Getting a hole-in-one in golf is like nursing a religious faith: the desire for things hoped for, the evidence of an unseen force at work; and for some cynics, not until it is personally experienced and witnessed does the disbeliever change to a believer.

Some people miraculously get them left, right and centre, while the rest of us go through our whole golf lives without one. Statistically speaking, just exactly what are the odds of making a hole-in-one? Results vary, as you may well guess, depending on the source you ask, and the numbers used to calculate the odds, and with the inherent bugbear that nobody actually knows the true number of aces made every year because not every ace that is made is reported, and, more annoyingly, that not every ace reported might have actually been made!

Still, holes-in-one appear to be extremely rare, depending mostly from the frequency by which one plays rather than on skill. That having said, some bizarre instances have been recorded where the ball has bounced off a bird in flight, or even a passing car, before settling into the hole. However, recent aces by friends and family have made me hopeful that this “rare” occurrence may actually be experienced more often than one thinks.

Even though Ireland's National Hole-in-One Club puts the odds for an ace at 33,000 to 1, while another article citing Sports Illustrated as its source, put the odds at 45,000 to 1, insurance companies have calculated the chance of an average golfer making a hole-in-one at roughly 12,500 to 1. The odds appear to be getting better!

Then what about making TWO holes in one within a month? Impossible? Not so, a friend of mine who played in the recent SLGA at Tanah Merah Golf Club in April, related to me her amazing story.

“I came in 2nd runner-up in Div A3 (Handicap 10.0 - 12.9) and also won the daily best gross on the final day. Shot 84, and had a hole-in-one to top it off! It was at the 13th hole, a 126 m Par 3, but on that day (22nd April), it was playing 131m with pin at the back. I used my 9 wood which I hit with a 3/4 swing and watched it land on the top left hump before rolling close to the pin, turned away satisfied thinking I've hit a decent shot, I should be able to par it or even birdie it. But lo and behold as I picked up my tee, my flight mates were screaming “hole-in-one”! “Hole-in-one!”. I was wondering who could that be before it dawned on me that it was indeed me! It took a few seconds to register the whole enormity of it all and I was overcome with emotion. Needless to say I fell apart the next 2 holes before telling myself to get a grip!

Then guess what happened? I had my 2nd hole-in-one on 17th May! Can you believe it? It was the Cleveland Srixon CSSB Open at Kota Permai ... and at the 107m Par 3, I took out my 9 iron and hit it, which I thought was a sublime shot and watched it land and roll in. Unbelievable. TWO holes-in-one within a month! It was certainly memorable to say the least.”

And so maybe that’s all there is to it. Just keep on practicing your game religiously and then it’s all a question of keeping the faith. Happy swing thoughts!

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