Roseau Times-Region - Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper

by Jeff Olsen

Say you're a farm kid and the only way to practice is to hit golf balls around the yard to improve your game.

Now meet Drew Lovejoy, a soon-to-be Roseau fourth grader with a love for hockey and golf.

On Monday, July 27, he got his first hole in one on the 15th hole at Oakcrest Golf Course.

Drew was golfing with four of his buddies - Heaton Jennings, Max Erickson, Zaden Lundbohm, and Drew Knutson a week ago Monday morning, July 27.

"I started playing golf when I was like seven and now I'm nine," he said by phone recently.

Fifteen is now his lucky number.

"I was on the 15th hole and I used my driver," he said, unable to remember the particular brand.

"I think he has one of every brand," said his dad, Tyson. "We got them at Play It Again Sports, enough to make a set for him."

The ball was a Wilson and he has the ball and the tee in a safe place.

On the 15th tee, Drew teed off first.

"I was shooting from the Kids tee," he said with his dad, Tyson, adding, "It's the red ones and are a little closer than the women's tee."

What happened after you hit the ball?

"Everybody was cheering. I believed it went in. Then we drove up to the flag," he said.

Drew had one word to describe how he felt the rest of the day.

"Happy," he said.

"I went to my friend's house and his dad called my dad. They coach hockey together," said Drew, who's a hockey player and a golfer.

Sometimes, you hit the jackpot more than once on a particularly special day.

"I got the night off from dishes," said the young lad, who's quite handy on the farm.

"I help Dad load trucks and give him a ride on the Ranger," he said.

Talk about coincidences.

On Sunday, July 26, Warren Lovejoy told his grandson, "I bet you can't make a hole in one."

And the next day, he had a hole in one. He's a lucky lad.

"The only thing you might want to mention is we live 17 miles out in the country," said his dad. "So, it's not the easiest thing to do to get him golfing very often like a lot of his pals who live close to the golf course in town."

Best estimate has the young lad playing golf four or five times this summer.

Still, Drew practices his game.

"He takes our lawnmower and sets the deck as low as he can and makes a green out in the yard," said Tyson, adding that his son uses one of the flags they use for test plots to make a pin while using a coffee can for the hole.

"He hits balls every day out in the yard. It's big yard so he can even use his driver. He's only nine, so he's not hitting them out of the park. But he can hit them a hundred yards."

He's also a hit with his mom, Cassie.

"When Drew told me the news, I said, 'Wow, buddy, that's a big deal!' He said, 'Not really.' I said, 'It sure is. Some people golf for years and never get that shot.' I sure had a proud mom moment!"

For the record, Cassie gave him a big kiss on the cheek a week ago Monday afternoon.

The word is, he didn't even blush.