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Out of the rough and into the cup Novice scores double eagle at RVCC By Don Hunt Medford�s Don Carroll wasn�t overly pleased with his tee shot on the 463-yard, par-5 16th hole at Rogue Valley Country Club on Wednesday. Carroll�s drive traveled a respectable 243 yards but it sailed into the rough on the right side of the fairway. What happened next will be a memory forever etched in Carroll�s mind. With three playing partners looking on, the retired law enforcement worker took out his 5-wood and drained his second shot from 220 yards away for a double eagle. "The ball landed on the green about eight feet from the cup and rolled straight in," Carroll said. "I�ve had an eagle before but I never dreamed I�d get a double eagle." The feat is indeed rare. RVCC head professional Jim Wise could recall "only three or four" double eagles in his 27 years at the course. "We get 13 or 14 holes-in-one every year, but six or seven years go by before we get a double eagle," Wise said. "You�re talking about getting down in two on a par-5 or acing a par-4. Obviously, that�s not an easy thing to do." Carroll, 66, has been golfing for just two years after retiring and moving to Medford from Tustin, Calif. His handicap, once a 28, is down to a 17. "He hits the heck out of the ball for a guy with so little experience," said Bob Shores, one of Carroll�s playing partners Wednesday and no stranger to success himself with five hole-in-ones to his credit. "That was a heck of a shot from where he was." Carroll�s other partners were Medford�s Ted Fraedrick and Tom Wynne. His witnesses also included former professional bowling star Marshall Holman, who was standing on the 17th hole preparing to tee off. "He was hopping up and down as much as I was," said Carroll, who purchased a new set or Calloway clubs just five days earlier. While the 16th hole is considered the easiest of RVCC�s 27 holes, it was made more difficult when the course was renovated several years ago, primarily due to a water hazard that now hugs the left side of the green. Carroll finished with an 89 Tuesday after suffering double bogeys on the final two holes. "I lost my concentration," he said. No one could blame him for that. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA