The chances of hitting a hole-in-one are 12,500 to one. However, 90-year-old Purvis golfer Harold McKnight has defied those odds not once, not twice and not even three times, but in fact, McKnight has done the act four times now.
On April 22, McKnight was golfing with his regular group of friends who play three times a week at the Pine Creek Golf Course in Purvis. At hole No. 15, the ball found its way into the hole on a Par 3 that is 135 yards out.
“I hit the ball pretty high and it was going right at the flag stick,” McKnight said. “I saw it hit in front of the green and it started rolling and then I lost it. Then one of the players I play with said ‘It’s in the hole!’ I said, ‘No it probably rolled off’ and he said, ‘No it’s in the hole!’ and sure enough it was.
According to friend and fellow golfer John Martin, who has hit five hole-in-ones since 2002, explained the difficulty of hole 15 and how remarkable it was to see McKnight’s hole-in-one.
“On hole No. 15 the green slants to the left and so it’s hard to keep the ball on the green,” Martin said. “You never know when something like that is going to happen. It’s kind of an uplifting moment even if you aren’t the one that does it.”
McKnight has hit three hole-in-ones at Pine Creek, his last hole-in-one came in 2002 at hole No. 3 which was from 137 yards out.
“The green has improved since I’ve hit mine,” McKnight said. “I can’t seem to get real close to the hole on that. I haven’t learned how to hit it yet.”
Ironically, growing up near Delta State University, McKnight had no interest in the game of golf.
“I used to pass Delta State University and there is a golf course right off the highway and from my school bus, I’d look down and see these boys hitting a ball and would walk a long distance to hit it again,” McKnight said. “I (thought) they are crazy to get out there and hit that ball, but once get you into it’s a challenge. A challenge is something I enjoy taking part in.”
Prior to his retirement, McKnight spent 41 years in the national guard with five years being stationed in Germany during the Cold War and 31 years as a postal worker. Military training at Camp Shelby led McKnight to Hattiesburg.
“We used to come to Camp Shelby for training,” McKnight said. “I just said when I retire, I’m going where it stays green all year around.”
It wasn’t until McKnight was around 55 years old when he decided to pick up golf clubs.
His first hole in one didn’t come until 1994 at the Kirkwood National Golf Club in Holly Springs from 147 yards out.
“We were down in the bottom and the green was real high,” McKnight said. “I hit the ball and said, ‘It’s going to be close to the green’ and I got up there and started looking for the ball. I looked all around the green and my partners who were playing with me were looking too. I knew the ball hit on the left side of the green and it favored moving right. I said y’all go ahead and I’ll hunt my ball down and maybe I’ll find it and maybe not.” They walked on the green and said, ‘The ball is in the hole!’ It didn’t occur to me at all that it was in the hole. I just thought I was mighty lucky for the ball to roll that way.”
Interestingly enough, it’s actually the second time McKnight hit a hole-in-one at hole No. 15 at Pine Creek which was back in 1999.
“I was on hole 15 and I was playing by myself actually, but there were four people teeing off on hole 16 from the tee box right to the side of hole 15’s green,” McKnight said. “They were watching me because you could hit each other with the ball. I teed off and the (local) pro was watching me and when it went the hole, he threw his hands up and said ,‘It’s in the hole!’ I drove down and they all verified it and signed my card. I’ve been mighty lucky.”
For Martin, McKnight’s charisma and remarkable feat is something to strive towards.
“When you see someone like (Harold) that does it at 90-years-old. That is something,” Martin said. “I hope I’m still playing as well as he is when I reach that age.”
