Strawberrygate

As some of you may know, Sean Kiely claims to have played 18 holes, shooting a 75 and a hole-in-one at Strawberry Valley Golf Course in Abington, Massachusetts on Friday, May 8, 2009. Sean also claims that the hole-in-one was on the first hole, a par 4, making it an albatross (3 under par). Those of you who have played golf with Sean, myself included, have questioned whether or not this was possible. There were no witnesses of the event., other than a groundskeeper, who could not be located to sign the scorecard.

To investigate these claims, I joined Sean at the very same golf course today. Here are the findings:

1. The greenskeeper, whom Sean claims witnessed the hole-in-one, was not present.
2. Sean took three tee shots on the first hole and scored the maximum allowed, an 8.
3. Though only 9 holes were played, Sean reached the maximum on several others.
4. Sean scored a 56 on the nine holes, extrapolated this would give a 112 on 18, 50% higher than the 75 reported for Friday's game.
5. None of the personell on the golf course could confirm or deny his claims.

Summary: Sean did have some impressive shots but lacked the consistency needed to obtain a decent score. Sean claims that playing by himself reduced pressure, allowing for a better game. I've known Sean for several years and have never found him to be dishonest. If he claims a certain score, it is likely that he got it.