Ten-year-old phenom and middle-aged guys make local golfing lore

Truthfully, this column would be much better if Michael Suazo hadn't come down with strep throat and barfed on his way to the golf course.Michael is a 10-year-old golf prodigy from Wheaton profiled last month in our Neighbor editions. We made him famous because he achieved twice in his young life what many of us hackers never do in a golfing lifetime. Michael made TWO holes-in-one this summer -- in tournament play, no less. The kid has a 4.6 handicap (which means he's eminently capable of breaking 80), routinely drives the ball 220 yards and just won a tournament at Mill Creek in Geneva by 15 strokes.I took up the game at Michael's age, and have kept at it for 40-odd years, with perhaps a little less success. I thought it would be fun to challenge Michael to a match, figuring the lad would give me a lesson. Great column and video fodder, too.That's when I encountered some other people who really get on my golf nerves: the foursome of John Schlaman, general manager at Prairie Landing Golf Club in West Chicago. Not only are they really good players (handicaps hovering around zero, which means they're eminently capable of breaking par), but a few weeks ago they achieved something I never heard of. Playing the par 5, 530-yard 4th hole, all four members of the group eagled the hole. Each hit the green in two shots. Brad Price, a 46-year-old salesman from South Elgin, drained a 30-foot putt. Gordon Rathwell, 52, an architect from Batavia, then holed a 25-footer, followed by Tim Nix, a 35-year-old insurance guy from Aurora, who canned his 15-foot putt. That left it up to Schlaman, 46, from North Aurora, who faced a 4#189;-foot downhill knee-knocker. He drained it, and the rest is history.Alas, this wasn't quite as historical as I might have thought. A Golf Digest spokeswoman told me there's record of a foursome recording a similar feat in 1989 at the Montebello (Cal.) Golf Course. Still, I believe Schlaman when he says his group's quadruple eagle was something "we'll probably never again see in our lifetimes." I certainly was impressed enough to ask him to pose for a photo. Also asked if I could use Prairie Landing's warm-up course for a two-hole match with young Michael on Wednesday afternoon.Michael showed up looking a little wan. Mom Tracy had picked him up from school that morning upon hearing that he had come down with strep throat. She urged him to cancel, but, "He really wanted to do this," she said, also mentioning that he had thrown up on the way to the golf course. On the first tee, I asked Michael what set of tees he usually plays. "The reds," he said, referring to the tees usually used by women and juniors. Just to show you what a jerk I am, I suggested he hit with me from the "whites," which are the girlieman tees, which I proudly play most of the time.Our drives were roughly the same length, but I knocked my second shot on the green, while Michael missed to the left. His pitch was a bit aggressive, and he three-putted from about 30 feet for a double-bogey. I two-putted for a par.On the finishing hole, Michael showed why he might achieve his dream of being a tour pro someday. He busted a drive that probably would have measured 250 yards had it not found a fairway bunker. His shot from there was short of the green. He chipped on and took two putts for a bogey. Meanwhile, this 14 handicapper put a 7 wood in the fairway, hit a ground ball pitching wedge, but got up and down for my second consecutive par.So there. On a chilly, blustery day, I handily defeated a 10-year-old boy battling strep throat. How will the golf gods reward me for this feat?Come to think of it, my throat's getting a little scratchy.