Teen celebrates 14th birthday with hole-in-one

Sarah Plowman on the unforgettable shot that has a New Brunswick teen celebrating.

A New Brunswick golfer who just turned 14 celebrated his birthday week with a hole-in-one on the 14th hole at the Hillsborough Golf Club.

Jax Beardsworth wanted to play golf with his dad, Derrick, just days after turning 14.

He picked up the sport earlier this year but is already hooked.

“Not gonna lie, not all my shots are good. You know, I did just start,” he said.

But Beardsworth is athletic, plays hockey and his dad considers him a natural.

This past week, on the 14th hole — a par 3 — Beardsworth swung his 8-iron, knowing he could hit it 130 yards with that club.

Just before he teed off, his dad pulled out his phone to capture the shot on video.

“I looked back at my dad and realized he was filming. So I knew the pressure was on, and I said, ‘It’s probably going to go in the water,’” he said.

But his ball cleared the water, landed close to the hole and trickled in. It was a hole-in-one.

His excitement was immediate.

“I ran straight down to the hole to see if it went in. And as soon as I got there, I saw no ball on the green. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s in the hole,’” he said.

In a video now posted on his dad Derrick’s Facebook page, both Jax and his dad are ecstatic.

Jax grabbed the ball from the hole, held it in the air and collapsed to the ground.

When asked what was going through his mind at that moment, Jax said he was in disbelief and shock.

“It barely ever happens, so I was pretty happy that it did to me,” he said.

His dad, Derrick, shared that reaction.

“I didn’t have the phone out at all all day,” Derrick said. “That was the one video, one photo I decided to take for the day.”

Jax’s name now hangs on the wall in Hillsborough Golf Club’s pro shop, alongside the other golfers who have achieved a hole-in-one this season. It’s happened 15 times, but people at the club couldn’t recall seeing a 14-year-old do it — making it a very rare event.

For the father-son duo, golf isn’t just a new hobby but also a chance to bond.

“It’s nice to come out, hang out together and spend that time together,” said Derrick.

“We had talked about maybe getting some lessons, and that was before the hole-in-one. So I would say that if, you know, his interest wasn’t piqued in golf before, it is now. And I think that’s probably going to be the same for both of us.”