POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Herbert Dixon celebrated over 80 years on The Bartow Golf Course by hitting his ninth hole-in one.

“Oh yes, everybody was there,” said Dixon. “When they saw that ball go in everybody started screaming – that was a big deal in my golfing career if I do say so myself.”

The odds of your average golfer making a hole-in-one is 12,000 to 1, according to the National Hole-in-One Registry. That number drops to 3,500 to 1 for professional golfers and even lower for players over 100 and Mr. Dixon is 102.

“I started golfing at 15 years old. Things were much different back then,” said Mr. Dixon. “It was because of segregation; you couldn’t use the same wash room as them, you had to sit on the back of the bus. Black folks weren’t allowed to do a whole bunch of things back then.”

Black people also weren’t allowed to golf at Bartow Golf Course.

“You have to understand, this was over 70 years ago – we had to play around the back and sometimes we had caddy day,” said Mr. Dixon. “But Black people were not allowed to golf on the courses.”

Mr. Dixon told me that he has watched the golf and the world around it change for the better.

“For the young people I would say, you’ve got to be motivated to go after what you want; the opportunities are endless now,” he said.

After being inducted into the Black Golfers Hall of Fame, Bartow Golf Course named a driving range after Mr. Dixon.

“I’m just so glad that I got to see the day that a Black man be recognized in this way,” said Mr. Dixon.

Dixon now competes in tournaments to raise money to help kids go to college.

“I started golfing at 15 years old. Things were much different back then,” said Mr. Dixon, seen here as a young golfer. “It was because of segregation; you couldn’t use the same wash room as them, you had to sit on the back of the bus. Black folks weren’t allowed to do a whole bunch of things back then.” (Herbert Dixon)