A group of best friends from Lomira High School attended the same English 9 class on Friday, December 10, 2023. The best friends, Alex, Aidan, Chase, and Layton spent a great deal of their class time speaking with each other and exchanging gossip, which prevented them from completing all of their homework. Three of the boys, Alex, Layton, and Aidan were scheduled to play a basketball game late that Friday evening, so they had inquired as to whether they would be able to relax and unwind in Chase's heated garage or not. Because they would be able to play on the golf simulator, they thought that this would be a fun event. Layton Pahnke, the group leader, approved this plan. Suddenly, they had something to do after school before the basketball game. However, Layton, Alex, and Aidan had to leave before 5:30 pm in order to attend their bus that leaves before their game. Due to the lengthy walk back to school and the cold weather, they would leave 30 minutes early. They had concluded that they would leave Chase's house at 5:05.

Seated anxiously in the hard metal desks, staring at the clock, the boys eagerly awaited each move of the minute hand. There was a sense of anticipation as they waited for the bell to ring over the school's speaker system. Time ticked by, time ticked by, time ticked by......RING! The best friends, Alex, Aidan, Chase, and Layton, all raced out of the door after the bell loudly rang to Chase's home. A golf simulator measuring 13' by 10' feet was revealed when Layton turned the doorknob on Chase's tan-ish garage door. All of them hurried inside to select their preferred golf clubs. As soon as Chase turned on his computer, he began setting up the game. In anticipation, the other boys eagerly waited behind him while he typed their names into the slots on the bright screen. Chase chose the golf course where he was the most proficient. After he had completed setting up the course, they all exchanged glances and chanted, “Let's do this!”

The lineup order went to Alex, Chase, Layton, and lastly Aidan. Alex grabbed his preferred club and lined up in position. Standing sideways, roughly a foot away from the ball, he took his practice swing. He was confident in his posture so he stepped forward to take his shot. Alex gripped his ping g140 matte black driver’s handle tightly, as he thought to himself, “You can do this.” Closing his eyes with fear, he continued to go through the motions of swinging his club. Within a second he heard the sound of the face of his club hitting the white ball. Before he had the chance to even open his eyes, the noise of laughter behind him consumed the whole garage. As he nervously squinted his eyes open, he faintly saw the screen revealing the ball plunged into a deep blue watercolor pond and he sighed with disappointment. The golf course’s rotation had already moved onto the next player in the lineup, Chase, which left Alex to contemplate his horrible swing in the back.

“Come on Chase, you're up,” echoed throughout the warm garage. Chase strapped on his worn-out glove and grabbed his favorite driver without hesitation. He knew exactly what club he wanted and what one would be perfect for the course. He stepped onto the green turf and placed the ball that Alex had previously hit into position. He backed away from the ball while exhaling a deep breath he took a second before. He quickly got in a practice swing, as he was anxious to hit the real ball. After Chase followed through, he took a half step forward to get into position. He knew this would be an easy shot because the night before he had mastered it, along with the entire course. “I bet I could do this in my sleep,” Chase confidently mumbled under his breath. He held the handle of his club tightly and in a solid one, two, three, motion the club had made contact with the ball. The boys in the back were focused on the screen. Their eyes followed the ball up in the air until it touched the ground. 230 yards later, the ball had landed and the hole was in sight. “Nice shot,” exclaimed Aidan. Layton got out of the back and reached in for a handshake, as it was his turn next. 

Layton had already picked out his club while he waited for his friends to finish their turns, so he was ready. He looked around to see the setup of the course, but while doing so his eyes were immediately drawn to the clock above Chase’s computer, which read 5:02 pm. He knew he and all of his friends, excluding Chase, had to hurry so they would make it to the school on time for their late basketball game. Layton thought if he didn't take a practice swing it would save time so he quickly placed the ball down and angled his body in place. The club was forcefully swung back and forth, which led to hitting the ball. Since Layton was considered to be a beginner in golf, his ball expectedly only went 42 yards straight into a sand pit. He wasn't surprised with the outcome of his swing, but he wished he could have at least hit the ball 70 yards. Layton was full of good sportsmanship so he smiled anyway, making sure he held his head up high. As he happily walked off of the turf, he handed his driver to the last participant of the game, Aidan. 

Aidan was aware of the time so he decided that he was going to just have fun and not be so serious with his swing. He dropped the ball into place and told his friends in the back to not laugh. They all had a pretty good understanding that with his goofiness, he would not have the best shot. Aidan got into position; he widened his stance, he flexed his knees, and he angled his feet. As the clock switched from 5:10 pm to 5:11 pm, the head of the club hit the ball. Aidan was stuck in his followed-through position, amazed to see the pattern that the ball on the screen had made. The ball had passed the sand pit Layton’s ball was stuck in, the pond Alex’s ball was submerged in, and the grass Chase’s far-distance ball landed in. The ball slightly curved downward and the boys were shocked. “No way!” shouted Chase. “There's no way,” he repeated. With the ball still moving, the hole was in sight. Aidan tried to block out Chase in the background as he was amazed. “ACE!” The boys excitedly screamed. Aidan had gotten a hole in one and was utterly surprised due to his little efforts leading up to this. Aidan had the biggest grin on his face, one cheek to the other, and could not believe what had just happened. The boys celebrated and congratulated Aidan. Taking turns, the boys continued to finish their game and all hoped to get an ACE, just like Aidan did. As the game came to an end, a phone alarm went off in the background. Alex had previously set an alarm for 5:30 pm so they would make it on time for practice. As they grabbed their belongings, Chase looked on his computer screen to reveal the winner of the course. He was shocked to see his name in the number one slot but decided to keep that to himself because he wanted Aidan to enjoy his victory. 

Chase walked the boys, Alex, Layton, and Aidan out of his garage door and continued to congratulate Aidan. “Same time on Monday?” Chase asked. The boys smiled and said, “You bet, I’ll see you in English class.” The three boys started their long journey back to the school for their basketball game, while Chase stayed back in his garage to practice his golf. “If only I could get another hole-in-one,” he thought.