Did you know that you have a better chance of getting hit with space junk falling from the sky than getting a hole-in-one? The even and under for getting struck with a piece of falling satellite is one in 3,200. A hole-in-one? One in 12,500.
For Marvin Inman, 76, of McCarley, he was one in 12,500 as he made an ace during a round at the Winona Country Club golf course October 4.
“Golf – I’m not that good,” Inman said. “I’ve only been playing regularly for about 15 years.”
Inman and his friends play the course at Winona Country Club a few times a week, and on October 4, he was teamed up with Mike Spellman, and according to Inman, the pair weren’t having the best of luck on the course. However, one swing from Inman, and a subpar day on the course became quite the celebration.
“Mike Smith was in the tee box with me,” Inman said. “[When I hit it] Mike said it had some good ‘towards,” and it went right to the hole. Every one [of my friends] were more excited than me.”
Inman said he kind of took the milestone in stride and looked at his ace as a way to even the score for the day.
“Afterward, I had a good feeling,” Inman said. “I’ve seen three other people get holes-in-one, including the late Clyde Dotson. It was fun to watch them, and it was fun to get one.”
However, for Inman, that hole-in-one was not his proudest moment on the course. That moment happened last year on his 75th birthday when he shot his age on the Winona course – a feat for Inman at just three over par.
Inman said he usually plays with a group, and while playing with the group, each two- man team takes the highest score from the team at each hole. However, on his 75th birthday, Inman said he was careful to keep his own score.
“Trying to shoot my age, that was an achievement for me,” Inman said. “A hole-in-one was 75 percent luck, but shooting a 75 was an effort.”
Inman said only one of his friends, Mike Shook, knew his goal that day and kept it to himself until Inman successfully recorded a 75 on the last putt on the 18th hole.
“That was a great score for me,” Inman said.
Before his retirement around 12 years ago, Inman only played golf when entertaining clients on the course. However, after purchasing his grandfather’s farm near McCarley and settling in Carroll County in his retirement, he began playing as part of a senior tour across north Mississippi. It was through that tour that he began playing at the Winona Country Club regularly.
“Winona has some really good golfers that are retired,” Inman said.
During his working life as president of the commissary division of C. Lloyd Johnson, a friendly game of golf rarely fit his busy schedule as Inman traveled around the globe to various military bases.
“We represented companies in the resale system of commissaries at military bases and military ships,” Inman said.
Through those travels, Inman said he was able to be a part of many things.
“One of the things I am really proud of in my life, business-wise, is how much money [my company raised] for Fisher House [Foundation]. That is the military equivalent to Ronald McDonald House,” Inman said.
It was during a fundraiser on the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum that he met late actor Paul Newman, who was a great supporter of the Fisher House.
For Inman, meeting famous actors is something he did earlier in his life as he served as an extra on the 1963 war drama “PT109,” which was shot in Florida. Inman took a month leave from his time in the U.S. Navy to work on the film, and worked with legendary actors Cliff Robertson and Robert Blake, among others.
“We rented shrimp boats to get to Munson Key,” Inman said. “I would ride on the bow with [movie star] Ty Hardin. He would get a bow and arrow and try to shoot fish. I was the spotter, and he called me shorty. He never shot a fish.”
Inman is also proud of the work he did in helping build the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.
“My division [of C. Lloyd Johnson] raised millions for that,” Inman said. “That is something I’m really proud of is helping build that long overdue memorial.”
A native of Greenwood, Inman played football for Mississippi Delta Community College after he was discharged from the Navy. While a student at Mississippi Delta, Inman had a defining moment in his life – a girl asked him to the Sadie Hawkins dance. Her name was Sherry, and she later became his wife. The couple was married almost 50 years before Sherry succumbed to her battle with cancer.
In the year following his wife’s death, Inman said he and an MDCC classmate met to catch up on old times. The conversation led to a movie date he had with the younger sister of another classmate.
“I always wondered where [the girl] was,” Inman said. “So I called her. I hadn’t seen her in 56 years.”
Inman said when Mary answered the telephone, he made her guess who he was. She responded, “You are Marvin Inman, my first love.”
The couple planned to have dinner soon after, and when Inman arrived at her home, Mary stood on the lawn waiting with her walking cane. The two were overjoyed to see each other and embraced.
“From that hug, it has been four years, and she hasn’t needed that cane again,” Inman said. “The doctor said I was good medicine for her.”
Inman and Mary were wed six months after that dinner date, and they live happily on his grandfather’s farm in McCarley.
“I mow a lot of grass,” Inman laughed. “The farm is 22 acres, and I cut about seven acres each week.”
Inman is the father of two children, Renee and Jessica; three granddaughters, and one great-grandson.
After the mowing is done, Inman heads to Winona to play a round of golf with his friends, and he might travel a short distance to play with friends around the state.
“Next week, I’m going down to the coast to play some old high school friends,” Inman said.
As for his hole-in-one, Inman said the odds are stacked against him making another ace.
“If I had to wait 76 years, I’d have to be 152 [years old].”
