As if hitting a hole-in-one isn’t hard enough…

Image this: You’re playing in a local charity golf tournament and arrive at the par 3 designated as the “hole-in-one challenge.” The rules are simple – ace the hole and win $25,000! You step up to the tee; waggle; and swing…and watch as your ball lands softly a few yards before the hole and then rolls into the cup.

The celebration begins; you buy everyone in the tournament a round of drinks in the 19th hole and wait to receive your check for 25 grand. But there’s one catch: There is no check. Turns out the insurance the tournament organizers took out on the hole-in-one challenge was fraudulent.

According to an article in The Seattle Times, Kevin Kolenda – a man in his early 50’s from GolfStinks’ home state of Connecticut – had made good money over the past two decades scamming golf tournament organizers (or even in some cases – the charities sponsoring the outing) out of money by selling them fraudulent prize insurance.

Since 1995, Mr. Kolenda has operated a golf-related business that provides insurance on things like a hole-in-one challenge. His fees would depend on how much the payout was to be, but needless to say, payouts rarely happened – a fact Mr. Kolenda apparently took advantage of for profit.

Since 2003, authorities have been aware of Mr. Kolenda’s scams as periodically someone would “win” the prize but he would fail to pay. At one point in 2004 he was issued a cease and desist order, but ignored it.

It wasn’t until this past December that the state of Washington (where many of his scams took place) decided to arrest him – and to that end, they extradited him from his home in Connecticut to stand trial in Washington.

Finally, last week, Mr. Kolenda was sentenced to three months in prison and fined $15,000.

So tournament organizers beware – charlatans are out there. This guy exploited the fact that hole-in-ones, in general, are extremely rare – let alone specifying when and where you get one – like a particular hole at a golf tournament. Beyond this, he took advantage of real charities in need.

Somehow, three months and $15K doesn’t seem a fitting punishment. Perhaps as a community service, he should help shag all the balls on local driving ranges…without wearing any protective gear. Hey, he shouldn’t be too nervous – after all, hole-in-one’s are extremely rare.