When Rick Bilodeau of Dexter made a hole-in-one last month, it finally got him off the hook.

That’s because his brother Kevin and dad Dick already had one apiece.

“It was kind of a running joke,” said Rick. “They were saying it was my turn now.”

The other points they all have in common now are that they each have one ace and they each aced the same hole, the 179-yard, par-3 eighth at Dexter Municipal Golf Course. Rick, 42, used a 5-iron, while Kevin and Dick used 4-woods.

The difficulty of getting an ace – the odds are approximately 1 in 12,750, according to Golf Digest calculations from 1999 – makes it a rarity that all three would have one, possibly even more so that all three are on the same hole.

There was no shortage of witnesses for Rick’s ace.

“It was during a benefit scramble tournament [for Dexter High School’s Class of 2008],” said Rick, whose foursome included Dexter boys basketball coach Peter Murray and senior basketball player Gavin Cote.

“It took one hop, 6 or 8 feet from the pin, and went right in the jar,” said Rick, still enthused about the feat.

“Kevin was the first to say it went in,” said Rick. “He said, ‘That’s in, that’s in.'”

They didn’t race right down to check on it, though.

“I was kind of in shock about the whole thing,” said Rick.

Occasionally, a tournament will offer a prize such as a set of clubs or a vacation trip for a hole-in-one on a par-3, but not this time.

“There was no prize,” said Rick. “There wasn’t even a closest-to-the-pin prize. All I got for it was the bar tab.”

He called his wife to tell her the news but also to ask a favor.

“We were going up the ninth,” said Kevin. “His wife was playing in the same tournament but later on. He said, ‘Honey, bring the checkbook. I got a hole-in-one.'”

Rick had to explain to her about the tradition of the person getting the ace having to buy a round for everyone at the clubhouse.

“My wife didn’t quite understand that one,” said Rick.

The ace didn’t help in other ways, either.

“I don’t think we even finished in the money,” said Kevin.

Kevin’s ace came in 1972 at age 16 when he was playing for Dexter High.

“I didn’t really see mine,” he admitted. “The hole has a pond to the right of it and as the green slopes toward the pond, it has some ledge on it.

“I hit it toward the pond, and when I did I turned and said ‘baloney.’ Then one of the guys said it hit the ledge and went over the back [of the green].”

They searched behind the green but couldn’t find it.

“On a whim, one of the guys looked in the hole,” said Kevin, and there it was.

Dick’s hole-in-one came in 1990 at age 61.

“I went out after work one night with a friend to play nine holes,” said Dick. “It just happened.”

Given the family history, the ball will become part of a commemorative piece.

Dick’s is part of a plaque, while Kevin’s raised some eyebrows at the time.

“I used a Club Special,” said Kevin. “I sent it to Acushnet [the ballmaker], and they sent back the ball and a wooden ash tray [to display it on].”

“I wasn’t too impressed with the ash tray,” said Dick.

Rick figures this will be his only ace.

“I might see another one, but not my own,” he said.

“I’d like one day to see [14-year-old son] Corbin get one. That would be kind of neat,” he said.

Roommate inspired Baldwin

Mark Baldwin of Laconia, N.H., who tied for second at the Maine Open last week, said he learned something from a roommate in the summer of 2005.

“I lived with [quarterback] Brady Quinn,” said Baldwin, who graduated from Notre Dame in 2006.

Quinn, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns this year, had hats from opposing schools such as Southern California. He would get worked up thinking how he would lead the Fighting Irish against them.

“It was interesting seeing that mentality,” said Baldwin.

Fox Ridge praised

Fox Ridge Golf Club in Auburn will host the Maine Open again next year, which suits the players.

“It’s a good golf course. It takes out a lot of players. You’ve gotta take your medicine,” said Rich Parker of Lebanon, N.H.

“It’s a very demanding course,” said winner Todd Westfall of Clendenin, W.Va.

Dave Barber can be reached at 990-8170, 1-800-310-8600, or by e-mail at dbarber@bangordailynews.net.