Chris Thatcher didn't let much time pass before he duplicated his wife's feat at Cedar Creek Golf Club, though his was less challenging.
Less than two months after Shay Thatcher scored an ace at the Aiken course, her 29-year-old husband scored his first hole-in-one, too.
There are multiple angles to this story, from the hole the aces came on, to Shay's physical condition when she made hers, to the reaction of one of the playing partners.
First off, both aces by the North Augusta couple came on the fifth hole at Cedar Creek.
"Basically, my thought at the time was, 'What are the odds of that?' " Chris Thatcher said.
They aren't as high as the ones on Shay making hers while 81 months pregnant.
At the time of her ace - May 30 - Shay had been playing golf for a year. Chris, who had been playing for 15 years, took some credit for her ace, saying he must be a "pretty good teacher," even though he'd never made an ace.
On July 12, Shay delivered the couple's first child, a baby girl, Kriersten Reese Thatcher.
As Shay took a break from golf to recover and care for Kriersten, Chris continued to play.
On July 23 - less than two months after Shay made her ace - he aced No. 5, knocking in a pitching wedge shot from 108 yards out.
"I finally got me one, on the same dad-gum hole," Chris Thatcher said.
"The fact that both of them, in a period of two months, made aces and had a baby, that's unheard of," said Cedar Creek head pro Mike Hoffstatter.
"I told him (Chris) I wanted him to go to Vegas with me," Hoffstatter added. "It's obvious he's got some luck on his side."
About five minutes after making his ace, Chris called Shay with the news.
"He said, 'you don't have one up on me now,' " Shay said.
Ron Johnson was a playing partner for both Shay and Chris' aces.
"I think he was more excited than I was," Chris Thatcher said. "He said, 'I'm 52 years old and I'd never seen an ace in 20-some years of playing, and now I've seen two on the same hole of the same golf course by the same family.' "
"It is just too amazing," Shay said. "What are the odds? Probably about one in a million."
The pressure is now on the Thatcher's daughter to ace No. 5 at Cedar Creek once she starts playing. And there's no question that she will take up the game.
Already, the Thatchers have been taking Kriersten with them on Sunday afternoons to Cedar Creek.
"We just snap her car seat in it (the golf cart); it's the cutest thing you've ever seen," Chris Thatcher said.
The Thatchers already have a couple of clubs for their daughter, who will start playing "as soon as she's old enough to know what's going on," Chris Thatcher said.
"She's the one who started all this," Hoffstatter said of Kriersten. "Shay had to change her swing to get the club around her stomach to hit, so it was the baby (that helped her make the hole-in-one)."
"It could have helped me out," Shay said of being pregnant. "I'm totally uncoordinated without the belly now when I swing."
FIRST ONE: The first hole-in-one at Bartram Trail came on the grand opening day of the Columbia County course.
Chin Wang aced the 159-yard 14th hole with a 7-iron shot on Sept. 2. The course has been opened for weekend member play starting Aug. 13, but opened to the public the day of Wang's ace. His witness was Eddie Sanders.
Will Rogers had Bartram Trail's second ace, on the 167-yard fourth hole with a 6-iron. His witnesses were Willie Hutto, Brian Bragg and Chris Rogers.
Will Rogers also has the course record from the back tees with 65. The course record from the white tees is held by 13-year-old Robert Robertson with 69.
Augusta Country Club
- Bill Bass, No. 14. Witnesses: Chris Jackson, Gary McMahan, Gary Waugh and Richard Shearouse.
- David Burton, No. 12. Witnesses: Bill Bass, Butch Folk, Greg Scurlock and Robert Johnson.
- Jimmy Langham, the father of PGA Tour golfer Franklin Langham, No. 4, 8-iron. Witness: Larry Murray.
- Mark Burgreen, No. 6, 6-iron. Witnesses: Craig Mitchell and Maxwell Mitchell.
- Brad Usry, No. 6. Witnesses: Will McKnight, Jay Murray and John Rhodes.
- Robert Johnson, No. 6, 5-iron. Witnesses: David Burton, Greg Scurlock, Butch Folk and Rick Allen.
- Judy Gillespie, No. 6. Witnesses: Marie Saegert, Roxanne Dickinson and Martha Cartledge.
Forest Hills Golf Club
- Ken Gribek, No. 7, 6-iron, 180 yards. Witnesses: Beanie Morris, John Sipp and Jack Wilson.
- Eric Anderson, No. 16, 7-iron, 175 yards. Witnesses: Jacob Tilton and Kevin Furtado.
- Jimmy Smith Jr., No. 4, 6-iron. Witnesses: Jimmy Smith Sr., Ken Smith and Larry Smith.
Augusta Municipal Golf Course
- Leon Bush, No. 10, 8-iron, 127 yards. Witnesses: Leroy Rogers, Willie Elam.
- Neal Wilson, No. 17, 5-iron. Witnesses: Wes Ellis, Carl Menger and kenny Larry.
- Neil Klein, No. 14. Witnesses: Barry Bazemore and J.W. Stevens.
- William Sigg, No. 14. Witnesses: Jack Gibbs and Brad Thomas.
Pointe South
- James Raborn, the 294-yard par-4 No. 2 hole, driver. Witnesses: Art Touchtone, Doug King and Banny Cochran.
- Ed Parrish, No. 14, 9-iron, 143 yards. Witnesses: Ingrid Parrish.
- James Norfolk, No. 14, 6-iron, 151 yards. Witness: Mike Gullette.
- Okjin Kang, No. 6, 5-wood, 196 yards. Witnesses: Kaechan Kang and Joseph Iim.
- Bev Crampton, No. 6. 6-iron.
West Lake
- Deanna Clepper, No. 4, 5-iron, 121 yards. Witness: Winfred Russell.
- Jacob Busbin, No. 14, 6-iron, 158 yards.
- Earl Turner, No. 8, 6-iron, 158 yards. Witnesses: Vickie Turner, Rick Mahaffie and Claudia Mahaffie.
- West Lake member Deanne Fullerton, No. 3, Reserve Club in Aiken, 151 yards.
- West Lake member Dustin Banks aced No. 8 at the Golden Bear Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C., 6-iron, 160 yards.
Reach David Westin (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.
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