NC State football coach Dave Doeren makes hole-in-one

• The hole-in-one occurred on a 76-yard, par-3 hole called the “Intimidator” at Cliffhangers Golf Course in Missouri.
• Doeren’s sons, Connor and Luke, witnessed the shot, which he made using a 60-degree wedge.
• Doeren celebrated the achievement with his sons and called it “good karma” for the upcoming season.

RALEIGH — N.C. State football coach Dave Doeren is carrying some “good karma” into his 13th season with the Wolfpack. 

Doeren, 53, capped off his offseason with his first hole-in-one on the final hole in his final weekend before the Wolfpack opened preseason practice. 

Doeren accomplished the feat with two of his sons, Connor and Luke, by his side on July 27 at Cliffhangers Golf Course, an 18-hole, par-3 course at Big Cedar Nature Golf in Hollister, Missouri. 

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A 76-yard hole dubbed the “Intimidator,” the 18th hole at Cliffhangers is guarded by a large bunker between the tee box and green, with another bunker on the backside of the green. Doeren said his club of choice was a 60-degree wedge, which he used to take aim at a pin that was toward the front of the massive green.

N.C. State football’s X/Twitter account posted a video that captured the aftermath of Doeren’s shot. 

“There’s no way it went in,” Doeren says in the video as he approaches the flag with his putter. “. … Where else could it be?” 

When Doeren looked into the cup and saw his golf ball, which featured a Wolfpack logo, he took off running with both of his hands raised toward the sky. The Wolfpack’s all-time winningest coach was asked about his hole-in-one on July 30 after N.C. State kicked off the preseason schedule with its first practice. 

“To do that with two of my three sons with me was pretty special,” Doeren said. 

“Good karma. When I looked in the hole, I saw the logo of the wolf looking back at me and it just made me laugh. That’s good karma and it was awesome. Beautiful place, too. But the best part of it was to celebrate it with Connor and Luke.” 

Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.