When Ron Check, chair and CEO of Edgewood Paper in Yardley, Pa., learned he was one of the winners of a "Tee It Up with Tiger" contest, his reaction was predictable.

"I was elated," said the longtime golfer. "I felt that I hit the lottery."

The odds of winning were "astronomical." Nike Golf had randomly inserted 1,000 "platinum" prize balls among the ONE model golf balls. Out of those, 24 were picked to choose those who won the opportunity to spend two days with one of the sport's greatest players (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

Check joined the other winners at the Ginn Reunion Resort in Orlando, Fla., from Sept. 18 to 20. Each played one hole with Woods, who was recently named Golfer of the Year for the sixth time in his career.

Woods also gave a clinic for an hour and hosted a question-and-answer program. Check wanted to know whom Woods would want to play a round of golf with, past or present, golfer or non-golfer. "His immediate response was his dad," said Check. "He wished he had played more golf with his dad and spent more time with him." Earl Woods passed away in 2006.

Check, 61, an avid duffer who plays at the Green Acres Country Club in Lawrenceville, described Woods as "an absolutely delightful person to meet and play golf with. He had a big smile on his face; he looked like he was enjoying himself…. He made everybody feel comfortable and happy.

"I had a great time," said Check, describing the experience as "once-in-a-lifetime."

The Checks, who are a golfing family, include his wife, Gail, who works as director of development at the Abrams Hebrew Academy in Yardley, and their sons Matthew, a graduate student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan, and Darren, who works with his father. A third son, Jonathan, is a "wannabe rock star. He doesn't play golf; he plays the guitar," Check said.

Playing golf "is all about having fun and enjoying the moment," said Check. "It's nice to have something to do for the rest of your life. Most other sports, there's a time limit that says you can't play baseball anymore, you can't play football, you can't play basketball. But in golf, you can play until you're 90….or until you drop."