The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

2016 Chinook High School graduate Ian McIntosh was one heck of an Athlete for the Sugarbeeters. An All-State Quarterback for the 2015 Class C Eight-man State Champion Football team as well as an All-Conference/guard for the Basketball team. Ian was also a pretty good golfer for the Sugarbeeters. Ian earned All-State Golf honors his senior year finishing ninth individually and helping the 'Beeters secure a third place team trophy.

McIntosh was back in the sporting news recently, even making the KRTV Game Changers segment earning the top spot in the countdown. What did McIntosh do that would suddenly warrant such attention? Simple he would drain a Hole-In-One off the 14th Tee of the University of Providence Scholarship Golf Tournament played at the Eagle Falls Golf Course in Great Falls.

McIntosh pulled a Six Iron from his bag and took aim at the flag stick on the 180 yard Par 3. "I hit a draw that was headed a little left of the pin. The ball landed only a couple feet in on the left edge of the green, but the pin was in the back in a saddle. The ball bounced once and rolled out about 30 feet before it went in," said McIntosh. The Ace netted McIntosh $25,000 towards the purchase of a new Toyota pickup. What does McIntosh planned to do with the prize, "I'm not sure yet. We are waiting to get all the paperwork back from the Hole in one company, so we are probably still a month out before making any decisions."

McIntosh now calls Great Falls home and is currently working as a Project Manager for Sletten Construction in the Bridge Division. Ian and his wife Laney are expecting the arrival of their first child very soon. Sinking a Hole-In-One at any time, even just with friends on a quiet Saturday generally results in the lucky golfer being 'required to buy a round of drinks for his buddies. To sink a Hole-In-One at a charity fundraiser, well that tab could get out of control before you know it, so how much did it set Ian back, "Only $300 because I had to run right after to make maternity photos with the wife. Kind of lucked out!"

So, what are the odds for the everyday golfer to record a Hole-In-One? Estimates generally come in at 12,500 to 1, making the achievement remarkable. According to pga.com, there are roughly 450 million rounds of golf played in the United States with about 25,000 - 30,000 rounds being played on each course. Montana doesn't get near that kind of play, but an Ace is an Ace regardless of where it occurs. It is estimated that a hole-in-one is scored once in every 3,500 rounds, meaning just 1-2% of golfers across the country score an ace in a year. The average years of playing golf for a player before making an ace is 24.

So how much golf had Ian been playing prior to hitting his amazing shot, "Not very much actually, less than 10 rounds in total counting tournaments." Nevertheless, it's quite an accomplishment and worthy of the attention, "Yeah, it has been pretty cool, I didn't ever expect myself to be on a sports segment in the news after high school. After it was posted on social media, I received a lot of messages and comments about it which was great." Congratulations Ian!