Smylie Kaufman Talks Rickie Fowler’s Ace, Playing in Pine Valley

The chance to play a round at Pine Valley is a golfer’s dream. But a ace on the highest rated course in the world while you’re there? That immediately launches the experience into the bucket list stratosphere.

That’s exactly what happened to Rickie Fowler during a recent visit to the course, and PGA Tour pro-turned-broadcaster Smylie Kaufman was there to see it. What was it like? Kaufman recounted the experience to Subpar hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode.

“I get to the third tee and I’m like, I’ve got to find something,” Kaufman said. “And then Justin (Thomas) starts off great. And he’s like, well, you guys need to get on your phone because I’m going to make a hole-in-one. I’m like, great. I’ll be at Pine Valley anyway to see them make an ace. And he hits this beautiful 7-iron, and just hits this, just a softer one, comes up eight yards short, right on the line in the bunker. And he’s like, sick, good shot.

“And then Rickie gets up and hits this majestic, high, five-yard draw 7-iron, and it lands — because it’s a front-left pin, which is actually a really tough hole-in-one, and it lands right where it’s supposed to, and the last 10 feet it felt like a year, because it looked like it was just going to go all the way in. Goes in, and we all go crazy.”

Kaufman struggled with his play on the opening holes that day and had to laugh as he remembered how to hit after Fowler’s ace.

“Of course, I had to hit it after that, and Bambi’s standing there 30 yards to the right of the green, and, about taking Bambi and his mother,” he said. “It was just a tough scene there.”

Kaufman said that after playing the course, he understood why it has such a strong hold on the top spot in the rankings.

“I always wondered — why is Pine Valley No. 1 and everything?” Kaufman said. “And I get it. It’s one of the coolest layouts I’ve ever played. Just the thought behind every hole. It’s so challenging and it tests every part of your game. And I’ll tell you what you have to do there. You have to hit the fairway.”

Watch the full Subpar episode below for more from Kaufman.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-bird anyone on the masthead. She can out-bird anyone in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online content and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Issue, which debuted in February 2018. Her original interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November 2015 and has appeared in both the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.