picture to be taken tuesday morning

FLEMING ISLAND - Not only was his 15th hole tee shot, about 155 yards, at the Fleming Island Golf Club a blind drive, it didn't feel quite right when his club smacked the ball, but the group behind him praised the shot.
"They were behind us kind of hurrying us and when I hit it, they were slightly impressed and told me that it was good shot for that hole," said 77 year old Garry L. Swearingen, who was joined by son Garry D. Swearingen, 55, of Atlanta, on a family Christmas visit in December. "I thought it was about a 155 yard shot, because I was not having a good round on any hole before that."
Nonetheless, Swearingen nailed his fourth career hole in one in December without ever seeing the ball land.
"It is a three par hole and I hit my drive with a driver instead of an iron because I was short all day long," said Swearingen, 77, of St. Johns County, but a frequent weekly visitor to Clay County for golf rounds at any one of the numerous courses in town. "That hole you can't really see the green so when we got to the green, my son had his ball on the green and we were kind of looking around for mine."
Swearingen remembered that the 15th hole had a ravine on it with a right side bend.
"It has big deep ravine and the rest of the green disappears to the right," said Swearingen. "You have to kind skirt the trees so the ball lands deep on the green."
Upon approaching the 15th green, Swearingen's son's shot was on the front end of the green with no sign of a second ball.
"He landed on the front of the green and had his putter and I didn't see my ball so went back to my bag to get a chipper and a putter," said Swearingen. "We thought I wasn't on the green and I was going to have to chip to the green."
As the two inspected his son's putt route, the younger Swearingen walked by the hole and noticed the ball.
"I was like 12 feet away and he walked up to measure up his putt and glanced and said, 'dad, come here," said Swearingen. "It was my ball; a MaxFly, ironically, the same ball as my first hole in one."
Swearingen noted his first of the four career hole in ones came at about age 30.
"My son was at the first one in Atlanta I think when he was 14, then I had one in New Jersey," said Swearingen.
Swearingen's one regret was that the group did not take a photo of the astounding shot.
"We were just kind of moving along in front of the group behind us and, again, ironically, I parred the rest of the three shot pars after that," said Swearingen, who has been golfing since his 20s. "So it wound up a good finish."
Swearingen said the fourth hole in one fulfilled a lifelong wish that he get that historic fourth one soon.
"I kind of had a pact with myself that I would get my fourth before I turned 80 or before I died," said Swearingen. "I only had three more years left on my calendar."