Verna Filby didn’t immediately realize she’d just accomplished something many golfers spend a lifetime chasing. The 92-year-old Chatham woman was playing the eighth hole at Links of Kent Golf Club on Tuesday when she hit her tee shot on the 89-yard par-three. Filby continued on, unaware of what had happened until the course marshal came racing back toward her in a golf cart. “He told me, ‘It’s in the hole!’ I said that it is not. He said that it is so,” Filby recalled. “I didn’t believe it at all.” Eventually, Filby realized the ball was, in fact, sitting in the cup. “Once I realized that that had happened, I thought, oh, my God, I did that.” Filby said she used a driver off the tee, joking that she can’t hit the ball as far as she once could. She has been golfing since her late 40s and typically plays about once a week. For Filby, however, golf has never been about chasing a perfect score. “I enjoy it, and when I golf, I don’t think of anything else. The rest of the world is gone by,” she explained. Jen Breen, a staff member at Links of Kent, called the achievement rare and particularly remarkable given Filby’s age. “That’s amazing. At 92, getting a hole in one is absolutely amazing,” Breen said. Kevin Corriveau, a golf coach at St. Clair College, said a hole-in-one is a combination of skill, luck, and experience. He estimated the odds for an average golfer can be around one in 13,000, although the likelihood varies depending on the player’s skill level and other factors. Links of Kent staff said Filby was one of three golfers to record a hole-in-one at the course that day. “It’s not easy to do,” Corriveau told CTV News. “You’ve got to have a lot of things going your way.” Filby’s ace also came on a special day for another reason — it was her 91-year-old brother’s birthday. She made sure to visit him and tell him the news. “He got a big smile and he said, oh, that’s fabulous. He’s never golfed!” she said. Filby said friends and fellow golfers often tell her she inspires them because of her age. She credits much of her energy to a lifetime of hard work. She worked until she was 79, including at ManiTree Fruit Farm, where she said she enjoyed working in the fields and spending time with others. Her philosophy comes from her father. “My dad used to say, when we work, we work hard. And when we play, we play just as hard,” Filby said. The hole-in-one was followed by a fitting celebration. When asked if she enjoyed some Crown Royal afterward, Filby laughed. “Yes. About four times!” Filby is keeping the ball that made the shot and has no plans to put it in the water. Despite the attention surrounding her achievement, Filby stated she is simply grateful to still be out enjoying the game. “I enjoy life and there’s nothing I can think of that I would change in my life,” she said. “I’ve had a good life. I’ve fabulous life!”
