13-YEAR-OLD ROBBED OF PRIZE-WINNING MERCEDES BY FINE PRINT

Hole-in-one prize turned out to be only a 27- month lease

Lesson in life: Always read the fine print!

TEEN’S HOLE-IN-ONE WINNING MERCEDES CAME WITH FINE PRINT
By Zeke MacCormack

Houston Chronicle
June 25, 2013

KERRVILLE, Texas -- Besting legendary athletes at a charity golf event with a round that included a hole-in-one, Dalton Sisson's weekend was unforgettable even without the heady thought that he'd be the only Mercedes-Benz owner in his eighth-grade class.

As the red sedan shimmered beside the tee box at Comanche Trace, a private course off Texas 173, he hit a driver Saturday into a headwind on the 177-yard eighth hole and watched in shock as the ball rolled to the top of the green and then back and into the cup.

"We were all just yelling and screaming," Dalton, 13, of Weatherford, Okla., said Monday.

Golfers on a nearby tee also cheered, as did official observers under the tent by the Mercedes, which was draped in a banner reading, "Hole In One Wins!"

"They called the clubhouse and brought someone out and they told me the car's mine," Dalton said.

Long after the high-fives and back-slapping, though, Dalton learned one of those life lessons: Read the dreaded fine print.

While reviewing digital photos as they drove home Sunday, his step-dad, Scott Smith, zoomed in on the banner's smaller type and saw that the prize was a 27-month lease.

"We were all under the impression, at first, that in fact he had won the car outright," Smith said.

That was also the understanding of Nathan Fox, owner of Fox Tank, a manufacturer in Kerr-_ville, which organized the tournament. The 114 golfers included 20 former National Football League players and the event raised money for the Hill Country Youth Orchestra, The Rayfield Wright Foundation and the Children's Association for Maximum Potential Camp.

"I'd say 99.9 percent of all the people out there thought they'd win the car if they knocked in a hole in one," Fox said. "That's what I was shooting for."

The details also eluded Kerr County Judge Pat Tinley, who announced Monday at commissioners court that a boy had won a Mercedes, joking, "I understand he hasn't been playing golf that long, but he's hooked now."

But Tony Johnson, the head pro at Comanche Trace, knew what the small letters said. He has seen about 25 holes-in-one there since he was hired in 2007, including two at other charity events for which the golfers each received $10,000 cash.

"It's the players' responsibility to read the sign," Johnson said. "Some people just got carried away and didn't read the sign."

When first interviewed about supplying the car for the hole-in-one contest, Jeff Ramirez, events coordinator at Mercedes Benz of Boerne, didn't mention the prize was a lease worth $14,000.

"I guess I didn't give you all of the information," he said later, confirming that Dalton hadn't won ownership of the $42,775 car.

Since accepting the prize might jeopardize his future eligibility as a student athlete, Dalton had deliberated what to do since sinking the shot. He'd still have to pay taxes on it. Knowing the prize was a lease made the decision simple.

"If it's just a two-year lease then I won't take it, because there's no sense in it," he said. "I'm only 13 and if I took it for two years, I still wouldn't be old enough to drive it."

Dalton, Smith and their four teammates did get $100 gift cards from the pro shop for their win. And Smith said he told his stepson, "No matter how this thing shakes out, there's one thing that nobody can take away from you. You still made the hole-in-one."

Dalton's mom, Cheryl Smith, said despite not winning the car, "He had the time of his life."

And, she said, Dalton "most definitely" will read the fine print from now on.