Ace on debut for 62-year-old newbie

I’m sure anyone who has ever played golf remembers their first-ever shot. Mine was simply world-class.

Blissfully unaware of the difference between a swing and a hit, I crushed the ball straight down the middle of the fairway of a public course in Port Laoise, Ireland.

Then, with an approach shot so subtle that it would have had Tiger Woods taking notes, I reached the green in two … a career record of 100 per cent for greens in regulation.

The fact that I then putted six times before sinking the blasted ball in no way diminishes the quality of my debut performance. I thought no one would ever come close to doing what I did with my first-ever strike of a golf ball.

That was until Unni Haskell came along. The 62-year-old Norway native hit a hole-in-one with her very first shot on a golf course.

According to mlive.com, she had taken two months of lessons and then went to a nine-hole course in St Petersburg. Using a driver on the 100-yard opening hole, her shot avoided a left-side bunker, bounced on to the green and disappeared into the cup.

This is quite annoying news for some golfers, especially the low handicappers, who may have been playing for decades and have yet to hit an ace. These people would be even more irritated if they knew what she said afterwards.

Haskell, resplendent in her naivety, doesn’t know what the fuss is all about. She was quoted as saying:

“I didn’t know it was that big of a deal. I thought all golfers do this.”

I wonder what would have happened if my first hole was a par-3 instead of a par-4. At least I didn’t need to practice for two months.


One Response to “Ace on debut for 62-year-old newbie”

  1. Andy
    My ace was on the 20th April 1957, the first person to have aced that particular hole, the 16th at the Manawatu Golf Club, Palmerston North, NZ. I have now done it, and haven’t tried since !!!

    Roger

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