PGA Professional Has 'Magical Day' Following Aces on Same Hole

For nearly a month, PGA Professional Dan McMillen has rode a wave that he hopes will never end. McMillen, the PGA head professional at Greenville (Pa.) Country Club, did the improbable on March 12, 2007 - scoring a pair of holes-in-one just five hours apart on the same hole. He was playing with a group of friends on vacation at World Golf Village's King & Bear course near St. Augustine, Fla.

In his morning round, McMillen, 42, used a 9-iron to ace the 134-yard, par-3 11th hole. He returned to the same hole that same day at approximately 3:30 p.m. "The wind kicked up," McMillen explained. So, he opted for an 8-iron.

"Wouldn't it be neat if you did it again?" quipped playing partner Josh Resnick, of Pittsburgh - one of seven witnesses during the morning round.

McMillen then struck his tee shot, with the ball hitting the green just two inches from the first pitch mark that he made during the morning round. The ball jumped once and again found the hole. "He did it again! He did it again! He did it again!" shouted Resnick, as he and the rest of the foursome grabbed and bear-hugged McMillen.

"I can still hear Josh yelling in my ears," said McMillen, who received kudos from friends at home and around the country. PGA of America President Brian Whitcomb called McMillen to congratulate him on the incredible feat, and the course's co-designer Arnold Palmer sent an autographed photo.

"I just went through a double celebration after we finished playing," said McMillen. "It was the thrill of a lifetime."

According to Golf Digest, which has researched hole-in-one oddities for decades, McMillen was preceded by at least 14 players since 1964 who have posted two aces on the same hole during the same day. Yet, McMillen is the first PGA professional to join this elite group.

It was the third lifetime ace for McMillen, who posted his first hole-in-one at Titusville (Pa.) Country Club during a casual round in 1995, as the high school golf team that he coached competed in a match on the same course. That same week, he recorded his lone double-eagle at Greenville Country Club.

McMillen, a 1986 graduate of Thiel College in Greenville, leads a busy life that includes coaching both girls' basketball at St. Michael's Elementary School for the past seven seasons and golf at Greenville High School for nine years. During January and February, he serves as a general studies substitute teacher at Greenville High School. It is a family-teaching enterprise, as his wife, Kimberly, is a fourth-grade instructor at Reynolds Elementary School in Greenville.

McMillen's two aces were the fourth overall in eight years among the group of seven friends from Greenville Country Club and the Pittsburgh area that have made the trip to the World Golf Village an annual pilgrimage. Two members of the group - Bruce Abbott of Greenville and Jeff Shaffer of Warren, Ohio - each recorded holes-in-one during the previous three years.

For his momentous 36 holes, McMillen recorded rounds of 74 and 77, which included six birdies to go with the two aces. McMillen confirmed it was his day during the afternoon round, when two of his drives that were likely heading out-of-bounds on separate holes caromed off trees and came to rest safely in the fairway.

"I had guys trying to touch me, shake hands, to see if anything would rub off and help them," said McMillen. "Nothing rubbed off, but everybody wanted me to buy lottery tickets. I did end up buying dinner for everyone."