Horowhenua-Kāpiti rugby representative Dallas Wiki can add a golfing hole-in-one to the list of his sporting achievements.
The 2m-tall lock forward, who has played 11 games of rugby for his province, achieved golf’s holy grail at the Buckley Golf Course in Shannon on Sunday.
Wiki, 24, stepped up to the elevated tee-off spot on the par 3 sixth hole (129m), hitting a gentle nine iron into the breeze.
The ball sailed high before pitching about two metres from the flag and gently rolling into the hole, much to his delight and that of his playing group of James Woodmass and Dave Collins.
Dallas Wiki scored a hole-in-one on the par-3 6th hole at Buckely Golf Course in Shannon yesterday.
Dallas Wiki celebrates his hole-in-one at Buckley Golf Course yesterday.
Wiki, who was named Horowhenua-Kāpiti rugby’s most promising player last season, lives down the road from the picturesque country course and became a member two years ago.
He tried to get out once a week, usually on a Sunday after rugby, and a seven handicap suggests he’s no hacker.
Buckley Golf Club puts $100 on the bar whenever a hole-in-one is scored, which Wiki matched in kind yesterday afternoon. He also received a $300 paint voucher from one of the club’s sponsors.
Two weeks ago another player, Ian August, achieved the same feat on the same hole. According to a US hole-in-one registry, the odds of a player getting a hole-in-one are estimated at 25,000 to one, although those odds decrease considerably for players with low handicaps.
Buckley Golf Course is a picturesque 18-hole course at the foot of the Tararua Ranges. It enjoys a healthy membership. Green fees are kept to a minimum by the club using a flock of sheep to graze the fairways.
The sheep are kept from the putting greens by three-wire electric fence circles.
