GRAND FORKS – When Joe Demester stepped up to the 16th tee at King’s Walk Golf Course in Grand Forks, he made a crucial adjustment. Over the other par threes during the Oxford Realty golf scramble, the draw he put on his shots put the ball to the left of the greens. On the 16th, he aimed at the trees on the far right side.
His shot drew back to the green, landed 10 feet or so from the pin, rolled and hopped into the hole. It was his first-ever hole-in-one.
“Guys were freaking out. There were seven other guys there that were probably more excited than I was; I was in shock, almost. You never expect it to go in,” Demester said.
The shot, on Thursday, Sept. 11, earned him a $25,000 prize and was the talk of the tournament. Had it not been for the seven other golfers he was playing with, Demester may have never known the ball went in the hole.
“I got up to the tee and hit the ball, and I wasn’t wearing my contacts, unfortunately. But, it didn’t matter,” he said.
Just about everyone playing with him let him know the ball was in the hole.
The scramble is an annual tournament held by Oxford Realty, with the proceeds going toward the Grand Forks Children’s Museum. The event averages around $20,000 per year and has been ongoing for three years.
Mike Opp, president of Oxford Realty, was able to see the shot for himself.
“When he was aiming for the trees, about 30 degrees or so, I was like ‘Joe, you’re aiming wrong,’ and I’m thinking to myself he’s a good golfer, he probably knows what he’s doing,” Opp said. “There was no doubt in my mind it was going to be in there.”
While the $25,000 was a blessing for Demester, he may have needed to dip into the prize money early on. As is tradition in golf, when a player hits an ace, he buys everyone in the clubhouse a drink.
Demester followed through on the tradition.
“There was even a guy when I was in the parking lot, we asked each other how we played and he said, ‘I’m going to go in a get my free beer,’” he said. “But it didn’t end up being too bad.”
There may be some luck involved with getting a hole-in-one, but there is a lot of it going around, at least in a group chat Demester is in. All three members have accomplished the feat.
Some of the credit also goes to those who helped along the way.
“My grandma called me and took some of the credit. She had driven me and my friends to go golfing so much as kids, so she deserves it,” Demester said.
Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at mmarko@gfherald.com.