Chelsea Police Lt. Paul Marchese was having in his words, “a decent round of golf” on Oct. 1 at the Trull Brook Course in Tewksbury, enjoying a beautiful autumn day with his playing partners, his father, Edward Marchese Sr., and his brother, Edward Marchese Jr.
But what happened on the par 4, 340-yard, 18th hole turned Paul Marchese’s good round into a spectacular one – recording a truly incredible moment on a day he will remember forever. It’s so unique that there’s a special, but not-known-widely term for it: an Albatross.
Marchese, 37, stood over the tee on the final hole of the day and struck a cannon shot with his TaylorMade R1 Driver.
“My drives had been really good, but my short game wasn’t helping,” said Marchese, who is 5-foot-9 and weighs 180 pounds. “I was hitting the ball 300 yards consistently and it was going pretty straight.”
This drive was better than straight, it was perfect. Marchese’s ball wound up in the bottom of the hole for a hole-in-one.
“I knew I had hit it well and it was going to be right in the area of the hole,” said Marchese. “I was looking all around for the golf ball – and it was in the hole.”
Marchese said his father was “excited” about the hole in one, while his brother was saying, ‘No way, no way.’”
“We saw the ball going down the far right to the left of the trees,” said Edward Marchese Sr., a retired Chelsea Police officer who served 29 years with distinction in the department. “Paul had been hitting his drives 300-yards plus, and when he hits it, the golf ball keeps sailing and it just keeps lifting. We walked up to the hole, and there it was inside the hole. It was amazing.”
Paul Marchese’s hole-in-one was the first in his career. According to the Double Eagle Club based in Ohio, the odds of what Marchese accomplished (a hole-in-one on an Albatross) are 6 million to one.
“I’m still shocked about it, it’s just unbelievable,” related Marchese. “But hopefully it’s not my one and only.”
The length of Marchese’s tremendous drive to the 18th hole is awe-inspiring when you consider that Rory McIlroy led the PGA Tour last season with an average drive of 326 yards.
Marchese’s enthusiasm for golf has grown since making history in Tewksbury.
“I wish I could quit my job and go golfing every day,” jested Marchese. “I’m trying to play as much as I can. I just love the game. I wish I had played more of it when I was younger. Hopefully I can continue to play as long as I can.”
A Star Athlete at Pope John High School
Paul Marchese grew up in Chelsea and attended Saint Rose School, from kindergarten through grade 8. He began his athletic career in Chelsea Youth Hockey (with his brother, Edward Jr.), and when the Chelsea program folded, he took his talents next door to Everett for youth hockey and soccer.
“I was a hockey player my whole life,” said Paul.
Marchese enrolled at Pope John XXIII High School where he played four years of varsity hockey under legendary 20-year coach Bill Connors. He also played varsity soccer.
Marchese decided to try out for the newly founded Pope John golf team and became a starting player for the Tigers. He was a member of the golf team for two seasons before graduating in 2003. He matriculated at Salem State College.
“When I got out of high school, I played a lot of golf with my buddies in college and then I dropped off for a few years. The last two years, I’ve been trying to pick back up and get back into it. I try to play at least once a week.”
When he graduated from Salem State in 2008, he entered the law enforcement profession and is currently in his 15th year in the Chelsea Police Department that protects and proudly serves the people of this city every day.
Official Congratulations from Chief Houghton
Police Chief Keith Houghton, also a former Pope John High School star and a golfer himself, was among the many colleagues and associates congratulating Paul Marchese on his awesome accomplishment.
“Making a hole in one is an unbelievable, once-in-lifetime accomplishment,” lauded Houghton. “Millions of people play golf, and less than one tenth of one percent ever have the pleasure of getting one. It’s always usually a good sign of positive things happening in your life, so I hope the good luck and fortune of Paul’s hole-in-one follow him for many years.”