From the Bench: Former Multi-Sport Bridgeport Coach Sees 35-Year Goal Achieved on Big National Stage
By Jeff Toquinto on January 19, 2025 from Sports Blog
As a high school sports coach for decades, former Bridgeport basketball Coach Dennis Hutson knows sometimes the breaks need to go your way in order for something good to happen in prep athletics.
Hutson knows that same variable holds true in athletics of a personal nature.
A week ago, on Saturday, Jan. 11, Hutson did something he had never done in a sport he started three and a half decades ago. At age 70, 
and after thousands of rounds of golf, he hit a hole-in-one.
and after thousands of rounds of golf, he hit a hole-in-one.
While we often run hole-in-one briefs on Connect-Bridgeport, on only a few occasions does it merit going into an article or blog. This one fits the narrative.
A golfer, whether professional, a daily player, or even the occasional hack having fun, will tell you getting that hole-in-one is a rarity. And while many of us may know someone who has pulled off the feat, few can say they did it on the stage Hutson achieved it on.
The Bridgeport resident, who has come close more than once, did it at Pebble Beach. Outside of Augusta, Pebble Beach has few peers when it comes to the top golf courses in the United States or most recognizable.
“It was on number five, which was a par three of 145 yards,” said Hutson. “I was swinging a little bit into the wind and slightly up hill with a 6 iron.”
Hutson, due to decades of never actually carding an ace, did not give getting that elusive ace a thought. To add to that, he was more concerned about the possibility of getting par because of the wind and because he said the ball doesn’t carry quite as well on the course.
So, did he think he had a chance when he hit it?
“Not really, because I was looking directly into the sunlight and never saw it,” said Hutson. “We were in a threesome and my caddie got to the green and sees two balls in front of the green and he thought I hit it over the green.”
Hutson’s mood quickly went from golf course somber to celebration. And it was the same caddie who changed his demeanor.
“The caddie started screaming ‘we’ve got a hole in one’ when he looked into the cup. I was excited because I was always worried I would never get one of these in my lifetime,” said Hutson, who said he parred and then birdied his next two shots before “waking up,” with a laugh. “To have it happen at Pebble Beach, my favorite course in the world, made it special.
Hutson can say world because he’s been out of the country to play more than once. Along with going all over the United States, he’s hit the links in Ireland and Scotland as well.
That alone would be great. But the former Bridgeport girls coach, state championship BHS Indians assistant boys coach, the long-time Lincoln girls and boys coach, and coaching assignments at host of other schools, had many things working against him to even get to 
Pebble Beach that day.
Pebble Beach that day.
For starters, Hutson’s long-time friend Lester Clark opened things up by helping him get invited to a four-day golf tournament at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill (two days on both) known as the Gathering of Gentleman Golfers. There were no local golfers, and only Clark – a former Liberty High graduate no longer living in the area – was among those Hutson knew as golfers flew in from all over the country.
Initially, Hutson would likely have not been able to join the group. He was scheduled for open heart surgery – a mitral valve repair – and the timeline was not falling in schedule with what was needed to be available to be part of the group.
Hutson, however, got the first break when days after returning from a trip to France. A cancelation had set up an opening just three days after returning from Europe. He filled the vacancy.
“That surgery was tough, and even though I knew if I recovered well I would be able to do things (like the golf trip to Pebble Beach), I was more concerned about the fact I was having open heart surgery to fix a valve that was leaking bad,” said Hutson. “The surgery lasted five and a half hours and they have to stop your heart. I know they tell you they do these surgeries every day, but they don’t do them on me
every day so, yeah, I was concerned.”
every day so, yeah, I was concerned.”
There was good news after the surgery. Although the first few weeks were tough, Hutson recovered. Even better news was the valve only needed repaired and not replaced. With all of that in place, and the fact he stared down a very serious condition successfully, opened things up to go on the golf excursion where he would collect the hole in one.
“Having to go through that not long before the trip did make it sweeter,” said Hutson. “Knowing, too, that if that surgery wasn’t moved up, I wouldn’t have been able to go also makes it a little more special. A lot of things fell into place for something to happen that I never thought would happen.
“I have to praise God,” he continued. “He gave me another opportunity.”
The opportunity not just for Hutson’s first hole-in-one, but for many more. Hutson said he feels good enough to keep golfing for a long time, but probably not as much at places like Pebble Beach where he used the term “ridiculous” for the cost to play there.
“I hope to golf until the day I die,” said Hutson. “I’m addicted to it, and maybe there will another big day on the course.”
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