Gustavus athletes accomplish great things all the time. Few, however, accomplish what Junior golfer, Andrew Oakes has done. Oakes went from having never hit a hole-in-one, to hitting three within three months, an incredible feat for any golfer.
“Those shots are maybe once in a lifetime, and he hit 3 in 12 rounds, which is pretty amazing,” Coach Scott Moe said.
The Gustavus men kicked off their spring season with a tournament against Flagler College in Ponte Verda Beach over Spring Break, in which the men fell to Flagler 313-303. The cold and windy weather along with it being the first tournament of the season made this a tough course for both teams.
Despite the poor weather, Oakes managed to surprise everyone when he shot his first ever hole-in-one.
“We didn’t see the first one go in because it was uphill, but we knew it had a chance to go in, and when we got up there and saw it was in everyone freaked out a little bit and yelled and ran around. It was a lot of fun,” Oakes said.
Shortly after his first hole-in-one, Oakes hit his second at the very prestigious course, TPC Sawgrass.
“He made his second hole in one at TPC Sawgrass, Valley course, that was cool because his name will be on a plaque at the home of the PGA Tour’s clubhouse,” Moe said.
Due to cold and blizzards in Minnesota, tournaments against MSU-Mankato, and St. Cloud State were cancelled along with the Gustavus Open. Fortunately, the weather cleared up for the men to compete against Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa on April 20. This match took place at the Otter Creek Country Club where the men defeated Grand View with a final score of 293-304.
It was at this course that Oakes hit his third hole-in-one.
“The third one was pretty unreal. None of us could believe it when it went in because it was my third one in 12 rounds. Alex Kolquist was with me for that one, and he really celebrated hard. He picked me up and ran around and watching him was pretty entertaining. After the third one, I started to think about how lucky I have been to be getting that many,” Oakes said.
“Going from never having hit a hole in one in his life to hitting three in three months is crazy and so amazing. Not only is Andrew a great athlete, he also is one of the smartest, most hard-working students I know,” Junior Taylor Staffon said.
Although Oakes has a busy schedule as a dedicated economics major, who tutors for the department along with frequently working on group projects or helping others with their homework, Oakes makes time to keep up on practicing for golf, which has shown this season.
“He has always been a very hard worker, very methodical with his routine, both on the course and off. Nice to see his hard work pay off,” Moe said.
As far as next year goes, the team is hoping to make another bid for Nationals and continue their streak of success.
“For next year, my goal is to win Nationals. We will have a young team next year, but we will be really talented, so it will be an exciting year,” Oakes said.