By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
NORTON, Massachusetts (April 24, 2026) – The ball didn’t look like much off the club. It came out low, hit the ground early, and started to bounce, nothing unusual for a beginner still figuring things out.
But then it kept going, rolling closer to the green than expected, picking up just enough speed to stay alive as it tracked toward the flag on the roughly 60-yard 3rd hole, the shortest of the 18 holes at The Links at Mass Golf.
For a moment, no one said anything. Then the group of teens all started running toward the green, awed by what they just witnessed.
By the time it dropped into the cup, Norton teenager Carter Theos had done something most people don’t accomplish in a lifetime of attempts — he made a hole-in-one on just the third hole of the first round of golf he had ever played.
Not his first of the season, or his first at the course. First round ever.
That’s what makes it hard to process, even for him.
“I was in shock,” said Theos, a 7th grader at Norton Middle School. “I didn’t know what I did at first. It’s like one in a million, honestly. It’s one of my favorite sports moments ever.”
It all took place on Monday afternoon, April 13. Carter was tagging along with his friends, Timmy, Jacob, and Landon, most of whom had just taken to golf in the past year.
They’ve known each other as classmates, share an active group chat, and are always looking for something to do. Golf just happened to be the thing that day as the group ventured over to the Links at Mass Golf, an 18-hole par-3 facility just about a mile from their school.
Carter, a multi-sport athlete who has found success in sports like basketball and lacrosse, had been to Topgolf before, but never played an actual course. So he rented a set of lefty clubs, stepped onto the first tee, and figured it out as he went.
Like most beginners, it didn’t come easy.
“Terrible,” the first group echoed with laughter when asked about the quality of golf before Carter’s miraculous ace.
That’s part of what makes the moment land. Anyone who’s tried something new knows the feeling of trial and error, making small adjustments, and just hoping the next swing comes out a little better.
By the third hole, Carter wasn’t thinking about anything more than that. He just wanted to hit it solid. Instead, he ended up in an argument. Carter wanted to put a driver in his hands and just get the ball closer to its intended target. While Jacob and company tried to talk him out of it, they let him try it anyway. What’s the worst that could happen?
Hitting second, Carter stepped up and swung. The ball landed short and started to roll, across the fairway, onto the green, and not resting until it disappeared, and an unexpected celebration broke out.
Other groups nearby took notice of the chaos. One even gave the typical snarky advice of, “Never pick up a golf club again.”
Because how do you follow that?
Carter thought about the people he’d have to tell. On his mom’s side, golf isn’t new, it’s something people have spent years, even decades, trying to get right.
“They’re not mad,” he said. “But they’re jealous. Some of them have been golfing for 40 years…they didn’t believe it at first.”
Drew Chapman, the PGA professional at The Links at Mass Golf, sees it as the kind of moment that sticks.
“This will hook him on golf for the rest of his life,” he said.
Carter and the group say they’ll be back all summer. And every time they reach the third hole, you already know what they’ll be talking about on the tee.
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged and inclusive community.
With a community made up of over 145,000 golf enthusiasts and over 360 member clubs, Mass Golf is one of the largest state golf associations in the country. Members enjoy the benefits of handicapping, engaging golf content, course rating and scoring services along with the opportunity to compete in an array of events for golfers of all ages and abilities.
At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
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