Whangarei woman golfer lands two holes in one in same round near Taupo

Whangarei golfing ace Sherrill Jeeves landed two holes in one in the same round at Wairakei, near Taupo. Photo / Andrew Johnsen

Watch out Lydia Ko - Sherrill Jeeves has hit her stride, banging in two holes in one in the same round of golf.

Jeeves, aged 65, was competing at the Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary course near Taupō when she achieved the rare feat.

Lining up on the 102m, par-3 fifth hole on Friday, the Whangarei golfer wanted a strong shot to avoid a bunker.

"I hit it sweet and it just hopped up over the bunker. Next thing I knew it ran straight in the hole," said Jeeves, a member of the Sherwood Park Golf Club in Whangarei.

"I couldn't quite believe it myself but the girls were jumping up and down."

Later, the number 2 hole - 107m and par 3 - would be her group's last of the round; they had started at number 3.

"I said to the girls, 'I've got to get this on the green and at least get a par …'

"One of the girls said to me, 'Just put it in the hole'. I picked up my 8 iron and for once it went sweet and came up and she said, 'It's dropped in the hole'. I said, 'No, it's sitting behind it'. She said, 'No it's in the hole'.

"I still couldn't believe it."

Jeeves' good aim at the Partridge Jewellers Women's Golf Classic at Wairakei - an event that raised about $4000 for cancer patients support group Look Good Feel Better - was not her first hole in one.

"Years ago I was on holiday with my husband and son and I got a hole in one in Spain."

Holes in one were not uncommon, said Jeeves, who has played golf since she was 35, but she hadn't heard of a golfer hitting two in the same round.

Nor had Wairakei coach Steven Jessup heard of it happening, he told the Herald.

"It's quite a rare event so we screamed around and we ended up giving her a big bunch of flowers, a bottle of bubbly and a dozen Volvik golf balls."

Jeeves' ace at the number 2 hole - the site of the nearest-the-pin competition for her division - also won her a necklace from the sponsor.

But it turns out that Ko might be safe. Jeeves finished 21st in her division and, with a course handicap of 17 at Wairakei, professes herself to be of average golfing ability.

"I'm up and down like a yo-yo," said Jeeves, who plays twice a week.

So if there was a dose of chance involved as well as raw skill, did Jeeves rush out for a Lotto ticket.

"Not then [on Friday] - I bought one yesterday, but there was no run of luck."