​It’s an age-old debate: does a hole-in-one on a short course really count? And what about doing it with a chipper, or achieving the feat on a course you helped design? For the purposes of this story, we’ll answer with a hopeful “sure, why not.”
Colin Montgomerie recorded two such aces on Monday during the official opening celebration of Harbor Shores Resort’s Wee Course in Benton Harbor, Michigan. While strolling and playing a few holes and chatting with media members and young players, he knocked in a 43-yard ace on the third hole and followed with a 60-yard hole-in-one on the fifth. The pair came on back-to-back swings, as he skipped the fourth hole. “It was rather strange,” Montgomerie said. “We walked the first couple of holes and decided to hit a few shots. I grabbed one of Mr. Fettig’s clubs—a chipper—and figured I’d give it a try from about 60 yards. Somehow it found the hole. Then, incredibly, I did it again on the very next hole we played. Two holes-in-one in the same day—it’s just unbelievable. When I arrived, 51 aces had been recorded on this course. Now there are 53.”
Montgomerie celebrated one of the aces with a smile as cameras rolled at the Wee Course, a nine-hole layout that ranges from 20 to 80 yards, with total yardage between 275 and 500 yards depending on the chosen tees. The design draws inspiration from some of the most memorable green complexes found on Harbor Shores’ Jack Nicklaus Signature course. Video footage exists of both aces from different local outlets. WSBT 22 in South Bend shows Montgomerie chipping to a green and then celebrating, though the ball’s final fate isn’t visible in that clip. WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, however, captures the full sequence—from the tee shot to the ball’s flight, its contact with the flagstick, and its drop into the cup.
Two holes-in-one in a single day is a notable feat for Montgomerie, adding to the Wee Course’s growing appeal as golf’s newest “fun-sized” offering. Montgomerie, already a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, previously secured his first senior major at the 2014 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor. His participation in the Wee Course’s unveiling underscored the project’s goal: to broaden access and opportunity in golf.
“I am blown away by everything to do with this and the details and vision involved with Jeff Fettig and his group to put this together, and to ask me to help in the design, I am very honored and humbled,” Montgomerie said of his involvement with the Wee Course. “I have designed courses around the world, and to see this now in working order, the quality of everything is the big Harbor Shores course quality. It also gives opportunity to everybody, and without opportunity we don’t know the next Tiger Woods; where are they? Are they out there somewhere? Without opportunity, you don’t know. That is what the Wee Course is all about.”