Rotorua Golf Club, Arikikapakapa Reserve. Photo / Felix Desmarais
A hole-in-one is a golf shot with incredibly small odds.
But a Rotorua couple has defied those odds after hitting holes-in-one on the same day at the same hole, one after the other.
They have described the New Year’s Day moment as a “miracle”.
Husband and wife Steve and Keiko - who only wanted their first names used - were playing nine holes at the Rotorua Golf Club, Arikikapakapa, on Sunday.
They usually play as a pair, but this time they invited a friend to celebrate the New Year.
As they approached the sixth hole, a par 3, Steve was first off the tee.
“He hit it and the ball went really well towards the flag,” Keiko said. “We were watching, watching, and then, ‘Wow’ that was a miracle!”
The ball had landed in the hole.
“We were so excited,” Keiko said.
“Then it was my turn to hit. The ball went high, I didn’t actually know where it went. Normally it goes sideways but it happened to go straight toward the pin and landed on the side. Then it rolled toward the flag and went in.”
It is the first time either had scored a hole-in-one.
Keiko said there was a young man playing on the fifth hole behind them who heard them screaming and cheering.
Keiko has been playing golf for many years, while Steve has only been playing for about two years, and are both nine-hole members at the Rotorua Golf Club. Keiko’s handicap is 18 and Steve’s is 20.
Steve said he was “quite relaxed” after hitting the shot.
“It’s no big deal really,” he said with a laugh.
“I don’t think our friends will believe it.”
Steve said Golf New Zealand was going to be sending them a certificate, which he planned to show any non-believers as proof.
“It is quite amazing. What are the chances of that happening?” he said.
“When you think about it, in the major tournaments you may see a guy get a hole-in-one. But you don’t see two guys get a hole-in-one on the same day.
“I don’t think we have made history, but it sure was fun.”
Steve said he and Keiko did not celebrate the win but he said it was special to have shared the moment with his wife.
“Just to prove how competitive she is, I hit one, and then she goes and gets one straight after me.”
They both did “nothing special”, he said. “But both shots were just fantastic.”
The last three holes were “average” after their eagles on the sixth, he said.
“But it did give me the lowest score I have ever had (46).”
Keiko’s final score was 51.
Rotorua Golf Club general manager Graeme Pullen said the double hole-in-one was“really quite unique”.
There have been “quite a few” holes in one scored at the golf club. “I would say probably about 20 a year. It does happen.”
But he said he had never heard of a two hole in ones on the same hole on the same day before.
“For a couple to hit a hole-in-one together like that is really quite out there.”
Pullen said because it was the holidays he was yet to speak with the club’s board about how they would commemorate the two hole-in-ones.
“But ordinarily it would be a bar shout and we get the ball they scored with mounted on a trophy for them to take home.”
Police have secured the scene and are examining the area.