Karen Mathews says the 6-iron is not an easy club to hit. It might be her favorite club now.
The 60-year-old associate professor of art and art history at the University of Miami used her 6-iron to make a hole-in-one on the 17th hole at Miami Lakes Golf Club on July 17. It was the first ace of her career.
“I never thought that this would happen,” Mathews said. “It’s hard and it takes a lot of luck. I’ve only been playing golf for five years and never thought this would happen to me.”
The hole was playing 122 yards. According to the National Hole-In-One Registry, the odds of a recreational golfer making an ace are 12,500-to-1.
Mathews was playing that afternoon with Laura Rossano of Kendall. “She told everybody she ran into, even the guys in the parking lot,” Mathews said. “She was a fabulous advocate. That’s a good friend.”
Mathews played the game as a high schooler, then put the clubs away for 40 years before returning to the sport. She’s part of a core group of four women who travel to various courses throughout Miami-Dade County and have taken excursions to Naples and Fort Myers.
Miami Lakes Golf Club, she said, was one of her favorites even before the ace.
“I like the water features,” she said. “I don’t like to be in them, but I like to see them. I like the hole with the alligator ... it’s a little off-putting but he’s not a super big one from what I can tell.”
Near hole 16, Mathews said she sees Roseate Spoonbills. “What a beautiful animal,” she marveled.
If the pink bird was watching her on ace day, it saw a beautiful shot.
Mathews used her Callaway Rogue iron to strike her neon green Callaway ball into the cup, for a shot she’ll never forget.
“We probably play Miami Lakes every week and we’ll have different friends we know join us,” Mathews said. “It’s a lovely course, easy to get to, just a nice atmosphere. Just ideal.”