Tiger Woods made his first hole-in-one when he was 8 years old, Michelle Wie celebrated her first when she was 12 and Bella Bullock’s mother, Wendy, got her first ace when she was 25.
Now, at age 10 and standing just 4-foot-1, Bella recently joined that hole-in-one crowd and put the local golfing community on notice.
On Jan. 30 at Tony Butler Golf Course in Harlingen, Bella walked up to hole No. 6 and hit her pink golf ball as hard as she could and watched as the ball sailed through the air, took a bounce and dropped right into the cup.
“I was right behind her, as I do with all of my students,” said Wendy, recalling that day with her daughter. “She went through her routine, got herself lined up and she couldn’t have hit it any better. It was perfect. It was textbook. It landed on the green, took one bounce and then it went right in.”
It was a moment many golfers spend a lifetime waiting for, but Bella only had to wait 10 years.
However, this isn’t the first time Bella has been awarded for her golfing abilities. On a recent trip to La Costa resort in Carlsbad, California, officials at Cobra Puma Golf Headquarters (five minutes from the resort), were so impressed by her swing that they gave Bella her own custom-fitted pink driver that was made on the spot in the company’s tour van.
The Valley Morning Star sat down with Bella to talk about her golfing skills and discuss what she has planned for the future.
___
Q: Take us back to the day you hit the hole-in-one. What do you remember most?
A: To me it seemed to be just another pretty day on the course with my mom and coach, my 14 year-old brother Mikey and my grandmother. We came up to the 6th hole, which is a 125-yard par 3. I hit my shot then my mom said ‘I think you got a hole-in-one, but let’s go make sure.’ I was super excited! We drove up to the green and my brother ran over and looked in the hole, and didn’t see the ball at first glance but then he saw it on the other side of the pin and he dropped to his knees wondering why I aced a hole and not him. I was exploding with excitement and running around shouting ‘I made a hole-in-one!’ My grandmother remembers me running around the golf cart in circles as I called and told my other grandparents what had just happened.
Q: What did you do afterward?
A: I went home and showed my dad the scorecard where I had the 1 circled on it to surprise him. That was the best, seeing him so happy for me because he has played golf forever and is really, really good, and has never gotten a hole-in-one. My mom got her only hole-in-one at age 25, so I was feeling pretty awesome being 10 and already having one.
Q: How did you celebrate the achievement?
A: All I wanted was Marble Slab ice cream – the Smurf flavor – and to celebrate with my friend, Elijah Galvan, and my cousin, Lily. It’s where we go when Elijah wins golf tournaments or shoots awesome scores. He’s 10 just like I am and we go to school, and golf together at Harlingen Country Club.
Q: How long have you been playing golf?
A: I started playing golf when I was 2, so I could be with Mikey and my parents on the golf course. For a long time, I just played for fun, but now I play in golf tournaments. I hope to follow in my mom’s footsteps by playing tournaments where we get to travel and make new friends along the way. I also want to play golf in college and maybe become a professional golfer. Or a dentist.
Q: Who are your some of the sports heroes that you admire and look up to?
A: My hero is my mom. She loves to teach everybody how to play golf and is very patient and kind. I have learned to teach with her when she runs junior programs or her ladies classes. It’s a lot of fun helping people.
