Local Golfer Sinks Hole-In-One

The eighth hole at Hillside Golf Course is a par 3, plays at 142 yards from the middle tee, and goes uphill with a slight left turn onto the green.

When Sidney resident Ashlee Ringleman, 15, set up her shot she had two golfers tee off before her, so she was able to get a bit of a read on how the hole was playing. She selected her 7-iron, lined up her shot, then hit the ball straight and far up to the green.

"I hit the ball really well, but I had no idea at first how close it was", said Ringleman, who's entering her sophomore year at Sidney High School.

"But then we saw the (pin) flag move, and we got excited," she continued.

Ringleman and her partners reached the hole and saw that Ringleman's shot had found the hole, and then excitement turned into jubilation.

The hole-in-one generated a bit of commotion on the course, prompting Hillside Golf Course Director Patrick Kilbride to journey out to the eighth hole and verify the amazing shot. With the achievement verified, Ashlee now will have her name added to the to the wall in the Hillside Bar & Grill with the other golfers that have also scored holes-in-one.

As all golfers know, a hole-in-one is an extremely rare occurrence, usually happening out of sheer luck. But if the old saying "Luck resides at the intersection of Preparation and Opportunity" is true, then the Ringleman family surely picked the right intersection to set up home base.

That's because there is already a Ringleman name up on the wall for sinking a hole in one. In fact, there's two Ringleman names on the wall for the rare achievement. Ashlee's father, Jim, has a hole in one at Hillside and even more incredibly, Ashlee's grandfather Paul also has a hole-in-one to his credit at the course. This brings to mind another old saying, "Once is chance, twice is coincidence, a third time is a trend."

This "trend" couldn't come at a better time for Ashlee, as she starts her second year at playing for Sidney High's Golf Team. This is the year she hopes to improve her game and move from the Junior Varsity squad to the Varsity team, and she's off to a great start by sinking a hole in one.

Her father, grandfather, and uncles are all avid golfers, and she was taught the basics and swing techniques by her family members as a child, and now has translated those lessons into success on the links. As the season progresses, Ashlee hopes to remain consistent and shave strokes off of her game to move up to the Varsity level. She already has had luck passed down to her through her family; now it's time for her to prepare and be ready to take advantage when the opportunity arises.