Mancil Davis is known as the "King of Aces" because, well, because he's made so dang many of 'em. Fifty-one holes-in-one to be exact, the most recent coming just last week. But Davis' story is even more interesting than that, because he's worked at some great courses, caddied for some great players, taken part in some great tournaments. We had a chance to conduct this interview with Mancil via email. You can learn more about Mancil at his Web site, www.mancildavis.com, or listen to his weekly radio show at www.ktwl.com. Just be sure to keep reading below the fold in this Q&A as Mancil talks about things like drinking tequila with Willie Nelson and the ace that bounced off both a tree and a sprinkler cap.

So, 51 aces. Not bad, if you like that kind of thing. When you meet people who aren't familiar with your story, do you encounter a lot of skepticism?

Absolutely! Hey, I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't seen them (or most of them anyway). Fortunately, most golfers are familiar with me, or have read about it from time to time in reputable media sources. I was blessed with superior documentation from the very first ace, back in Odessa, Texas, where I grew up. It is pretty hard to believe that I have more than the great ball strikers that have played this crazy game, but believe me, I would trade all of those "ones" for Tiger's swing!

As I pointed out in my post about ace No. 51, you're not just some schmo who popped up out of nowhere claiming to have a ton of aces. Your credentials in golf are very impressive. Give our readers a thumbnail sketch of your golf career.

Introduced to the game at age six, going to the golf course in Odessa, Texas, with my Dad. Started working in the bag room for the professional there, Jake Bechtold, for range balls. Moved onto working the range by age nine, and started as a caddie at same time. (Actually caddied on Tour for Tom Weiskopf and Hale Irwin 1968-1972). Played structured, organized junior golf from age six through high school, and then attended LSU on a golf scholarship in 1972 (was about number six man on a 5-man team!). Left LSU in second year, as my Dad was ill and passed away and I wanted to help out my family. Turned professional in March of 1974, joined The Woodlands Country Club as second assistant to Director of Golf, Doug Sanders, and Head Professional, Ron Weber. The members at The Woodlands Country Club financed my "tour endeavor" in 1975 and part of 1976. Long story short: My caddie made more money than I did! Returned to the assistant pro position at The Woodlands.

Sent to St. Simons Island, Georgia, by Doug Sanders in 1978 for my first head professional position at The Island Club. Short time there (they never bought the property) and on to Dallas, where I was Director of Golf at The Trophy Club (only golf course ever designed by Ben Hogan). The Woodlands called me in 1981 and asked that I return as the Director of Golf. Also hired that same year by a new insurance company started to insure hole-in-one competitions, the National Hole In One Association out of Dallas. Named the "King of Aces" by NHIOA as a promotional title. Believe I had 34 aces by now.

From The Woodlands, I accepted the Director of Golf position at River Place Country Club in Austin, Texas. Great job, we worked hard early each day during the construction, and I was able to leave each day to hang out with Willie Nelson, Coach Darryl Royal, and Earl Campbell on Willies' golf course outside of Austin. Typically played until dark, and then the guitars and tequila came out. More on that at another time!

Two years in the offices of National Hole In One Association as Executive Director in Dallas (proved I wasn't an office guy), led to me forming Mancil Davis Enterprises, and focusing on conducting the Million Dollar Hole In One ShootOuts and the King of Aces corporate/charity outings. Also served as Director of Golf at the Resort at Squaw Creek in Lake Tahoe, Calif., for five months each year from 1990 through 1996.

Decided to do the King of Aces stuff full-time in 1996, and have done so ever since. Still represent National Hole In One Association, own a small part of a company in Florida called Natural Golf Solutions (we have the best lake and pond treatment product in the world), represent SMS Construction & Development (a company specializing in golf course maintenance buildings, cart barns, golf course comfort stations, teaching centers, etc.), have a weekly radio show on KTWL-FM in The Woodlands each Monday evening from 6-7 p.m. (called "Inside Golf with Mark and Mancil" - you can listen online at www.ktwl.com) and I write a weekly golf column called "Through The Green" for The Woodlands Villager. Pretty much think that covers it ...

And your aces are almost all very well documented, correct?

I was very fortunate that my first ace and those that followed early on were, for the most part, made in the Junior Tour conducted by the West Texas Chapter of the PGA. We literally had a junior tour each week, with play at one of the many towns within 100 miles of each other, where we had adult scorekeepers, etc., and even a Junior Tournament of Champions to end the year.

I was asked to appear on the old television show on CBS called "I've Got a Secret." CBS required lie detector tests from me and the witnesses. Also asked a few years later to take a lie detector for the ABC program "That's Incredible," but the show was canceled before they had me on. I passed the tests with flying colors (as did the witnesses).

From that point on, the aces were probably reviewed more than almost anybody else, just because it was being followed by the media (not in a big way, but with interest). The funny part is that I run into people around the country that swear they saw me make a hole in one at places that I have never been to ... If I could count all of those, I would have about 100 aces by now.

After 51 aces, how well do you remember No. 1?

Golden Acres Country Club in Odessa, Texas ... third hole, par-3, 167 yards. Second round of one of the junior tournaments, and I hit a Wilson Patty Berg 3-iron. (Hit it good, too!).

Are there any of your aces that really stand out for you, perhaps because of unusual circumstances or who you were playing with?

Most of them were pretty good shots, but a few do stand out, for different reasons. One was in Odessa, and I hit the ball with a 3-iron. I sort of "blocked it" a bit and the ball was hit about 30 yards right of the green. It hit a very small mesquite tree on the fly, kicked dead left toward the green, hit a sprinkler head, and bounced directly into the hole! Steve Mizerak would have been proud of that one. Besides: Hitting a tree in West Texas was more rare than the hole-in-one!

Two others were pretty cool. One was in Abilene, Texas, and I really felt like I was going to make it. The shot I saw in my mind before hitting it was a low draw back into the wind. I was hitting a 3-wood, and the wind was really blowing. Saw the shot perfectly in my head, and then proceeded to hit a big over-the-top pull slice that started high and left of the green. The ball worked its way back, hit short, bounced hard, and rolled right into the middle of the cup. The shot was exactly opposite of what I was trying to hit.

The other one was a better shot, or at least it came off like the "mind movie" I saw before I hit it. Pin was tucked behind a bunker in the back left corner of the No. 3 green at The Woodlands. I "saw" a 3-iron low draw, starting at the middle of the green, hooking, hitting and releasing into the hole. Hit it, and it was like the ball read the "script." Right in the bottom of the hole after about 30 feet of roll.

When did you first start getting attention from the national golf media, and when were you first called the "king of aces"?

The first publicity was actually at age 11 with the CBS-TV thing. It started with an article in the local paper, which got released to the wire services, then got to Golf Digest (which did a very small piece), and then the call from CBS to go to New York City for the "I've Got A Secret" show. The media sort of kept up with me from that time, and in 1981 I got the call from National Hole In One Association. They had hired Parker Smith, formerly with Golf magazine, to help with the introduction of this new hole-in-one insurance company.

Parker had already come up with the King of Aces theme, and the hope was to hire (1959 Masters champion) Art Wall, who had the record for holes-in-one at the time. Long story short, Art wanted too much money, they didn't like him anyway, and they saw a story on me in the Dallas Morning News about my aces. They called me, we met at the airport in Dallas the next day, and I was all of a sudden the King of Aces! Still bothers me when I see articles or pieces that say "the self-proclaimed King of Aces" - hell, my Mom didn't name me that! National Hole In One Association did. The good news is that I am blessed that quite a few people do know of it, and while they might not remember my name, they do remember King of Aces!

There's another golfer named Norman Manley who claims to have 59 holes-in-one. Have you and Manley ever met for an ace-off face-off?

I have never met Mr. Manley. We became aware of him in 1980 or 1981 when Golf Digest was doing an article on Art Wall's record, and the possibility that I might one day catch him. As I remember it, Mr. Manley sort of "surfaced" out of Long Beach, Calif., as they were finishing the article, and at the time had about 50 aces. It is my understanding that there was some concern about validation, as one man who witnessed 13 of his holes-in-one had passed away, and he also made back-to-back aces on par-4 holes. I think to be politically correct, and to avoid any controversy, Golf Digest at that time started listing Mr. Manley's as the amateur record and mine as the professional record.

I will say this: Everyone I ever met that had actually seen or played with Mr. Manley said he was the best and most accurate iron player they ever saw. I have always given deference to Mr. Manley in interviews when the reporter said I had the world record. I make certain to say mine is the professional record. Mr. Manley did contact National Hole In One Association after they came up with the King of Aces thing. He was not happy, and actually wanted me to stop using the name. Bottom line, I choose to believe he made them, and wish him many more.

Double-eagles are much rarer than aces, but on your Web site it shows that you have 10 of those, too. Know of any other golfers who have that many, or close to it?

Truth be told, the double eagles are so much more rare than holes-in-one, and as I am not (and never was) a long hitter, it's pretty amazing that I have made 10 of them. Nine of the double eagles were on par-fives, and the ace on the No. 13 hole at the Trophy Club was a par four, so I got to "double dip" that one. It's an ace and a double eagle! As far as I know, and I believe Golf Digest has confirmed this, that is the world record. There is a golfer from Alabama, Mike Hilyer, who has made seven or eight aces on par-4 holes. I have interviewed him for my golf column, and it's amazing: He never aced a par-3, or made a 2 on a par-5. Basically, he just hits it further than I can point, and sometimes it's straight!

How much time did you spend on the PGA Tour?

Easy to answer. As I said earlier, my caddie made more money that I did! Certainly glad I gave it a shot, but I was just not good enough. I was able to utilize my Class A PGA status at that time (they have since changed the policy) to enter the Monday qualifying prior to each PGA event. In those days, only the top 60 from the previous year's money list were exempt, along with those players who made the 36-hole cut the week before, so each event had a Monday qualifier to complete the field. The number of spots available each week varied from 15 or 20 and sometimes even more. Still took some low numbers to make it to Thursday though. I only qualified for a couple of tournaments, and spent most of my time up in Canada playing the old Peter Jackson Canadian PGA Tour. As a "Tour Player" I pretty much had weekends off, which I am sure you will agree - that's not a good thing. The assistant pro position at The Woodlands looked awfully good!

Tell us about the National Hole in One Association - when it was founded, what its role is, and how you got involved with the company.

I received a phone call in early 1981 from a gentleman from Dallas named John Everhart. He was forming an insurance company to write insurance policies for charity golf tournaments to be able to put up cars or cash prizes for a hole-in-one. The concept was not new, but was still rare at the time. Lloyds of London was about the only company offering such insurance, and the premiums were quite high. Mr. Everhart felt there was a market for this, and needed a "spokesperson" for promotional purposes. As I indicated earlier, they originally approached Art Wall, and had already come up with the "King of Aces" theme. The deal with Wall did not work out, thus the call to me. I met with John Everhart and Parker Smith the next week in Dallas, and was "crowned." Since that time, National Hole In One Association has gone on to become the world's largest provider of hole-in-one insurance, with over 300,000 events insured and over $50,000,000 paid out to lucky golfers worldwide. It truly exceeded everyone's expectations, and I have been privileged to represent them in some capacity from day one. John Everhart sold National Hole In One to Doug Burkert a few years ago, and I recently signed an agreement to serve as the Director of Golf Operations for them.

I bet a lot of people hear about your feats and think, "he must be the luckiest man alive." But how much is luck and how much is skill? It seems like there's a lot more luck involving in getting just one than in getting 51.

Obviously, there is some skill in hitting a golf ball the correct distance and direction. Having said that, I have to believe that there is an indeterminable amount of luck for the ball to find the bottom of the cup 51 times! Just wish that "luck" carried over to the craps table in Vegas - I throw a bunch of "aces" there, too, which is not a good thing! Won't get too deep here, but I still believe there is a mental element to me making so many. I most definitely feel "different" on a par-3 tee shot than I do with an iron in my hand for a second or third shot on a par-4 or par-5. Don't know exactly what it is, but I seem to visualize much more dramatically on par-3 tee shots. Wish I could get the same feeling with a driver ... but no complaints from this end.

Does scoring a hole-in-one ever get old?

Hell no! I waited over 10 years for this last one, and can't wait for the next! Believe me, I hit enough bad shots to make me really appreciate the good ones. Certainly don't know if I will ever make another one, but in my heart, mind, and soul, feel that I will. I try to play like I sign off on my correspondences ... Hit 'em Straight!