Local golfer defies odds to score par-4 hole-in-one

by Dan Holland

For local golfer Peter Kijinski Jr., who was playing at Briarwood Golf Course in Broadview Heights on June 11, what began as a lackluster round of golf took a big turn for the spectacular when he landed a par-4 hole-in-one, known in golf circles as an “albatross” or double eagle.

By acing the 325-yard par-4 hole, Kijinski beat odds of 6 million-to-1 in landing such a shot.

“There are only about four hundred of them recorded each year globally,” Kijinski explained. “Whereas a hole-in-one on a par 3 occurs around 40,000 times a year.”

Kijinski, who was golfing that day with his dad, Peter Kijinski Sr., said he was having a rough go of it up until he landed the odds-defying shot.

“I had played four lousy holes leading up to that shot, so when I was teeing up on hole 5, I was thinking to myself that it might be my last golf shot of the day, because I had been playing so poorly,” Kijinski recalled. “I had a four-putt hole on a par-4, then I lost the ball out of bounds on hole 2. Then, I made a triple-bogey on a par 3, and I lost two balls on a #1 handicap par-4. So, I had shot a 6, 6, 6 and a 9 on the first four holes. Then I came in there with an albatross – it just goes to show you how anything can happen in golf.”

Kijinski, who began golfing at age 8 with his father and grandfather, said he hasn’t had much time to play golf in recent years with having younger children at home, but he decided to become active once again within the last year now that his father owns a home along the golf course.

Even more noteworthy than his lack of practice is the fact that prior to last May, the younger Kijinski did not even stock a driver in his golf bag.

“I didn’t have a driver in my golf bag for the past 20 years because I had it in my head that I couldn’t hit a driver,” Kijinski explained. “So, I decided in May that I would borrow one of my dad’s old drivers, but he told me I really needed to buy a new one to get the best performance out of it.”

“As soon as I bought a driver, I was hitting balls 250 yards, and then 275 yards – and I realized that I could do something with a driver,” he continued.

Hole 5 at Briarwood, in addition to being a 325-yard, par-4, has a hill that obscures sightlines to the flag from the tee.

“If you’re smart in playing that hole, you take an iron or a 3-wood and try to knock it out to the middle to get a good second shot onto the green,” said Kijinski. “It’s a blind shot over a hill, and you have to drive the ball around 270 yards for the ball to start rolling down onto the green. So, I decided to hit a drive that hugged the tree line on the left, because my ball tends to have a left-to-right fade on it.

“After my dad made his drive and we got to the middle of the fairway, we saw two young guys on the green who had the flag out because they were putting,” Kijinski continued. “One of them yelled up and asked if one of us was hitting a Callaway Chrome [golf ball]. My first reaction was that I may have hit one of them. When I nodded yes, one of them yelled to me, ‘You’re in the hole!’”

“We had the two guys sign the golf card because they were both witnesses,” said Kijinski Sr. “I also show them as the two witnesses on the trophy display I created, as I knew I would make a trophy for this since I did it two years ago for my brother-in-law after he made a hole in one on a par 3.”

“Everyone tells me it was dumb luck, but I’m not so sure, because I knew the green was down there, and I was trying to get the ball in the hole,” said Kijinski Jr. “I knew that the flag was in the back-left corner of that green, and that I would have to hit a nearly perfect shot to get it on the green.” ∞

Peter Kijinski Sr. poses for a photo with his
son, Peter Kijinski Jr., at Briarwood Golf
Course after the younger Kijinski landed
what is known as an ‘albatross’ or double
eagle on a par-4 hole. Photo submitted.

To mark the occasion, Peter Kijinski Sr.
had a plaque made for his son. Photo
submitted.

On our cover (photo): Peter Kijinski Sr. poses for a photo with his son, Peter Kijinski Jr., at the Briarwood Golf Course after the younger Kijinski aced a 325-yard, par-4 hole, beating the odds of 6 million-to-1 to land the shot. Photo submitted.