The Hole Story by Craig DeVrieze

There are holes-in-one, and then there are aces on the signature hole at Whistling Straits Golf Course in Kohler, Wis.

East Moline’s Bob Larsen scored the latter Aug. 21, sailing an 8-iron 163 yards and into the cup at the seventh hole of a golf course that recently was ranked as the third best in the world among courses constructed in the last 50 years.

The Wisconsin course was so ranked in the most recent edition of Golf Magazine. It was host to the PGA Championship in 2004 and is due to reprise that role next year.

Larsen is looking forward to watching next August.

“I can sit there and say “I had a hole-in-one. Why can’t you?” he said.

Larsen played the course with fellow Quad-Citians Todd Raufeisen, Jeff Tomachek and Bruce Wessling.

He shot an 89.

“I was excited about that, too,” he said. “It’s a pretty tough golf course.”

– Golf Magazine, by the way, turned 50 this year and the September edition identified many of what its staff deemed “The Absolute Greatest” items in golf over the last half-century.

Included among five honored living caddies was Moline’s Tony Navarro.

– A panel the magazine put together selected Jack Nicklaus over Tiger Woods as the greatest player in the history of the game, a beyond-the-last-50 years list that includes Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones and Harry Vardon.

The top five, in order: Nicklaus, Woods, Jones, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead.

— Maybe it is because it is being played in Illinois. Maybe it’s because Michelle Wie is there. Maybe it is because I got to look into Natalie Gulbis’ dreamy eyes earlier this month. But I’m into the Solheim Cup, an event that highlights the best American players in the women’s game by pitting them in Ryder-style battle with a group of Europeans.

It’s too bad there is no LPGA equivilent of the Presidents Cup. What chance would you give the U.S. squad against an assemblage of top Korean-born players?