Carmel Golfer Records First Ace at Big Time Invite

Carmel Catholic High School junior Nathan Stuart has been among the strongest players on the Corsairs varsity boys golf team this season. Unfortunately, he was playing arguably one of his worst rounds of the year during Saturday's McDermand Invitational at Lake Bluff Golf Club. The annual event featured some of the best teams in the state, including defending Class 3A champs Glenbrook North, New Trier, Lake Forest, and several others.

After making a quadruple bogey 9 on the par five 15 hole, Stuart and head coach Dave Silbar decided that he'd play the rest of his round being as aggressive as possible. "He had nothing to lose at that point," recalls Silbar, who is in his first season as varsity coach at Carmel following the retirement of longtime coach Jim Nolan.

And then magic happened.

Stuart selected a pitching wedge for the 148-yard pin position, situated towards the middle of the green. The ball curved right to left towards the hole, took one hop and then disappeared.

It would be Stuart's first hole-in-one and perfect way to turn around his day. Better yet, it's the memory that he and his teammates will take into the Class 2A Vernon Hills Regional set for this Wednesday at White Deer Run.

Stuart would finish with an 82 and a memory to last a lifetime.