Tommy Wessinger and Bill Hardy have this in common: they are Aiken golfers who recently won vehicles for making holes-in-one in the same benefit tournament at Aiken Golf Club.
That's where the similarity ends.
Wessinger kept the Dodge Ram Truck he won; Hardy left a four-seat E-Z-GO golf car behind, though he sat in it for a few minutes.
The players knew a U.S. Golf Association rule states that an amateur who accepts a gift worth more than $750 loses his amateur status and is declared a pro for at least two years.
Wessinger, a 15-handicapper who is the CEO of People's Community Bank of South Carolina, didn't mind losing his amateur standing. He said he never plays in state or national amateur events, and after all, the truck did list for about $21,000, he said.
"I never did (think about turning down the truck)," Wessinger said. "I'm not that good a golfer. Mostly, what I play in are those charity tournaments, which is what that one was."
The decision wasn't so clear-cut for the 73-year-old Hardy, who is still competitive in senior amateur events.
"I have to say it did cross my mind to get the cart, but I had the thought about my amateur status, that, ‘Bill you're not going to be able to accept this golf
cart,' " Hardy said.
Hardy still plays in various South Carolina Golf Association, Carolinas PGA and local Regions Cup events each year. He didn't want to give those up.
"In five years, I probably would have taken it," Hardy said. "I could ride it to the mailbox."
Hardy later determined that he would have had to pay more than $1,500 in taxes for the car.
"The IRS sends you a bill for the retail cost of the cart, not the wholesale cost. It was just not worth it," Hardy said.
Hardy made his ace – the sixth of his career – in the "Go Jacob Go" tournament on the 16th hole, where the car was the prize for a hole-in-one. On No. 9. the hole Wessinger aced, the prize was the truck.
"If I'd won that pickup truck, I might have drove it out of there," Hardy said. "The golf cart wasn't enough to do that."
Wessinger's ace, the second of his career, came when he hit a 3-wood on the 190-yard ninth hole.
"I've probably played in 100 tournaments like that where there are great prizes on the par-3s," Wessinger said. "I don't get uptight because most of the time if it goes in, it's strictly luck."
Though Hardy decided against keeping the golf car, he asked if he could donate it to a charity. That wouldn't have worked either.
He would still have lost his amateur status because Hardy would have been forced to sign an insurance form saying he owned the golf car before he could donate it.
As for Wessinger, he said he's having fun driving his new truck, but that he'll "probably donate it" to a charity organization.
Hardy often wonders what happened to the golf car he left behind. According to Aiken Golf Club, it was sent back to E-Z-GO.
sage secret? Keen observers of the list of aces from area golf courses that periodically appear in this column know that Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, S.C., is never represented.
The reason?
The exclusive Tom Fazio-designed course is the only one of the area – other than Augusta National Golf Club – that won't provide its aces to The Augusta Chronicle.
"We're not interested in giving that away," an unidentified Sage Valley golf shop worker said last week.
The club also refused to answer a question about if it had club championship.
"We can't answer that, either – bye, bye," the worker said, hanging up the telephone.
WOODSIDE
- Lynne Dillin, No. 17, Jones Course.
- Howard Neleigh, No. 8, Jones Course.
- Don Smelser, No. 15, Jones Course.
- Grace Therriault, No. 15, Cupp Course.
- Bob Chuey, No. 17, Jones Course.
AIKEN GOLF CLUB
- Carrol Williamson, No. 4, 150 yards. Williamson, age 74, shot 69 that day. Witnesses: Buddy Wise, Vernon Derrick and Wayne Fulmer.
- Abe Dial, No. 16, 170 yards, 7-iron. Witnesses: Matt Wilson, Bobby Hill and Ed Williams.
- Matt Smith, age 14, No. 4, 8-iron. Witnesses: Randy Smith, David Carlisle and Adam Hart.
- Sheldon Rideout, No. 16, 3-wood. Witnesses: Eddie Collins and Mike Kidd.
MOUNT VINTAGE
- Eva Patton, No. 3, 102 yards, 9-iron. Witnesses: Dave Patton, Don Lemon and Ellen Lemon.
- Lynn Koenig, No. 7, 118 yards, 7-iron. Witness: Eva Patton.
- Rick Urban, No. 11, 148 yards, 6-iron. Witnesses: Ron Urban, Liz Urban and l Michele Urban.
RESERVE CLUB
- Kathy Schwartz, No. 15, 123 yards, 11-wood. Witness: Bruce Schwartz.
- Mike Barrett, No. 12, 135 yards, 8-iron. Witnesses: Bill Van Camp, Ken Schuman and Winsor Coville.
GREEN MEADOWS
- Robert DeLong, No.13.
- George Teasley, No. 18.
PALMETTO
- Frank Mullis , No. 16, 212 yards. Witness: Phil Hubacher.
HOUNDSLAKE
- Joyce Sanford, No. 8, Azalea. Witness: Cherry Socciarelli.
RIVER GOLF CLUB
- Stew Attaway, No. 7, 205 yards, 5-iron. Witnesses: Chris Dupont, Mark Flake and Steve Childs.
Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.
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