WING POINT GOLF COURSE –  A hole in one.

It is the ultimate prize for any golfer, a white whale that many will spend their lives trying to catch.

Most will fail.

Then again, most golfers aren’t Mary Boynton.

The Bainbridge High School golf team senior successfully made a hole in one on the fifth hole of the Wing Point Golf Course during a game against Lakeside High School Thursday, Oct. 3. The hole is listed as a par-3.

“It could not have happened to a nicer kid,” said Spartan Head Coach Ian Havill. “It’s very unusual to get a hole in one. I’ve never had one, and no one seems to be able to recall that happening there ever before.”

Boynton, who only just joined the team last year, said she knew the shot was good right away, but could not have guessed she would make a hole in one.

“I definitely felt good about it,” she said. “I’d never done exceptionally well on that hole before. The sun blocked it and I couldn’t see it went in.”

Standing nearby the tee off as well as several other players were Havill, head coach of the boys team Tom Zuzelski and BHS principal Jake Haley.

“We all thought that it could go in,” Havill said. “It was a great shot. She slammed it just short of the green and it rolled in.”

Boynton says she was completely shocked.

“I fell down on the ground,” she said. “I was very surprised.”

Good news travels fast in a small town like Bainbridge and before Boynton had a chance to call her father, who is also an avid golfer, one of his friends on the course let him know about his daughter’s achievement.

“He came down and watched me finish the last holes,” Boynton said.

Though the exact odds of a player managing a hole in one depends on the skill of the player and the amount of time they spend playing, what is certain is that it is extremely rare and very unlikely.

According to Golflink.com, “In 2000, Golf Digest hired Francis Scheid to determine the odds of making a hole in one. Scheid broke the odds down based on the quality of the player and the amount of play. He said that the odds of a Professional Golfers Association tour player making a hole in one were 3,000-to-1. His data showed a low handicap player to have 5,000-to-1 odds, while an average handicap player had 12,000-to-1 odds.”

Boynton is unsure if she will continue to play golf competitively after high school, but will most certainly continue to play the game for herself.

“Mary is an asset as a golfer,” Havill said. “I value her as a person who is friendly, outgoing and a great example for our seven freshman players.”