Former Sheldon resident defies age, sinks hole-in-one at 93

Sometimes, it seems, like a fine wine, golfers get better with age.

Consider 93-year-old former Vernon County native Guy Storrs Jones, editor of the Sheldon Enterprise from 1933-37.

Sheldon recently made a hole-in-one on at Tomoka Oaks Country Club in his hometown of Ormond Beach, Fla.

"Jay Leno had a woman on his show the other day that is 100 (who made a hole-in-one)," Jones said in a telephone interview Friday afternoon. "Down here, of course, we have them off-and-on, but usually the players are 50 or 60 years old.

"Not usually 93. I have made three hole-in-ones in my lifetime, all in Florida. I played up in Michigan for 30-some years and I didn't make any there. The last hole-in-one I had was in 1992, so that's 15 years ago.

Jones said he was using a John Daly driver, a gift from his son, Robert, for his 92nd birthday, when he recorded his ace.

"I had no idea I would get it," he said. "My eyes are shot ... I can't see very well, but, by golly, that ball goes right in the 4 1/4-inch hole and you don't know how it pleased me.

"My partners said, 'It's pretty close, it's pretty close,' but nobody knew for sure until we got up there and looked in the hole and there it was. I was tickled to death. I play the senior tees because I'm old enough, they've said, and it was 135 yards on the fifth hole (a par-3)."

Jones' wife, Dorothy, said her husband's ace has added a spring to his step.

"He has been so excited about it," she said.

Downright giddy, if you will.

"She thinks I'm overdoing it," Jones said, "but I don't think I have long to live. I might as well live it up. At my age, I might die tomorrow, but I'm just one of the lucky ones."

Jones' first ace came in 1980, when he got one on a 180-yard hole at Tomoka Oaks. In 1992, he got his second on a 170-yard shot.

"The first two were off the regular tees, and then I moved to the Senior tees a couple of years ago," Jones said

An interesting sidelight, Jones' son, Robert, was the editor of the Southwest Mail and Weekly Post in the early1940s before getting drafted into the war.

Jones, who left Sheldon in 1937 to take a job near Flint, Mich., and later moved to St. Louis, retiring in 1978, said he still keeps in touch with some Nevadans, mentioning Helen Emery and Darlene Sheridan.

For the last 30 years, he's been soaking up the sun and enjoying his retirement.

"We're about a mile from the ocean and we love the ocean," Jones said. "We live in Northern Florida near Jacksonville, about 90 miles south.

"We live in a suburb outside Daytona Beach."

Another interesting sidelights deals with Jones' deceased mother's maiden name, Storrs.

"That's my midde name," Jones said. "My mother was named Bessie Storrs, and her ancestors up there in Connecticut made so much money as tavern owners that they donated land for the University of Connecticut, so they named the whole town after them, Stoors, Conn.

"That's my middle name. That's my claim to fame."

Besides making a hole-in-one at 93 years young, that is.

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Seventy-one-year-old Art Farmer of Fort Scott, Kan., recorded a hole-in-one on Thursday at Nevada's Frank E. Peters Golf Course.

Farmer's ace came on hole No. 11, a par-3, 163-yard distance.

It was the third hole-in-one in Farmer's lifetime. He was using a No. 4 hybrid club, and the feat was witnessed by Lorel Watts and David Grubb.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, 85-year-old Nevadan Dick Staihr didn't get a hole-in-one, but he bested his age in what he called "one of his best (rounds) in some years."

Staihr shot a 6-over 78 off the red tees at Frank E. Peters Golf Course. His 41-37--78 game was witnessed by Bernie Wooldridge, John McKinley and Harold Kinmey -- all members of the Senior Golf League.

Staihr had success on the back nine, with eight pars and one bogey, which he also added "was my best in years. Sure enjoyed it."