What Larry Stephenson of Suffolk achieved at Cedar Point Country Club on Saturday was not a first for him, but it was a cause for him to have renewed gratitude.

Stephenson hit a hole in one on No. 16 from the green tees, 156 yards out.

A little bit of wind blew in the faces of Stephenson and his companions, Willie Powell, Bobby Armstrong and Tommy Armstrong, when he teed off on that hole. As he swung his 4 hybrid, Stephenson said, “It took a little extra club.”

“Just made a good pass at the ball, straight to the green, hit the green and just started rolling and dropped in,” he said. “We could see it go in.”

He said it is exciting when a hole in one happens, but noted he did not have much of a reaction.

“I’m 71 years old, and I’ve had three before,” he said.

One came at a course in Idaho, when he was working there for a couple years. Having played golf for about 50 years total, he has been a member at Cedar Point for close to 30, and three of his aces have now come on the club’s championship course.

But this was the first time he had hit one on No. 16, which was not the simplest of tasks.

“It’s definitely one of the more challenging par-3s on the course,” said Phillip Bishop, a pro shop clerk at the club.

Even more significant, though, is that this ace was the first Stephenson had hit since undergoing back surgery nearly two years ago, a procedure which included a rod being inserted into his back. He said it was six months before he could pick up a golf club, and he was told he has lost 15 percent of his flexibility.

He agreed that being able to get a hole in one after all that made him grateful.

After acknowledging that “you’ve got to be pretty lucky” when you get an ace, he said he was able to get one in this particular instance because “it happened to be a good shot.”

Stephenson said he typically averages 83 to 84 from the green tees these days. He ended up shooting an 87 on Saturday — a below-average round — but the ace helped out.