"He's the No. 1 golf man. He believed it when he saw how I read the greens and how I hit it."

I finally had a chance to peruse the November Golf Digest and was rivetted by Dave Kindred's investigation into purported hole-in-one specialist Jaqueline Gagne. Do read the entire piece as it's great entertainment told only as Kindred can when he's hot on the trail of a shyster.

Most entertaining of all...

Gagne lapped up the attention. Her website, jacquelinegagne.com, carried 39 citations of national and international media outlets reporting on her, including Golf Digest, Golf World, USA Today, The London Times and The Wall Street Journal. She hired a Los Angeles public-relations firm. She planned a book, Turning Up Aces. She posted a Titleist feature bragging that she used the Pro V1 ball on every hole-in-one. She waxed enthusiastically about Cobra clubs (the company sent her a set and a staff bag). She did a testimonial for the Q-Link pendant (over the signature, "Jacqueline Gagne, World Record Holder, Most Hole In Ones in One Year"). She agreed to play in certain events as a national spokesperson for a breast-cancer charity.

Gagne twice appeared on CBS television's "The Early Show." Co-anchor Harry Smith began the first segment saying, "Oh, do I love this story." Later he brought her to New York, where he enlisted golf analyst Peter Kostis. When Gagne revealed that she reads the green from the tee, Kostis declared that "the first clue" to the holes-in-one. Then she made a few swings, and Kostis liked what he saw. His conclusion: "It's the real deal."

Another feather in his every growing plume! Oh wait, Kostis gets an endorsement too...

Anyway, Gagne and I had talked only briefly, but it was clearly long enough for her to decide she didn't like the way it was going. When I asked if she could help me find the SilverRock witnesses, she said, "Nope."

"Why not?"

"They've already been interviewed."

"I haven't seen a word from them," I said.

She said, "I'm really getting tired of this."

She thought the Kostis chatter should have convinced me. "He's the No. 1 golf man. He believed it when he saw how I read the greens and how I hit it."

Nice read Peter.

Meanwhile, it seems Gagne is a blogger now and she's fighting back at Kindred, confirming she weighs 140 pounds, not 155 as was reported. Oh and Kindred's wife was rude on the phone to some of her friends.

So glad we got that cleared up!

Comments

[Tighthead]

If you look at the ESPN comments, a woman named marthajane33 appears to be Ms. Gagne. WTF is up with Kostis on this one?

[Hux]

I read as far as "life partner" and then turned off.

[Four-putt]

Despite seeing it in other places, we never printed the story of all these holes-in-one because we didn't believe it, not for one second.

We just got a press release from a local course claiming all four golfers in the same foursome eagled the same hole. What are the odds on that?

We're waiting for more proof than a signed scorecard.

4p

[Hawkeye]

I read it last week, and was wondering when you'd pick up on it, Geoff! Maybe Peter Kostis will take over Clampett's role as CBS's main goofball on this site henceforth... a premier network analyst who doesn't smell a rat when a middle-aged hacker claims to make aces with regularity because she reads greens from the tee, that's just beyond comprehension.

btw, Hux, would you have continued reading if the cheater had been a heterosexual? Does it make it worse that she isn't? Does sexual preference matter in this case? Does it in any?

[Linus]

I too was riveted by the article. I did laugh a bit at the part where he says something like "the thing is, if this is a hoax, no one has been able to explain to me how she does it." Um, Dave? It's called "lying." Also known as "fabrication." As you can see from the article, even the stories with the most "corroboration" are hopelessly muddled and confusing. I'm a little bit at a loss trying to understand why anyone would believe this for a second. Shame on Peter Kostis.

The other thing that made me laugh was the amateur nature of the lies. The "reading the green from the tee" for example, like Tiger is reading this article and goes "Damn! Why didn't I think of that, before a 47 year old lady who started playing a mere 5 years ago had to tell me?" It's like hearing my wife's idiot uncle Kevin tell his stories about what he said to the judge at his hearings, "and the judge just sat there and took it 'cause he knowed I was right!" Can't you make your lies a little more plausible? Do you have to go for the impossible right away?

[LaJuanita Mumps]

I read as far as "life partner" and then got turned on!

[RB]

It's quite possible Ms. Gagne is related to Tim Finchem, think of all the similarities! Why not tell the biggest whoppers, who can refute such claims without being present?

My hats off to her, she has taken Finchem's modus operandi of "incentivisation" (not sure it's a word but it sounds good) to a whole new level. Watch out Mr. Votaw, you've got competition!

[Glyn]

I read the whole article, it's obvious she lied about possibly every hole in one. Too bad she didn't learn the honor involoved in golf when she learned the mechanics.

[RM]

I holed out for eagle from 160 yards last week complete with high fives and hollers. The thing is, when I got up there, turns out the ball had rolled into some shade a couple feet behind the ball. Then we all started laughing about how if other people in your foursome weren't paying much attention you could just start hooting and hollering and then walk up with a ball

[Smolmania]

RM, you're exactly right. At an outing last season at Village Links in Glen Ellyn my buddy Tom hit a shot into a back pin position on #17. Covered the flag, and then disappeared. We went absolutely ballistic because it looked to us like the ball went in. We drove up to the green and there it was, about 3' behind the hole.

My first ace occurred on a day where I was playing by myself (Cress Creek CC in Naperville, 5/18/80). I went off on what was then the back nine for a quick nine before dinner, and on the par 3 12th there a guy also playing by himself. He took forever on the green, so as soon as he put the flag in, I hit a 4 iron (180 yards). I hit it perfectly, but couldn't see the ball (late pm sun hitting the green). As I picked up my bag, I saw the guy looking back at me. Figuring he was pissed, I put my head down and walked to the green. He stopped between the green and the next tee, watching me. As I walked by the hole -- figuring I'd gone over b/c the ball mark was about 10' short -- I looked down and saw my ball. I dropped my bag and looked at him in shock, and he ran over and started hugging me (easy Hux, he was happy for me). He wondered why I wasn't yelling and I told him I didn't see it go in. He finished the back nine with me and one of the asst. pros came out and played the front 9 to finish the 18. If he hadn't been on that green, would I have had an ace?

[Seitz]

**He wondered why I wasn't yelling and I told him I didn't see it go in.**

We play in a scramble at Ruffled Feathers every year. A couple of years ago on the second hole, we each hit an approach from the tee ball we selected. One shot looked OK, and the rest were less than stellar. When we got to the green, we couldn't find the ball we figured we were going to select. There was a club employee/ranger behind the green in a cart who had a full view of everything. After 20-30 seconds, he said "Are you guys looking for that ball? It went in". The guy showed no emotion whatsoever. We thought the guy would have at least clapped or something.

Then on the next hole - in a scramble, mind you - all four of us dunked it in the water.

[RM]

An ace is an ace, let the Golf Gods sort it out. Nice story, would make a great USGA commercial!

[dsl]

I've just finished reading this article and I feel a bit disappointed in the ending. Maybe I missed some of the subtlety here, but I really don't feel like I learned anything about what really happened. It seemed like Kindred was putting some good foreshadowing out there in the beginning, but nothing really came to light. What of her past and mysterious (and unexplained) wealth? Are we looking at a much bigger scam here? I think this story needs a follow up...

One theory - is it possible that someone in the group in front of her was putting a ball in the cup when replacing the flag? Too simple? Am I missing the forest for the trees? Maybe there was no ball in the cup at all? Maybe there was no golf actually played?

[Ardmore Ari]

Lets lobby to get Annika's relented exemption for Gagne. What do you say?

[86general]

The whole thing absolutely disgusts me. I would love it if she were tongue in cheek, teasing us that it was a hoax, but playing it. Any other way, it's just disgusting. She must be psychotic or something.

[Seitz]

Kostis comes off really bad in this. I was hoping at first he was just sort of playing along. I mean, what's the harm. Yeah, great, she can read greens from a distance, and sure, she's not playing 280 yard par threes, but still. I'd understand if Kostis responded to Kindred's follow up by saying "hey, it was national TV, it was a feel good story, and I was having some fun with it."

I'm about a 4, and if you dropped me 50 yards from a hole with 500 balls, I doubt I'd hole 17 of them.

And Linus, I thought the same thing about the greens thing. Like all of these guys on tour, who have played the various courses loads of times, and have written notes on every conceivable bump, never bothered to take any of that into account on approach shots.

[Ricky Bobby]

The group ahead scenario is very possible, although you'd think an accomplice would have ratted her out by now. That's in a Rick Reilly book. Group in front leaves a ball in the hole. Player hits a 4 iron on a hole calling for a 7-iron and bingo. Hole in one. Works even better if you have playing partners who are (a) 86 years old or (b) fresh of LASIK.

Given that motley crew of playing partners, though, she probably just dropped on in the whole whenever she had the chance.

P.S. My first and only ace happened on a Sunday morning round that we finished before the bar opened. True serendipity.

[Chuck]

Good God, could Peter Kostis come out of this looking any worse?

Is it my overly suspicious mind, or might there be a connection between Titleist balls/Cobra clubs/Kostis endorsement?

[Eric Stratton]

seems too good to be true, and you know what they say when it seems...

ES

[Hawkeye]

Has anybody else out there made their only ace on a hole with a provisional winter green? Well, that's my luck. At least it wasn't with an orage ball.

[ReverendTMac]

Hawkeye - nope, but made mine all by my lonesome at my home track. 8-iron, 155, two hops and in. 30mph winds made sure everyone else stayed home.

At least the bar bill was manageable - a shot and a brew for me and Kelly, the bartender :)

[Ronald Montesano]

Gagne is the offspring of Hayden "Sidd" Finch, don'cha know? Look that one up.

[Pete the Luddite]

Ronald-

ROFL. I remember falling for that one for about half of the article back in the 80's. That's a legend.

Sadly, I think this woman is just out to lunch. Her resistence to questioning speaks volumes.

[Hux]

Put the crystals away Hawk. If she had written "girlfriend" I wouldn't have batted an eye. Perhaps I'm just behind the times, but in this context "life partner of seven years" just seemed to scream kook.

[Hawkeye]

Crystals?

[86general]

The self promotion part, to me, is a red flag, too. Any serious golfer knows how improbable even one ace is, and if you happened to get lucky and get 2 in a season, I don't think you'd be out inviting ridicule by bragging about it. Sixteen? Come on.

[DBH]

My only ace came mid morning and blinded by the sun I never saw it go in. But the group on the next teebox sure let me know.
I evidently took all the break out of the green with one giant kangaroo hop of the ball and then slam!, into the hole.
Nice read.:-)

[86general]

Pulled out Arnold Palmer's biography written by James Dodson in the late 90s, and the King listed his aces in an appendix in the back, and it included childhood ones at Latrobe, etc. I think he had around 20 of them. In his entire lifetime.