North Carolina State University Athletics
Opening Ace on the LPGC (6/29/09)
6/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. Sandy Moonert of Cary had the perfect day on the golf course Saturday morning.
Playing on the just-opened Lonnie Poole Golf Course on NC State’s Centennial Campus, Moonert not only scored the first hole in one on the 7,100-yard Arnold Palmer Signature course, she also barely put a dent into her bank account.
Here’s a secret about casual golf: aces are expensive. The custom is for the player who scored the shot to buy drinks for everyone in the clubhouse when he or she completes the round. For Moonert, there weren’t many people at LPGC’s temporary clubhouse when she returned around 10:30 a.m.
Besides, there is still just a limited menu and a lack of a liquor license (for now), so there weren’t a lot of beverage options.
“I offered everyone there a soft drink, but there weren’t a lot of takers,” Moonert said, laughing. “I guess that was the second fortuitous thing that happened to me Saturday.”
It was the first ace of her golfing career, said Moonert, a long-time member of Cary’s Prestonwood Country Club and an LPGC Charter Partner.
She and her playing partner, Roxanne Hicklin, were the third group on the course Saturday morning, the first day any part of the course was open for play for Charter Partners.
With members of the previous group standing around the green, Moonert hit her 9-iron from the 115-yard gray tees. The shot was a little left of the pin, but it rolled down the sloping green and right into the hole.
Only nine holes were opened on the course, so No. 17 was the final hole Moonert played Saturday morning.
“It was really cool, a chance to do something that no one had ever done before,” said Moonert, who has served on the course’s Corporate Fundraising Committee since 2004. “It’s something that no one can ever take away or ever top.”
The shot was witnessed by Hicklin, Quy Van Duong, Craig Smtih, Ron Gilmore and head golf professional Rob Yanovitch, who happened to be driving up to the hole in a golf cart.
It was a hot and lively day at the course, with the first group (Bill Miller, Kyle Smith, Jim Pomeranz and Tim Peeler) going out around 8 a.m. Pomeranz hit the first shot on the par-5 No. 1 and avoided the large sand trap on the right side. The first par came on a chip-in from a sand bunker on the par-3 No. 8, which was the second hole played on the course. Jimmy Robertson rolled in a 40-foot putt on the No. 8 to claim the first birdie.
There were some ignominious claims as well: course superintendent Ron Gilmore had the course’s first three-putt for bogey, on the first hole. Pomerantz may have been the first to hit his drive onto I-440 from the No. 11 tee. It was hard to tell because no one never saw the ball land.
About three dozen Charter Partners played the course on both Saturday and Sunday.
The bottom line, however, is that the long-awaited course is now open for play. It will be open to the public by mid-July. Tee times can be made three days in advance by calling (919) 833-3338. For more information, check www.lonniepoolegolfcourse.com.
“The course was just awesome,” Moonert said. “I am really looking forward to playing all 18. The sights are amazing. It gives you a new perspective on the whole city.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
