Kayleen Cubbal
New Castle News
NEW CASTLE —
It is a tale of two golfers.
But the real story here is one of perseverance.
Randy Crognale, 66, of Maryland Avenue and Richard Melvin, 83, of Heckathorn Road in Scott Township, had not met before having their photo taken together yesterday. Yet the two had similar, unforgettable stories during the past week.
Crognale, you see, never had scored a hole-in-one in 52 years of golfing before he got an ace at Pinehill Golf Course in Greenville on May 16. Then, on Saturday, lightning struck again for Crognale when he aced the 177-yard No. 3 hole at Stoughton Acres Golf Course in Butler.
As for Melvin? He had an ace in 1955 at Sylvan Heights Golf Course — then waited 55 years for his next one, which came when he found the cup on the No. 8 hole on the Fourth of July at Borland Golf Center in New Wilmington.
Crognale, who has lived in Lawrence County for more than 30 years, grew up in Westmoreland County and played on the high school team at New Kensington High.
He says he came close to holes-in-one throughout his lifetime, but never got the job done until he took a 19-degree hybrid club and aced the 190-yard No. 17 hole at Pinehill.
“I was with my wife and another couple and it was the first time we played the course,” he said. “The hole was a little uphill and we could see that the ball landed on the green, but we weren’t sure it went in until we saw it in the cup.
“It was a pretty exciting moment,” he said. “I played a lot of golf over the years until it finally happened for me. I’ve had balls hanging on the edge of the cup, I’ve hit the flagstick many times, but it just never went in.”
As for his second ace, at Stoughton Acres, where he plays every Saturday, “I saw it the whole way,” he said. “The ball took a couple of hops and rolled and lo and behold, it disappeared.”
Crognale, who was partnered with Jim Post, Paul Bartfalvi and Jim Klug at Stoughton Acres, used a 5-iron for ace No. 2.
Retired after 32 years in the insurance business, Crognale never is far away from the game.
He holds a 10-handicap for 18 holes playing in the Warren Electric League at Castle Hills. For the past seven years, he also has built and repaired clubs out of his home.
“It is a hobby more than anything,” he said. “I just enjoy doing it.”
For Crognale, he hopes that ace No. 3 is not as long in coming as No. 1 was. He quoted the legendary Ben Hogan, who was said to never have had an ace in competitive golf.
“Ben Hogan used to say that if he ever had a hole-in-one, it would be by mistake,” Crognale said, adding with a laugh, “for some reason, I thought of that when I got the first one.”
As for Melvin, he spent a portion of July 4 golfing with his daughter, Patti Urian. He used a 5-wood to hit his tee shot on the 137-yard No. 8 hole and said he lost sight of the ball while it was in the air.
“We looked around and didn’t see it, so I just assumed it went over the green,” Melvin said. “All of a sudden, I heard my daughter say, ‘Dad, it’s in the cup.’ I almost fell over.”
Melvin said he plays more racquetball than golf these days, but he always will remember July 4, 2010.
“Some people never get a hole-in-one their whole lives,” he said. “You sure never forget it when you do.”
