At 87, Don Ferlin thought he’d never sink a hole-in-one.

Heck, with the coronavirus pandemic dragging on and golf courses declared off-­limits by Gov. Tom Wolf until May 1, the Unity man wondered whether he would ever tee off again.

But Thursday, Ferlin and his longtime golfing buddies, Sonny Baughman and Jim “Skip” Carns, both of Latrobe, got a tee time at Glengarry Golf Links in Unity. On the second hole, a 215-yard par 3, Ferlin grabbed a 7-wood to hit from the senior tee about 144 yards away from the pin.

“It was pretty windy. I knew I hit a nice shot because I hit it straight, it bounced and went right in,” Ferlin said.

He saw the ball bounce but didn’t see it drop into the cup. His eyesight has diminished since he suffered a stroke a couple of years ago. But, Ferlin said, Baughman and Carns sure saw it.

“They were more excited than I was,” Ferlin said with a laugh. “They were jumping up and down, shouting.”

The former owner of the Corner Market grocery store at Ligonier Street and Second Avenue near Excela Health Latrobe hospital said he was certainly happy, but he calmly walked to the green and plucked his ball out of the cup with no theatrics, while his friends nearby hooted and hollered congratulations.

Ferlin’s wife, Billie, said her husband has never been excitable.

“When they were driving Don back home, Skip and Sonny said they wanted to drive up and down Beech Street honking the horn, but Don wouldn’t let them,” Billie said.

Glengarry course owner Jamie Costic said Ferlin, a regular, was low-key about his hole-in-one, but the golf course was buzzing all day about the octogenarian’s feat.

“Everyone here was really excited for Don. He belongs to the Possom Hollow League that plays here and, through the rest of the afternoon when those members came to play and we told them what Don did, everybody was really excited for him, including his son, Scott, who runs the league,” Costic said.

Ferlin kept the ball. After all, he admitted, your first hole-in-one after golfing for 75 years is very special.

“Like I said, I never thought I’d get one,” he said.

Ferlin began golfing in the mid-1940s at age 12, the same time he began caddying at the nearby Latrobe Country Club, home to legendary golfer Arnold Palmer. The course superintendent at the time was Palmer’s father, Milfred “Deacon” Palmer.

“I knew Arnie. He was four years older than me and, when he came home from college and played in Latrobe, I used to caddie for him every once in a while,” Ferlin said.

The father of seven grown children and grandfather of 15 said he has continued his love of golf throughout his life. He has been a member of many golf leagues and is a former member at the nearby Latrobe Elks and Ligonier County Club.

“I used to get out and golf at least four times a week. Now, I may get out twice a week … usually at Glengarry,” he said.

He said he will continue golfing as long as he can.

“I like to get out in the sun. I like to walk and I like the competition. Look at me, I’m in my 80s and still get out,” Ferlin said. “I’m living proof you can continue playing into your 80s and enjoy it — as long as you can walk and still swing a club.”

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