HOT CORNER

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What: “Hole in One! The Complete Book of Fact, Legend, and Lore on Golf’s Luckiest Shot.”

Author: Chris Rodell.

Publisher: Andrews McMeel.

Price: $9.95.

The hole in one may be the most difficult thing to do in sports. It’s estimated that an amateur golfer will make an ace once every 12,600 times he or she tees it up on a par-three. The odds are nearly as great for professional golfers. According to the PGA Tour media guide, there were 51 in competition last year.

Here is a book dedicated entirely to the hole in one. Pros and amateurs all have stories to tell.

From Tiger Woods: “I’ve had 18, seven in competition. I had my first professional ace at my first professional tournament, the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1996. That was cool. One time I hit the hole on the fly and it bounced out and went straight into a bunker. It’s all a matter of hitting the ball in the right direction. From there, it’s all luck.”

From Mac O’Grady, who usually has a different perspective on things: “A hole in one is amazing when you think of all the different universes this white mass of molecules has to pass through on its way to the hole.”

The author saves possibly the best story for last. It’s about a 5-foot-7, 127-pound opera singer named Kay Lowe. Her boyfriend took her along while he played a round at Boone, N.C. At the picturesque 15th hole, a 110-yard, par-three, the boyfriend asked Lowe if she’d like to hit one. She did, so he teed it up for her. Her shot landed on the green and went in the hole.

“It was the flukiest thing,” she said. “I said, ‘Is that good?’ He couldn’t believe it. He was screaming.”

It was the only time Lowe hit a golf ball. She ended her golf career hitting 1.000.