BROCKPORT, N.Y. (FLX) — There’s only one word for it, and we don’t even have to write it.

It’s special, OK. The word is special. Especial.

FLX Tour Head of Content and Rules Czar Joey Mortillaro scored his first career hole-in-one Saturday morning at Deerfield Golf & Country Club. In traditional FLX fashion, we are choosing to celebrate this individual accomplishment as a collective.

The ace came on hole 4, a 205 yard par 3, and the young men were playing the blue tees. Mortillaro, known for his distance, opted for a six iron.

“High draw shot shape,” the young man said as he recalled the fateful moment. “Hit green, rolled a bit and funneled right in.”

The hole in one is the latest on the FLX Tour, and we’re already excited for the next one, but this is and always will be special.

“On behalf of the whole FLX Tour — the fans, the pros, and leadership — we couldn’t be happier for our friend,” FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Shane Driffill said. “Every golfer dreams of that magical moment, and he’ll have this one forever.”

“We were playing with this random guy named Mike recently, he went by the name of Big Dog,” FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Matt Driffill said. “Joe hit like a standard iron shot about 200 yards and was screaming at Big Dog to tell his friends about it, so God only knows what we’ll go through from here on this one.”

It has not been an easy road for Mortillaro this season; the road to Zen seldom is.

It was a rare February day at Craigie Brae with 70 degrees and sun. The Driffill twins, Mortillaro, and Sean Sawyer hit the links for an early season round with their heads held high.

They traded stories from the offseason’s travels, and busy meeting calendar at FLX HQ, and they also discussed books; one book in particular.

That book was Golf Zen. All four members of the group tuned into the audio presentation, but of the four none were more impacted than Mortillaro, who declared he “wanted to be a good person” after consuming it.

That zen approach was put to the test only seven days later when the same foursome booked 18 at Greystone. What was a favorable forecast turned nasty, sub 40 degreers, 40 mph winds, frozen rain four five hours straight.

“It was, by far, the worst conditions I’ve ever played in,” Matt Driffill said.

“We were telling ourselves what a privilege it was to be playing, while standing, freezing, soaking, after another quad bogey. It was rough,” Shane said.

So bad indeed that Mr. Zen himself, the Rules Czar, packed it up after the first nine and concluded his golf priveleges for the day.

“I thought he lost it,” Shane said. “I thought we lost him.”

But what’s lost is found. The journey of Zen never ends … until you get a hole in one.