Dein erstes Forum » lead against Ubaldo Jimenez (5-10) in the fifth. H

PHOENIX -- The dimpled ball soared in a parabolic arc, landing 10 feet behind and a little right of the flagstick. Immense spin created by crisp contact pulled the ball back on the firm, tightly-mown grass, slope turning the ball toward the cup.This was it. After more than 160 swings over three rounds, we were finally going to witness a hole-in-one.Instead, the ball trickled to a stop six inches to the right. Great shot, just not an ace.Think about all the rounds of golf youve played and how many hole-in-ones youve had, said Matthew Phillips, GM and head pro at Palm Valley Golf Club. Its not an easy thing to do.Thats for sure.According to the National Hole-in-One Registry, an average golfer has a 12,000-to-1 chance at an ace. Low-handicap players its a 5,000-to-1 shot, tour players 3,000 to 1.But its not just the odds that make aces among sports most magical moments.Unlike rolling 300 in bowling or tossing a no-hitter in baseball, a hole-in-one is possible for anyone, with a little skill and lots of luck; 3-year-olds are in the aces club, so are centenarian grandmothers.My buddy Jeff Locke and I were already members -- twice for me, once for him -- so we figured we could at least scare the hole if not knock one in, given enough cracks at it.We tried stacking the odds, playing Palm Valleys 4,745-yard Lakes Course because it has 10 par 3s instead of the standard four. Arizona also has the third-most aces in the United States, matching Michigan with 5 percent, so we were in a good place to do it.The quest nearly ended right after it started. Hitting first, Locke pured a wedge on the opening par 3 -- the 118-yard third hole -- sending it on a direct line toward the flag.How about a walk-off on the first shot? I said as the ball floated toward the flagstick.Nope. It landed 18 feet away to set up a good birdie chance, but no ace.Weve got this, I said as we walked back to the cart.Foolish thinking.The next three-plus hours were spent hitting balls toward flagsticks between 109 and 182 yards away, none really having any chance of going in. Our best shot after 15 holes and 60 shots -- we played the back 9 twice -- was 5 feet, by Locke on our second chance at No. 15.We originally planned to play one round, hopefully get our ace and be done with it. Disgusted with our performance, we wanted another shot.Maybe Ill get a ringer for the next round, said Locke, who works for golf marketing firm Communication Links.He did, adding aspiring tour player Kyle Maze and Dale Moseke of OB Sports Golf Management for our next round.Maze, who works at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, had a fluid, effortless swing, the exact opposite of my Tin Man-lurching-at-the-ball move.He hit a couple of solid shots the first two par 3s, then stepped up to the 173-yard sixth hole.The 7-iron is my favorite club, Maze said as he took a couple practice swings with it. I had both of my hole-in-ones with a 7.It makes sense. Of all aces, 7-irons match 8-irons in producing the most, accounting for 14 percent each.Maze gave himself a chance at it, too, drawing a shot right at the flag.Perfectly on line, it hit six inches from the hole and ... kicked left. The ball stays straight, maybe it goes in. Instead, he had a 12-foot birdie putt -- another good shot, no ace.Maze and Moseke had to leave after nine holes, and Locke and I somehow got worse on the back nine; our closest shot was eight feet, again on No. 17.Well, that was pathetic, I said to Locke, who nodded his head in agreement. Guess well have to do this one more time.For the final round, we enlisted another ringer, Aaron Ramos, a junior at Desert Edge High School who won the 2015 Division II state championship.Locke and I hit some good shots -- seven inside 10 feet -- before being joined by Ramos and Junior Golf Association of Arizona executive director Scott McNevin for a second 18.After some quality shots on the front nine, Ramos stepped to the 10th tee with pitching wedge in hand.With a fluid motion, he sent a shot that appeared to be too far right. Once it hit the green, spin pulled the ball back as if it were on a string anchored inside the cup. We watched with hope as the ball took the slope toward the cup, only to grimace as it stopped just to the right.I think that was the one, I said.It was. We really didnt come close after that.One hundred-seventy four swings between a golf professional, a top junior player, three people who work in the golf industry and one hacking sports writer, and no hole-in-one.According to the odds, thats precisely what should have happened. Jordan 11 Cheap Online . PAUL, Minn. Wholesale Jordan 4 Cheap . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. http://www.wholesalejordan11.com/discount-jordan-6.html . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. Jordan 4 For Sale Cheap . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Air Jordan 6 Outlet . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. BALTIMORE -- Stunned by an early barrage of home runs, the Houston Astros put on an offensive show of their own to emphatically end a five-game losing streak.Jose Altuve homered and had five RBI, and Houston rallied to beat the Baltimore Orioles 15-8 on Friday night despite allowing four homers in the first inning.George Springer went 4 for 5 with a home run for the Astros, who also got long balls from Evan Gattis and Teoscar Hernandez.Early on, Houston appeared destined to drop to .500 for the first time since June 1.The Orioles became the first team in the modern era (since 1900) to open a game with four home runs before making an out, according to STATS. Adam Jones hit Collin McHughs first pitch into the seats in left field and Hyun Soo Kim singled before Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo homered in succession.Houston answered with a five-run second to go up 6-5. Altuve capped the surge with a two-run double with two outs to chase Wade Miley, who matched the shortest start of his career.You go from really being shell-shocked in the first with the home runs -- to knocking out their starter in the top of the second, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Its hard to describe, because youre not used to seeing that at this level. But that was quite an outburst for us.Springer said, The key to that game was that second inning.When the Astros finally got done running around the bases, they had a victory to savor.I know that this game is going to create some momentum, Altuve said, and were going to keep winning games.Altuve became the first Astro to have 20 homers and 20 steals in a season since Carlos Beltran in 2004.The Orioles, meanwhile, have 11 home runs in the first two games of this series. But Baltimore didnt have enough firepower in this one to overcome its poor pitching, which surrendered a season-high 15 runs and 18 hits.Miley was the most obvious culprit. Staked to a 5-1 lead, he gott two more outs before being lifted.ddddddddddddIt was terrible. Its embarrassing for that to happen, he said. I flat-out stunk.The left-hander is 0-2 with a 9.53 ERA in four starts since being traded from Seattle on July 31.Chris Devenski (2-4) allowed one hit in four innings for the Astros after McHugh yielded seven runs and nine hits in three innings.I dont know if Ive ever been blitzed like that before in my career, the right-hander said. Todays game in general was kind of a crazy.Springer provided a glimpse of things to come by hitting a leadoff homer on the fifth pitch from Miley.After the teams traded five-run innings, Baltimore went up 7-6 in the third and Houston pulled even in the fourth.The Astros took a 9-7 lead against Ubaldo Jimenez (5-10) in the fifth. Hernandez blooped an RBI single to center and Springer greeted Tyler Wilson with a run-scoring single.Pedro Alvarez homered in the bottom half before Houston pulled away in the sixth, getting a two-run homer from Altuve and a solo shot from Gattis.ROSTER MOVESAstros: Optioned reliever James Hoyt to Triple-A Fresno and recalled Brad Peacock from the same club. We need some fresh arms up here, Hinch said.Orioles: Optioned Wilson to Triple-A Norfolk after the game.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: OF Jake Marisnick got the night off as he tries to work through a sore groin. Hes played in only two games since Aug. 11. Hes not moving quite at full speed, Hinch said.Orioles: OF Joey Rickard (thumb) wont be ready to play when rosters expand on Sept. 1, manager Buck Showalter said.UP NEXTAstros: Mike Fiers (8-6, 4.66 ERA) makes his 88th career start Saturday, facing the Orioles for the first time.Orioles: Chris Tillman (15-4, 3.46) gets the call after having his start Wednesday pushed back because of a sore right shoulder. ' ' '