32 | MAY 20 • 2021 

A

hole-in-one is every 
golfer’s dream.
Ken Nathan has 
three aces, one at each of the 
three predominantly Jewish 
country clubs in the Detroit 
area.
It took 23 years for the 
Bloomfield Hills resident to 
achieve the unique feat.
One of Nathan’s holes-
in-one was shot on an 
unseasonably warm late fall 
day. One was on a bitterly 
cold early spring day. One 
earned him $10,000.
He shot his first hole-in-
one Nov. 29, 1998, at Tam-
O-Shanter Country Club in 
West Bloomfield.
His second ace was shot 

June 2, 2003, at Franklin 
Hills Country Club in 
Farmington Hills.
Then came an 18-year 
dry spell before Nathan shot 
a hole-in-one March 23 at 
Knollwood Country Club in 
West Bloomfield.
“How many rounds of 
golf did I play between my 
second and third holes-in-
one? It had to be at least 
2,000,” Nathan said.
“I’ve been a member at 
Knollwood for about 20 
years. I really wanted to 
shoot a hole-in-one there. 
I came close several times 
before I finally did it. I holed 
some shots from the fairway 
there, but I never had a hole-

in-one (before March 23).”
Nathan, 59, and playing 
partner Spencer Steel of West 
Bloomfield pretty much had 
the golf course to themselves 
at Knollwood on a cold 
day two months ago when 
Nathan aced the 173-yard 
17th hole with a 6-iron.
His tee shot landed about 
12 feet from the pin, made a 
slight right turn, and fell into 
the cup.
“The green at No. 17 
slopes from left to right. My 
tee shot looked like a putt 
after it landed,” Nathan said.
Nathan was all alone at the 
tee of the 11th hole at Tam-
O-Shanter, where he was a 
member at the time, on a 
warm late November day in 
1998. Weary from waiting 
for his playing partners, he 
decided to tee off.
His 6-iron shot went 
into the hole with nobody 
witnessing it. But it still 
counted as an ace.
Nathan didn’t see his 
hole-in-one drop into the 
cup during a 2003 outing at 
Franklin Hills.
“I hadn’t played at Frankin 
Hills very much. I didn’t 
know the course very well,” 
he said.

That’s why when he teed 
off at the 143-yard ninth 
hole with a pitching wedge 
and thought the shot was 
going long, he turned to say 
something to a friend.
His shot hit the back of the 
green and rolled downhill 
toward the pin.
“There were spotters by 
the green. All of a sudden, 
they got out of their chairs 
and started screaming,” 
Nathan said. “I wondered 
what was happening.”
The screaming was 
because Nathan won $10,000 
for making a hole-in-one on 
that hole.
“I kept half the money, and 
gave the other half to the 
fundraiser,” he said.
There’s no doubt Nathan 
is all in when it comes to 
golf. He plays as often as 
he can and calls himself a 
competitive golfer.
“Playing golf also is a 
social time for me,” he said.
A bankruptcy attorney 
with an office in Farmington 
Hills, Nathan graduated from 
Southfield-Lathrup High 
School (1979), Michigan 
State University (1983) and 
the Detroit College of Law 
(1986). 

SPORTS HIGHlights

NMLS#2289
brought to you in partnership with 

SPENCER STEEL

Bloomfi
 eld Hills resident Ken Nathan 
has a hole-in-one at Tam-O-Shanter, 
Franklin Hills and Knollwood.

Country
Club Conqueror

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Ken Nathan is a 
happy guy after 
shooting a hole-
in-one in March at 
Knollwood Country 
Club.

“I’VE BEEN A MEMBER AT 
KNOLLWOOD FOR ABOUT 20 
YEARS. I REALLY WANTED TO 
SHOOT A HOLE-IN-ONE THERE. 
I CAME CLOSE SEVERAL TIMES 
BEFORE I FINALLY DID IT.”

— KEN NATHAN

