Driving a wooden peg into the ground, putting a dimpled golf ball on top of it, taking dead aim with a stick from 140 yards a way and hitting it so precisely that it drops into a hole in the ground that measures 4.25 inches in diameter isn’t supposed to be as easy as Alvamar Country Club fixture Jerry Waugh makes it look.

Then again, the man who played basketball at Kansas University for coach Phog Allen and earned the nickname “Sheriff of Sumner County,” makes a lot of things easier than they’re supposed to be. For example, turning 88. Waugh did so last Feb. 12. Honest Jerry shares a birthday with Abraham Lincoln and a short game with Phil Mickelson, minus the trick shots.

A mental and physical genetic marvel, Waugh routinely beats his age on the golf course.

You might have seen him inventing a practice range somewhere on the spare grounds at Alvamar. He was the guy carrying a white towel, stepping off a distance, dropping the towel onto the ground and then taking dead aim. The years have stolen his power, so he compensates by knowing precisely how far he hits each club in his bag. Surely, he must use an illegal ball because it only goes straight. Must be the equipment.

My first thought upon hearing that Waugh carded his eighth hole-in-one last Thursday on No. 8 at Alvamar private at the age of 88 ­– octophobic he is not — was that he must have been a Yankees fan as a child. Why? Because his latest ace came two days after legendary Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra, No. 8, died at the age of 90. I figured Jerry set out to thank Yogi for the memories by acing No. 8 for his eighth career hole in one and fifth on that hole. If anybody could dial up an ace that easily, Waugh’s the guy. So I asked him Tuesday to name his favorite baseball team and sure enough it was the Yankees of Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra, Don Larsen and Whitey Ford.

Since Waugh’s a man of his word, I believe him when he says that isn’t the case. Then again, maybe I don’t. On the braggart scale, Donald Trump stands at one end, Waugh the other.

I’m proud to say I now have something in common with Waugh athletically in that we both have a connection to a specific number regarding aces. The No. 1 was all over my scorecard when I carded my ace on Aug. 11, 1997, a day in which I shot a 111. My number is 1, coach Waugh’s is 8, which is fitting since he’s eight times the golfer I could ever hope to be.

— Tom Keegan can be seen on The Drive, Sunday nights on WIBW TV.