Dan Mills: Lido Shores Golfer Extraordinaire

Dan's first hole in one.

Lido Shores has a new golf celebrity in our our midst. At least we think so. Dan Mills, he and wife Marg live at 1252 Center Place, has been playing golf for 40 years. An 8-handicap, Dan hits the links five or six times a week. Now that's passion. But despite playing thousands of rounds of golf, at age 53, Dan had yet to achieve golf's loftiest achievement, a hole-in-one. Until two-weeks ago that is. And not only did he achieve his first hole-in-one, but more impressive was the albratross (double eagle) he made the very next day at his home course, Sara Bay Country Club.

Dan Mills with wife Marg at the LSPOA 2012 annual meeting.

Here's the story. Dan was playing in the prestigious Green Jacket Championship with Clark Court as his partner. In the first round, Dan lofted a pitching wedge onto the green on the 130 yard, 4th hole. It rolled into the cup for his first career ace.

The next day, on the par-5 18th hole, Dan drove the fairway 273 yards. It was still 202 yards to the hole. He ripped a 21-degree loft hybrid club toward the green, and when he got there, didn't see the ball. Yep, in the cup for a double eagle. Pretty impressive, eh? (Dan's from Toronto, by the way.)

Sara Bay head pro Daren King says the odds of a low-handicap amateur making a hole in one are 15-thousand to 1 and six-million to one for a double eagle.

Dan's wife Marg is also an avid golfer, and in fact, the couple managed to win the 2-day Sara Bay Couples Championship just last week, edging out their nearest opponent by 13 strokes. Congratulations Dan and Marg!  ~ BT
Click to see Sarasota Herald Tribune article January 14, 2012