An eagle, memorable birdies but never a hole-in-one, said long-time golfer Marcus Fitzgerald Brown, who recently recorded an ace on the eighth hole at Fox Meadows Golf Course during a benefit for LeMoyne-Owen College.
Brown, 58, has been playing golf for about 30 years. The shot he made (Oct. 8) on the Par 3, 140-yard hole has rocketed to the top of his “career.”
“It feels fantastic,” said Brown. “I’ve been tripping ever since.”
Brown, who operates Complete Computer Services, played in a foursome with Ernest D. Strickland, president/CEO of the Black Business Association of Memphis; businessman Calvin Anderson, president of Best Media Properties (The New Tri-State Defender’s parent company) and Desmond Norris, who plays golf for LeMoyne-Owen College.
“It’s in!” That’s what the entire foursome and half the course shouted, said Anderson. “Marcus made an amazing shot (that) looked good from the swing … on landing and the in sequence.”
Using his eight iron, Brown took his shot.
“When I swung at it, I looked at it. That was the straightest ball I ever saw. (It) Went straight up in the air and I looked down, it went in the hole and I couldn’t believe it. I kept asking the guys, “Did it go in? Did it go in? And my mind wouldn’t let me go over there just to check. I just couldn’t believe it.”
The ball is now mounted thanks to C&J Trophy and Engraving.
His wife was the first person he called after the masterful stroke.
“I told her that I hit a hole-in-one…. And she didn’t believe it. … I thought we had won a car … the Cadillac car.”
No car?
“It was the wrong hole; ended up being the 220 (yard) par-three (to win the car).
Brown averages playing golf twice a week, often alternating between Windyke Country Club, TPC Southwind and Irene Golf Course.
“My son was playing First Tee,” said Brown, recalling his introduction to golf as a player. “I needed him to be involved with something. I ended up getting involved with it. … He plays now. … Matter of fact, he plays more than I do.”
In Brown, the game of golf has an avid advocate.
“I think it’s great because any time that you can get together and fellowship with men … something happens and we realize how much we have in common. …”
