hole he was teeing off on. It was the par 3 sixth hole, and he ended up a foot away. Now that would’ve been really incredible.
