After 25 long years, the moment finally arrived on a partly cloudy day at Rainbow Hills. It was the first round of 2024, on January 2nd, and the weather for the first nine was perfect. As we transitioned to the back nine, the marshal directed us to the Forest course. To our delight, we had it all to ourselves, a serene expanse of green under a spacious sky.

By the time we reached the 6th hole, I was the last to hit — or at least, that's how I remember it. The range finder showed 102 meters straight to the pin. Typically, this would be a perfect shot for my 50° wedge, but something made me hesitate. On a whim, I switched to my 46°, hoping for a shot that would land beyond the pin and spin back.

Despite losing 4 balls earlier and feeling rather detached, I lined up my shot with a ProV1 Shamrock — perhaps my lucky charm. The ball soared, landed precisely 6 meters beyond the pin, and began its spin back. My flight's screams of "Masuuuk! Masuuuk!" filled the air, urging the ball to "get in!" in Bahasa. I stood in disbelief, speechless, until the ball disappeared into the hole.

The euphoria was palpable; we all jumped and cheered. The rush was dizzying, a kick of pure adrenaline. My cart buddy, as shaken as I was, confessed he'd never witnessed a hole-in-one before. After 25 years of golf, this was the payoff I'd been dreaming of.

The moral? Great things come unexpectedly. Patience and hope are virtues that time and again prove their worth. And sometimes, just sometimes, they manifest on the golf course, courtesy of Titleist's gear.