When it’s a day of leisurely golf and you can turn to a former U.S. Mid-Amateur champ, Matt Parziale, for advice and you actually do what he says, you feel a sense of accomplishment.

So, you can imagine how Colin Whitney’s enthusiasm rose exponentially when the drive Parziale suggested – “Just hit it over the cart path” – was shaped perfectly. It turned right-to-left, the direction of the cart path, and tracked the green perfectly on the 307-yard, dogleg left par-4 ninth hole on Juniper Hill’s Lakeside Course. So perfectly, in fact, that once Whitney arrived at the green (it’s a blind shot), he discovered his ball in the cup.

Nothing like a tidy little ace of the rarest kind to bring a smile to your face.

Only Whitney – who grew up in Longmeadow, graduated from Nichols College (’16) where he played on the golf team, and lives now in Somerville – gladly accepted congratulations, knowing his “1” was not the most important score of the day.

No, by a long shot. Not when you make your albatross during a two-day golf marathon that raised $750,000 for Golf Fights Cancer. Whitney watched his older sister, Caitlin, go through a battle with cancer and while he’s thankful she is doing well, he knows the fight goes on for so many others, so he was more than happy to play a lot of golf last Thursday (it was a marathon, remember) over Juniper Hill’s Lakeside and Riverside courses to help the cause.

The personal connection extended beyond Caitlin. Mark Whitney, father to Colin and Caitlin, is good friends with Jim Coughlin, the founder and chief volunteer of DetecTogether, a national nonprofit that teaches people how to recognize the earlier warning signs of cancer.

This year, the two-day marathon that attracted 85 golfers to Juniper Hills in Northborough was a team effort between the two charities dedicated to fighting cancer and saving lives. Funds raised during this year’s event primarily will benefit DetecTogether.

Mark Whitney caddied for his son (when you’re trying to play a lot of holes, assistance is appreciated), while Parziale caddied for his father, Vic.

A good number of the participants played upwards of 100 holes and the storylines were flavorful – from John Dias and Jimmy Yonchak playing a series of 10, 10-hole matches, to Woods Hole head professional Glenn Kelly pushing his career total of money raised to more than $200,000, to Whitney’s albatross.

“It’s incredibly inspiring to see the impact that people who share a common interest can make in the fight against cancer,” said Brian Oates, chairman and co-founder of Golf Fights Cancer.