Firelands freshman Lainey Scholl an ace on the golf course

Lainey Scholl didn't even wait 48 hours to make 2026 a year to remember. Scholl, a freshman at Firelands High School, was on a golf trip with her parents and friend Emmy Lehman in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, area over winter break when she made her first hole-in-one on the 125-yard Par-3 No. 11 hole at the Caledonia Golf and Fish Club. "I usually can't stand Par 3's, but that one was a lot of fun," Scholl said. "I thought I hit it over the green and my friend was like, 'No, that's in.' I thought for sure it was over," Scholl said. "I thought, 'There's no way I have that good of luck,' but when I realized what happened I was jumping up and down. I was so excited." From looking at the divot mark on the green, Scholl and her father, Monte, estimated her nine-iron shot landed about five feet from the pin and rolled into the cup. Scholl said she looked up the odds of a golfer getting a hole-in-one in their lifetime and found them to be as high as 12,500-1, but she's the second member of her family to join that exclusive club. Five years ago, Monte got a hole-in-one at the Thunderbird Hills North Course in Huron. "It took me 50 years to get my first one, so I still can't believe Lainey did it," he said. Lainey Scholl didn't take up golf until two years ago and said she didn't start to take it serious until a few months ago. "When I started two years ago, I had some private lessons then at the time, but I kinda decided I didn't wanna do it," she said. "I wasn't having fun and wasn't improving all that much. Then I started back up about seven months ago." Her and Lehmen played on the golf team at Firelands last fall. At the Division II sectional tournament, they put up the best two scores on the team, with Lehman beating her friend by a stroke. "It's pretty awesome to have a story to tell people about how I got a hole-in-one, and it only took me less than two years of playing," Scholl said. Monte Scholl estimated that his daughter had only played fewer than 18-hole rounds before their South Carolina trip, as most regular-season high school matches are only nine holes. Over the holidays, the foursome played some of the top courses in South Carolina, including Wachesaw East Golf Club, True Blue Golf Club and The Man O' War Golf Club. "All of the courses were a lot of fun and it was so great to be able to have the experiences," Lainey Scholl said. "It was also really stressful at times, because I wasn't hitting the ball as well as I know I can." Lainey Scholl will be receiving a plaque from the Caledonia Club to commemorate her accomplishment. Not only was the trip a great holiday escape for the family Monte Scholl, a lifelong golfer, was hoping that by introducing his daughter to more difficult courses it would help her get ready for next high school season. "These are way harder courses than what you see in Ohio," he said. "When you stand on the tee pad, all you see is sand or water." Lainey Scholl also is involved with track and cheerleading, but golf is definitely her favorite sport. She works with a trainer twice per month and her dad has a simulator in the family garage, allowing her to hit balls daily. "I'm excited to see myself improving and for all the new experiences I'll have," she said. "I never thought I'd get my first hole-in-one at 15 years old, but I am just really excited for the next few years." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-78135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.