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JOHNSTOWN - Dave Christie's first hole-in-one earned him more than a pat on the back from his fellow golfers.

It earned him a boat.

Christie, 24, who lives in Middle Grove in Saratoga County and spends time at his family's camp in Northville, was one of 104 golfers in the fifth annual Harvey A. Humphrey Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament at Hales Mills Country Club on June 14 when he pulled an eight iron from his bag for the 155-yard 11th hole. The 24-year-old, who said he plays golf about once a week, said he couldn't believe it when his ball dropped in the hole.

"I was pretty excited," Christie said. "I think my next tee shot was in the woods."

With the ace, Christie soon will be the owner of a $23,900 Electra Bowrider, courtesy of Knapik's Marine in Amsterdam. Knapik's purchased insurance for the hole-in-one for about $459, said co-owner Mike Sweetman.

Sweetman said he became involved in the tournament because it's good publicity for his business and he knew Harvey A. Humphrey Jr., a Fonda-Fultonville High School sophomore who was killed in a car accident six years ago.

"We've always been good friends with the [Humphrey] family," he said.

Harvey Humphrey Sr., the tournament's organizer, said Christie is the first to make a hole-in-one during the five years of the tournament, though he has been tricked into thinking someone made the shot in years past.

"They pick on me every year about it. One year they called me up and said someone won the car, then called later and said they were joking," Humphrey said. "So when they called me this time, I said, 'Yeah, sure they did.' They said, 'No, really!'"

Hales Mills owner Bonnie Hollenbeck said Christie's hole-in-one came as a surprise to her, since only about three holes-in-one are recorded on the course in an average year.

"It's really quite an honor," she said. "People play for years and years, their whole life, and never get a hole-in-one. I can't remember any other tournament where someone won something this large."

Hollenbeck said it's one thing for a player to get a hole-in-one during a regular day of golf. It's quite another to win a boat, she said.

"I'd say it is very, very, very rare," she said. "That's why we were so excited for [Christie]."

Bill Smrtic, an employee at Kingsboro Golf Club in Gloversville, agreed the ace was rare. He said the course there has one or two holes-in-one a year.

"It's a stroke of luck," he said.

The tournament, which had 26 four-member teams, raised about $32,000 for the Humphrey scholarship fund. This year, the family will award 20 $250 scholarships to graduating seniors in the Fonda-Fultonville Central School District.

Humphrey said the only qualification for the scholarship is an interest in athletics. He said his son was a huge sports fan.

Christie, who is a line clearance tree trimmer for Lewis Tree Service in West Henrietta, said he's looking forward to taking the boat out on the Great Sacandaga Lake.

Kayleigh Karutis covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com