Former pitcher Steve Blass right on target with two aces

Mike Dudurich

Posted 2009-09-20

Something very rare happened not very far from my house last week.

In a suburb southeast of Pittsburgh at a place called Greensburg Country Club, two holes-in-one were recorded.

In the same round.

By the same guy.

And on this occasion, “the guy” was more than your standard country club member, more than a guy who plays the occasional round with the boys.

Steve Blass may never be listed among the greatest players to have ever played the game of baseball, but in western Pennsylvania, Blass is revered for winning two games over the Baltimore Orioles in the 1971 World Series, including Game 7.

It’s an interesting bit of irony that when Blass took his place in golf lore, he did so with several other former Pirates. The event was the third annual Bucco Day at Greensburg CC and members have the opportunity to play with some of their long-time heroes and then mingle with them afterward.

Lots of laughs, money raised for charity, baseball memorabilia being autographed at every turn. Those were the staples of the event -- until this year.

Blass’s group started on the back nine and he routinely pulled his eight-iron from his bag and stepped onto the tee of the 154-yard, uphill 15th hole. His shot was pure and, although he and his playing partners couldn’t see it from the tee, they knew it was good.

“On the first one, we all went beserk,” Blass, who plays to about a 10-handicap, said later.

He went 10 more holes before recording another ace.

And this one was a real beauty.

No. 7 at GCC plays from the top of a hill to the bottom. Normally, it plays around 230 yards from the white tees, 243 from the blues. But it’s all downhill and club selection is a most tricky endeavor.

On this occasion, the tee was moved up and the hole played “only” 175 yards. No big deal for the 67-year-old Blass, whose 7-iron disappeared into the cup. For the record, the aces won a computer and a $500 gift card for Blass.

“The second one, I took off my glasses, and started rolling down the hill like a little kid,” Blass said. “I looked like a big, fat bear rolling down the hill."

For those of us who have not had the thrill of putting a 1 on a scorecard, imagine the admiration and jealousy so many people must be having as word of the accomplishment becomes more widespread.

The odds of such a thing happening are astronomical. Golf Digest says it’s 1 in 67 million.v "When he made the first one, I went up and congratulated him," the golf professional at Greensburg CC, Jim McGrath, and head said. "When I heard he did it again ... that's unreal. I've had guys make two holes-in-one in the same year, and that's a rare feat in itself."

No kidding.

Orland Bethel, who led a partnership that bought the club out of bankruptcy in 2005, was as much in awe as anyone of what Blass did, but he was just as impressed with what Blass did afterward.

“Steve was scheduled to be the emcee for the post-dinner part of the day and, of course, he took a great deal of stuff from the other Pirates,” Bethel said. “But he pulled out his credit card at the bar as is the hole-in-one tradition. He really is a class act.”

Blass had recorded only one other hole-in-one and it came in 1996 on a Florida course that doesn’t exist anymore.

While Blass is a World Series hero, his baseball legacy was tarnished greatly a few years after that Game 7 four-hit, 2-1 victory.

For some still unexplained reason, Blass suddenly lost the ability to throw strikes, a malady that eventually forced him from the game in 1975. Nearly 35 years later, a pitcher who struggles with control is sometimes referred to as having “Steve Blass Disease.”

Blass has come to be able to laugh about the awful end to a 10-year career that included a 103-76 record, 896 strikeouts and a 3.63 ERA in 1,597 innings pitched. "I can finally make some kind of ball go where I want it to," Blass said. "Maybe it's a sign from above that I should start pitching again."

As rare as the two aces are, it’s actually happened a few times over the last several months. A British woman, Ruth Day, aced the third and 13th holes, in a casual round with a friend. In 2008, Ted Kemp had back-to-back aces in a round in Iowa.

And in a college match a few months ago, Morgan Chambers of Baylor University had a pair of holes-in-one in the same round.

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About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf. He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com. Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August. The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.

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