Cochrane Save-On-Foods manager nails first hole-in-one

For Cochrane Save-On-Foods manager Dan Faithfull, a recent round of golf turned into a memory he’ll never forget.

Faithfull scored his first-ever hole-in-one while playing at Shaganappi Point Golf Course in Calgary, sinking a 140-yard shot on the eighth hole.

“It was pretty surreal actually,” Faithfull said. “A couple holes before, we were just talking about how no one in our friend group had gotten a hole-in-one yet and how cool it would be for that to happen.”

Faithfull was golfing with a friend when the pair were invited to play through by a group ahead of them. After joking that they had all already hit the green, the pressure was on.

“They said they’d all hit the green, so no pressure to us,” he said. “I get up to a 140-yard hole with my pitching wedge and end up sinking the shot.”

The elevated green made the moment even more dramatic, as Faithfull didn’t immediately realize what had happened.

“We walk up to the green, didn’t see my ball and walked up to the cup, and sure enough, there it is,” he said.

The group celebrated the rare accomplishment with high fives and a round of drinks, with Faithfull picking up a celebratory Fireball shot for everyone who witnessed the shot.

A passion reignited

Faithfull has been golfing for about 20 years after first learning the sport from his grandfather as a teenager.

While his passion for the game came and went over the years, he says he’s been playing much more frequently recently.

“I’ve really gotten my passion back in the last three years,” he said. “July alone I golfed 12 times, so I’m out just about every weekend.”

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The hole-in-one came during a stretch of regular golfing, but Faithfull says nothing could have prepared him for the feeling of watching his shot disappear.

A ball worth keeping

The ball that made history was a TaylorMade Super Soft with pink accents, not his usual choice on the course.

“It was a found ball, and I just happened to be planted on that course, on that particular hole,” Faithfull said. “It is now immortalized.”

Faithfull says he’s considering framing the ball along with the scorecard from the round.

“I definitely saved that scorecard and that’s probably going to go in a frame with the ball,” he said.

Despite the memorable shot, Faithfull says he may not be switching permanently to pink golf balls.

“I’m loyal to my TaylorMade TP5s traditionally,” he said. “But never say never.”