A 12-year-old golfer in Kansas City did something most players never do even once in a lifetime — he made two holes-in-one back to back. Fin Criswell was playing the par-3 course at Heart of America Golf Course in Swope Park when he aced the third hole, then immediately followed it up with an ace on the next hole.
Criswell made his first hole-in-one and then, according to KMBC, tried to call his family right away to share the news. Nobody picked up. He told the station he hoped just to hit a good shot and maybe birdie the next hole, then grabbed a 9-iron for the shot. His second ball landed short of the green, rolled toward the cup, and dropped in.
His cousin, Henry Wood, was there to see both shots happen. Wood described watching the second ball roll into the cup, and said Criswell was frustrated that his father still had not picked up the phone after the first ace. Criswell reacted with excitement once the second shot went in, and later said the whole thing felt unreal, though he described both shots simply as lucky.
A Feat Even Tour Pros Rarely Pull Off
The odds behind what Criswell did are almost impossible to fathom. A five-year study by prize insurance provider US Hole In One, cited by US Hole In One, calculated the probability of an average golfer acing consecutive par-3 holes at roughly 1 in 156.25 million, based on more than six million actual shot attempts. Separately, the National Hole-in-One Registry estimates the odds of hitting two aces anywhere in the same 18-hole round at 67 million to 1, according to PGA.com.
Even at the highest levels of the sport, back-to-back aces are exceedingly rare. Teaching professional Frank Bensel Jr. recorded consecutive holes-in-one on the fourth and fifth holes during the second round of the 2024 U.S. Senior Open, marking the first time it had happened in 129 years of USGA championship history, per the USGA. Before that, English golfer John Hudson pulled off the feat at the 1971 Martini International, acing a 195-yard par-3 followed immediately by an ace on a 311-yard par-4, according to the DP World Tour.
Young Golfers Rarely Get in on the Ace Club
What makes Criswell's story even more unusual is his age. Golfers between 10 and 29 years old account for just 12 percent of all reported holes-in-one, while players 50 and older make up 60 percent of aces, per data from the National Hole-in-One Registry cited by GolfPass. The average age of women who record an ace is 55 years old, and most players spend roughly 24 years on the course before making their first one, according to PGA.com's reporting on the same registry data.
For an average amateur, the odds of even a single ace on a par-3 hole sit at 12,500 to 1, with only 1 to 2 percent of active golfers making one in any given year. Individual courses across the country typically see just 10 to 15 holes-in-one annually out of approximately 25,000 to 30,000 rounds played, roughly one every 1,667 to 3,000 rounds, according to MyGolfSpy.
A Course Built for Kids Delivers a Grown-Up Miracle
The setting adds another layer to the story. Heart of America's Rock Course is a 9-hole, par-27 layout spanning under 1,600 yards, surrounded by water and trees and specifically designed for junior golfers, beginners, and short-game practice, according to Kansas City Parks & Recreation. The Swope Park facility is also home to the Tom Watson Golf Academy, named for the Kansas City-born Hall of Famer. Kansas City Parks & Recreation lists Heart Of America Golf Course at 7501 Blue River Road in Kansas City, with the facility reachable at 816-513-8940. According to Kansas City Parks & Recreation's 2016 Year in Review, Watson himself officially opened the Tom Watson Golf Academy at Heart of America Golf Course in Swope Park on April 30.
Criswell told KMBC he plans to keep chasing more moments like this one, saying he'll play any day a course is open. Whether his family ever picked up the phone that day remains part of the charm of the story — but the numbers behind what he did on that par-3 course are no joke, no matter how many calls he had to make to share the news.
