A hole-in-one is a feat mostly predicated on luck as opposed to skill.

Often times, a golfer can play for 40 or 50 years and be well accomplished on the links, but never record an ace.

At the same time, an amateur can get lucky on one of their first rounds and get a fortuitous bounce and roll right at the pin.

It's a rare occasion that all strive to have next to their name, but few manage to pull off.

So you can imagine Wallace resident Doug Austin's reaction when he recorded his first ace in 40 years of golf last Wednesday.

"When we went down there I wasn't thinking anything about that sucker being in the hole," he said. "I was just shocked."

Here's the kicker - it was on a 404-yard par-4, the sixth hole at Galena Ridge Golf Course.

To put the rarity of that into perspective, only one par-4 ace has been recorded in the history of the PGA Tour - that by Andrew Magee in 2001.

Austin says he's always driven well, and benefited from the fact that Galena Ridge's sixth hole is on an elevated tee and the fairways were hard and fast that day.

He said he made exceptionally solid contact, but lost sight of the ball as it bounded farther down the fairway.

"I've always hit a long ball, but that particular one was sweet," Austin, 67, said of the drive from the tee.

As he and playing partner Don LeBaron, also 67, went down the fairway, Austin's shot was nowhere to be seen. While he looked, LeBaron played his second shot to the green, then jokingly told his friend the ball was probably in the hole.

"We saw where it landed in the fairway," he said. "We assumed it went towards the green with the slope of the terrain."

Austin continued to look around the green without success, but never did check the cup. With no ball in sight, Austin headed back up the fairway and prepared to play a shot to replace the seemingly lost ball, while LeBaron made his way to the green to putt.

He got there and hit his putt, but when he went to pull the flag, noticed a ball in the cup.

It was Austin's tee shot.

"I never expected it to be in the hole for Pete's sake, especially at 404 yards," Austin said.

What makes the feat more remarkable is that Austin uses a set of clubs he bought back in 1970 that still has a wooden driver.

He said he's come extremely close in the past, even being as near as "half a roll away." But he never would have guessed the accomplishment would finally take place on a 404-yard hole.

"That was something to behold," LeBaron added. "I didn't do it and I'll never forget it."

It was the fourth hole-in-one recorded at Galena Ridge, which opened at the Silver Mountain Resort in June. The previous three occurred on the par-3 second hole.

So the next time a playing partner jokingly says "check the hole" after a big drive, go ahead and do it. You just might find the ball in that far-away cup.

Even on a 404-yard, par-4 hole.