12/21/2008:
For many golfers, a hole-in-one is the ultimate shot in golf, and the golf ball becomes a prized possession. To part with such a treasure would be almost unthinkable.
During World War II, the production of golf balls was suspended, and so donated golf balls were being sent overseas to servicemen around the world. A special group of those balls even made the return trip, and on this date in 1943, they were on their way, destined for the original donors or museums. The box of a dozen, hacked, torn, and battered balls had traveled all over the world, and it included a ball with a notation indicating that Mr. J. S. Turner made a hole-in-one with that ball at Enderlin, North Dakota in 1938. It signified not only a trophy for Mr. Turner, but a very special sacrifice for the war effort.
By Jim Davis
Source:
Grand Forks Herald December 19, 1938.