Lots of club golfers play for years without making a hole-in-one. Even the late, great Seve Ballesteros never made an ace in his professional career – which is hard to believe.
Think about how many par 3s you’ve played over the years. Any joy? Or, like the author, is the closest you’ve ever come to making a hole-in-one several feet (not really that close).
We have heard of golfers making consecutive holes-in-one, which is another incredibly impressive feat, but I was blown away when hearing about the recent achievement of amateur golfer, Pete Sawyer.
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For the average golfer, the odds of making an ace are approximately 12,000/1. Pete Sawyer, who has only been playing golf seriously for seven years, has made four – three of which have come in the last three months.
So, using a very basic formula and the much needed help of AI, that would make the odds of three in quick succession absolutely astronomical (around 1 in 1.95 trillion – apparently)…
Amateur Golfer’s Achievement Defies 1.95 Trillion To 1 Odds
“All my luck has come at once, I think,” says Sawyer, who started off as an 18-handicapper (now 3.1).
The East Herts Golf Club member plays a lot with his brother-in-law, Chris Edwards, a PGA professional and a caddie on the LPGA Tour for Gemma Dryburgh.
Edwards, he says, has never made a hole-in-one – and after making his most recent ace, at Woburn, he started to feel a bit guilty.
“I don’t know what to say,” he laughs. Chris hits the ball so well. Every par 3 he’s hitting it close, but he’s never made one. It’s incredible.”
Lots of golfers will be familiar with the feeling. One day it’ll happen, right?
The downside for Sawyer of holing out three times in rapid succession is the substantial bar bill that he’s had to cover, the first of which could have bought him a new driver.
And even though golf insurance has covered the tradition of buying a drink when you get a hole in one for his fellow members, Sawyer has noticed a small but important change in the small print.
“I’m capped at £200 ($270) now for a round of drinks,” he laughs, “so I might end up having to shop around a bit.”
DUKE’S DELIGHT
Pete celebrates making a hole-in-one on the Duke’s course at Woburn
(Image credit: Pete Sawyer)
Sawyer recorded his first hole-in-one at his home club in May last year, a sweetly struck 5-iron from 190 yards, en route to his lowest ever score of 73 (two over).
Being the 18th, and being a competition in the summer, it was even sweeter, with a full balcony of members watching on.
Almost a year later to the day, he holed a 9-iron from 152 yards on the 15th, also at East Herts, which helped him to a new lowest score of 70.
The following month, Sawyer needed to fill out another insurance claim form after a perfect 4-iron on the 14th hole at Welwyn Garden City, which came during a corporate golf day. Expensive.
However, the best strike was yet to come.
In August, joining 120 of his fellow East Herts members in the captain’s day at Woburn (Duke’s course), Sawyer flushed his very first shot of the day, a 6-iron from 193 yards – and it found the bottom of the cup.
“I think what made it so special was that Woburn was great,” he says. “Everyone was coming up to me to congratulate me, the greenkeepers, the course marshal, even the people in the halfway hut knew about it!”
Ok, Pete, no need to go on about it.
Being the fine gentleman he is, Sawyer ended up making a significant donation to the captain’s charity – and, of course, he was obliged to go to the bar. Again.
Well, that’s just the cost of striking a perfect iron.
What Is Your Biggest Golfing Achievement?
Pete Sawyer’s incredible feat is something the majority of amateur golfers can only dream of, but I would wager that many of you have spectacular achievements of your own to share!
If so, drop us a comment in the box at the bottom of this article. We’d love to hear about your achievements so that we can celebrate more epic moments from club golfers around the world.
