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