This Part II report on the Jacqueline Gagne Hole-In-One Hoax has less humor than Part I (December ’07 issue of GolfNews Magazine) because of the seriousness of the themes herewith—exploitation for financial gain, mental health including an attempted suicide and violent behavior....

In this Part II, I tackle the reasons why a person such as Gagne would create and perpetuate such an absurd hoax (absurd as it was, so many people fell for it—club members where she played, top notch media outlets, one of the finest brand names in golf and, regretfully, myself).

The only person who might really know why Gagne created the hoax is Gagne herself. However, how viable is she as a source of information, whether it’s about herself or the hoax? After speaking with Gagne directly and exchanging emails with her, my belief is that she’s not a reliable source for information related to this hoax, paradoxical since she is the source and perpetuator of it.

Before going further, for those of you not familiar with the details of Gagne’s outrageous claims, allow me to briefly summarize. The date of Gagne’s first hole-in-one claim was January 23, 2007, on the 17th hole at Mission Hills Country CC in Rancho Mirage (her home course at the time; she is no longer a member) on the Palmer Course, 135 yards, with a 7-iron. Four days later, she claimed another hole-in-one on the Mission Hills Pete Dye Course , and through July 13, 2007, claimed a total of 16 holes-in-one all within a 6-month period of time. The mathematical odds of this happening according to Harvard professor David Boyum is 2,253,649,101,066,840,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1.

Financial Motive

Whether the Gagne Hole-in-One Hoax was conceived from the very beginning before the first ace was claimed or whether Gagne initiated the scheme after her initial hole-in-one claim(s) is not known. One theory is after claiming the first few holes-in-one, the idea dawned on Gagne that in addition to notoriety, money (or objects of monetary value) could be obtained if she just kept on “making” them.

Some observers at Mission Hills Country Club say it’s conceivable that Gagne actually made one or two holes-in-one and they were the catalyst for Gagne’s full-blown hoax. Whether Gagne actually made any holes-in-one or not is irrelevant, in my opinion. I know in my heart of hearts by weighing the evidence and logic, there is no way on earth Gagne made 16 holes-in-one in six months and it is possible she made zero because no bona fide witness ever actually saw the ball go into the hole regarding everyone of her alleged claims. Gagne, herself, admits to only seeing three of the holes-in-one go into the hole.

As far as I’m concerned, Gagne has lost all credibility. I agree with the old Ashanti saying, “One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.” And Aesop’s 6th Century B.C. remarks, “A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.”

What becomes clear is that somewhere in the process, Gagne had her eye on making money and/or receiving product as a result of this scheme. Gagne and her partner Barbara Kreedman (we’ll talk more about this relationship later) lived in a very nice home in Mission Hills Country Club and as with most very nice homes there are upkeep expenses that need to be paid.

Commenting on the Gagne hole-in-claims, one Mission Hills member requesting anonymity had this to say: “There is a financial reason for all this. Improvements on their home; tile work alone was $80,000. The guy that did the work showed me the invoice because the same guy gave me a bid on my house. They [Jacqueline and Barbara] have three mortgages on their house.

“And there’s the expense of the Mercedes Benz that Barbara gave Jackie as a gift. I’m a numbers person. Regarding all these holes-in-one. I start doing the math. Jacqueline’s making $1500 a month just on receiving the hole-in-one insurance money.

“In April, Jackie hired a publicist [editor’s note: So Gagne said. Whether the publicist actually existed or not is open for debate.] Some time in March, April or May, Jackie’s ‘publicist’ called John Conroy who heads membership at Mission Hills Country Club and said, ‘You need to refund Jackie and Barbara’s $30,000 [initiation fees Barbara had paid] plus all their dues because of all the good publicity Jackie is providing the club.

“The question isn’t really whether she shot 16 holes-in-one, but what she could gain from shooting 16 holes-in-one and why would she need to gain it? So, now I’ve given you that information.”

Gagne’s request for $30,000 plus rebate of her past dues from Mission Hills Country Club is confirmed by Mission Hills management. “The request was made. Nothing was afforded her. The request was denied,” states John Conroy, MHCC director of sales & marketing.

Titleist Gets Hoodwinked, Too
Gagne bragged that the only ball she used during her hole-in-one spree was the Titleist Pro V1 and Titleist fell for the hoax, too. Cobra (Titleist and Cobra are both owned by Acushnet) sent her a set of clubs and staff bag [estimated retail value, at least, $1200], and Titleist honored and promoted her on its official website [editor’s note: Gagne has been taken off Titleist’s website and on the website there is no current mention of her whatsoever].
During her alleged hole-in-one spree, Titleist touted her stating: “With all the national media attention, you've certainly seen or heard of Jacqueline Gagne's uncanny ability to score hole-in-one's (sic). She's already recorded more than a dozen aces this year alone! In fact, she has 16 hole-in-one's (sic) since January [2007] of this year (at last count), and 20 for her golfing career; a golfing career that began just over four years ago.

“On tee boxes and practice ranges across the land, golfers debate whether this is real or fake, unable to believe something so, well, unbelievable. But it is true. In fact, each of her aces in 2007 have been witnessed and verified [editor’s note: this is false; each ace has not been witnessed and verified.]. They've come on holes as long as 163 yards and as short as 95 yards, with fairway metals and gap wedges, from Rhode Island to California. Eight have come in the month of April, including an astonishing six in April of this year alone! Five have come with the same Cobra 7-iron, some in the rain, some under a clear blue sky. The only constant has been the ball—every single one of her 20 hole-in-ones has come with a Titleist Pro V1. When asked about her affinity for Titleist golf balls, and the Pro V1 in particular, Gagne said: ‘Titleist balls offer the perfect combination of long distance and great action on the greens so I can get the ball to react when needed, and the new sidestamp definitely helps me with better putting accuracy". Not that she's had to putt too often!

"’To be honest, I don't even think about hitting a hole-in-one when I approach a par-3,’ said Gagne. ‘I try and read the green from the tee box, choose my location and try and hit the ball to that location. Just relax, keep your head down and commit to your shot.’

“…Finally, while some say the odds of something like this taking place are astronomical, they're not as high as you might think. Actually, they are. The odds of someone having 20 hole-in-one's (sic) is 133 sextillion to 1! And apparently that one is Jacqueline Gagne.”

APPARENTLY NOT!

When one of the finest names in golf—Titleist—gets fooled, then I don’t feel so bad that I got fooled. Hard to believe that this gal from Barrington, Rhode Island, with a current estimated population of less than 17,000, could put one over on millions of other people including one of the most prestigious brand names in golf—Titleist—, yours truly Dan Poppers, and some of the most prominent names in national and international media including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, London Times, CBS News, CBS Early Show, ABC World News, ABC’s Good Morning America, and The Golf Channel. But she did! Why didn’t we all adhere to that wise axiom: IF IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, ITS PROBABLY NOT!

Value received by Gagne included all expenses paid from her Rancho Mirage home to New York for her two TV appearances on Harry Smith’s CBS News Early Show touting her so-called holes-in-one.

Gagne planned to write a book entitled Turning Up Aces no doubt hoping a lucrative publishing contract was on the horizon. If moneymaking wasn’t on Gagne’s mind at the beginning of this hoax, it sure seems to have been on her mind sometime during the process.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

If anyone is empathetic regarding mental health issues, it is me. For a variety of reasons, I believe mental health is still tragically one of most neglected categories in our society. With mixed emotions, I comment on what I believe the relevant mental health issues are when it comes to the Gagne Hole-In-One Hoax. Why mixed emotions? One, I don’t want my words misinterpreted. Two, I don’t want to come across as an expert in the field of mental health because I am not. Three, there are privacy issues; however, Jacqueline Gagne by her outrageous claims often made through a so-called PR agency, received worldwide media coverage making her a “public figure”. By making the claims she made, she became famous (though now “infamous” is more appropriate).

In my opinion, Gagne’s mental health is relevant in trying to understand why this hoax was perpetuated. Therefore, I am entering this topical arena that few writers dare to tread.

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia on the Internet defines “delusion” in the following way: “A delusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception.” Utilizing this definition, a person is delusional who subscribes to a fixed false belief. Wikepedia adds more: “In psychiatry the definition is necessarily more precise and implies that the belief is pathological (the result of an illness or illness process). As a pathology it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information or certain effects of perception which would more properly be termed an apperception or illusion.”

Though I have a Masters degree in Psychology from San Francisco State University, I want to make myself perfectly clear. My degree is not in clinical psychology and I write this article not as a clinician in any way, shape or form. I write this article, at best, as an informed citizen with some knowledge of psychology and some knowledge of other subjects in the social and behavioral sciences. Furthermore, starting in the next paragraph, when I state that, in my opinion, Jacqueline Gagne has been delusional and apparently still is delusional about her knocking in 16 holes-in-one in six months, I do not use “delusional” as a clinical term; I use the non-clinical definition as described by Wikipedia as a “fixed false belief.” Whether Jacqueline Gagne is clinically delusional is not for me to say. I have no idea whether she is or isn’t. But I do believe that she is delusional when it comes to her fixed false belief that she really thinks she has made 16 holes in one in 6 months. And here is why.

After Dave Kindred’s expose on Gagne entitled “Do You Believe Her” was published in the November 2007 issue of Golf Digest, I emailed Jacqueline Gagne the following:

Dear Jacqueline,
With interest, I read the feature story about you in the November 2007 issue of Golf Digest written by Dave Kindred. I will be doing a follow-up story on you in the December 2007 issue of GolfNews Magazine. Regarding Dave Kindred's feature story, please email me back any and all inaccuracies that you feel are present in Kindred's story. Time is of the essence because I am starting to write the GolfNews Magazine story within the next few days or so.
Best regards,
Dan Poppers

Dan Poppers
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
GolfNews Magazine, Established 1984
Golf Writers Association of America National Award Winner
Tel: 760-321-8800 / Fax: 760.328-3013
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Here is an excerpt from Gagne’s email response to my email:

Hi Dan,
Daivd Kindred spoke to many more people that backed me up on my hole in ones .. which he failed to print. He did speak to my x Dr. Barbara Kreedman and [name left out by GolfNews Magazine] who gave him trash about the breakup ..…I am dealing with Dr. Barbara Kreedman within the court system , I beleave (sic) the truth will come out October 25 / 26 we are both back in court. however, Daivd made all the trash told to him work for his article. So I would like to say this... I stand by my Hole In Ones, The Desert Sun stands by me, Kathy Strong from the Desert Magazine stands by me and [name left out by GolfNews Magazine]. —Jacqueline
[Editor’s note: There is no evidence that GolfNews Magazine is aware of that Kindred held back information from “many more people that backed” up Gagne and “he failed to print.”]
I asked one Mission Hills Country Club member that befriended Jacqueline Gagne during the six month period that the alleged holes-in-one were made, “If you were really Jacqueline Gagne’s friend, why don’t you try to convince her that for her to continue to claim she’s making these holes-in-one is detrimental to her reputation and not in her best interest.” The member responded, “Jackie believes she made 16 holes-in-one in six months. She believes it.”
Other evidence points to Jacqueline’s instability. In late October 2007, Gagne was in Riverside County Court responding to and requesting temporary restraining orders in reference to the woman she had been a mate to and lived with for seven years, Dr. Barbara Kreedman, a clinical psychologist. GolfNews Magazine requested copies of the police reports describing the altercations between Gagne and Kreedman, including an attempted suicide by Gagne; however, the Sheriff’s Department responded with the following email:
Dear Mr. Poppers:

On behalf of the Riverside County Sheriff*s Department, this
correspondence is in response to your Public Records Act request, which was received via Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela by the Riverside County Sheriff*s Department on November 16, 2007.

You requested *reports* pertaining to two calls for service on
August 20, 2007 and August 23, 2007 and offered file numbers SO7232016 and SO7235028 as reference to these two incidents. As you may know, ACLU v. Deukmejian (1982) 32 Cal.3d 440, does not require an agency to create records to accommodate a Public Records Act request.

Incident #SO7232016 - On August 20, 2007, at approximately 1254 hours, deputies responded to a *Disturbing the Peace* call for service on Vista Encantada in the city of Rancho Mirage. The call type was later changed to a *Keep The Peace.* The reporting party was requesting a deputy because there was a verbal dispute. The deputy determined there was no crime and no report was written, thus, no record exists. As mentioned earlier, the Department is under no obligation to create a document to satisfy your request.

Although a report was taken for the August 23, 2007 incident
(SO7235028), I am unable to provide you with the incident report you request. As is clearly set out in Williams v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 337, the *investigatory file exemption*, pursuant to Government Code * 6254(f), is not lost even if the investigation is deemed concluded. Although these investigations may have come to an investigative conclusion, they are still exempted from disclosure.

Furthermore, Government Code * 6254(k) exempts records which are exempted or prohibited from disclosure pursuant to federal or state law, but not limited to, provisions of the Evidence Code pertaining to privilege. (See City of Richmond v. Superior Court (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1430. Also, Government Code * 6254(c) exempts medical records which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. To provide you with information about a *mentally disturbed subject* would most certainly violate that person*s right to privacy as guaranteed under the California Constitution Article I, * 1. The custodian of records has the right and duty to protect the identity of those in their records based on Article I, * 1 of the California Constitution. Craig v. Municipal Court (1979) 100 Cal.App.3d 69.

Thank you for your interest in these requested records and please do not hesitate to call if you should have any questions.

Andre O'Harra, Lieutenant
Riverside Sheriff's Department
Professional Standards Division
951-955-2378

GolfWorld (August 31, 2007) described a portion of the exchange revealed in court that took place between Gagne and Kreedman that precipitated a third-party witness to call the Sheriff. “…affidavits from two witnesses reported Gagne struck Kreedman in the neck ‘with her closed fists.’”

A Mission Hills Country Club member offers the following description of what happened:
“When Barbara Kreedman and Jacqueline Gagne were feuding; for several days to get away from Jacqueline, Barbara left the house that they both had been living in. When Barbara returned with a friend for the sole purpose of getting some of her personal belongings out of the house, all hell broke loose.

“ Jackie (Jacqueline) came out of the house screaming at Barbara and Barbara said their relationship was over. Jackie spits in Barbara’s friend’s face and takes a punch at Barbara and hits Barbara in the face. Jackie grabs Barbara by the arm, takes her into the house, shuts and locks the door. At this point, [name withheld by GolfNews Magazine] gets on the cell phone and calls 911.”

Within a week after this incident, Jacqueline attempted suicide by trying to overdose on pills but her attempt failed. Gagne signed the suicide note: “The Hole-In-One Girl”.

When I interviewed one of the Mission Hills members that had befriended Gagne long after most others had abandoned Gagne, I asked the member at the end of the interview, “Is there anything else whatsoever you would like to say?” The member responded, “We are all human beings. Sometimes people need a little bit more help and understanding, and we shouldn’t judge so quickly. We’re all not perfect.”

Am I concerned about Jacqueline Gagne as a fellow human being? Absolutely. Am I concerned about her welfare? Definitely. There’s the saying: don’t take away someone’s fantasy until you can replace it with something else.

Now that Jacqueline Gagne has had plenty of time to replace her fantasy with something more constructive, I hope she realizes that she doesn’t need hole-in-ones, fame, or notoriety to validate herself as a human being.

Read Part 3 of The Gagne Hoax in the coming February 2007 issue of GolfNews Magazine. Why did so many people fall for the hoax is one of the questions that will be addressed.

Dan Poppers, M.S., M.Ed., has a Bachelors degree in Political Science and Masters degree in Education from U.C.L.A., and a Masters degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from San Francisco State University. Poppers is the founder of GolfNews Magazine and is a Golf Writers Association of America national award-winning writer.