DAVE Baker proved lightning can strike twice after scoring two holes-in-one at Saddleworth’s 15th in the space of six months.
The 67-year-old retired teacher from Greenfield, pictured above, was taking part in the Friday roll-up when he achieved his second-ever ace.
And by a strange twist of fate it was also at The Pond which was 160 yards in length from the yellow tees.
Dave, who has been a member at Saddleworth since 2009, said: “It was like waiting for a bus and then two coming along together.
“When I had the first hole-in-one I hit a good tee shot, but couldn’t find the ball.
“We were about to give up looking for the ball when we found it had gone straight in. I remarked I would have loved to see it go in – little realising there would be another.
“On the same hole for the second hole-in-one, again I knew I had hit a good shot. I heard an incredible clatter and thought it had hit the pin.
“It was only when we arrived on the green that we found it had pitched directly into the hole.”
Dave added his joy was tempered by a dispute over whether it was a hole-in-one.
He explained: “The ball had lodged in the wall inside the hole and, when we told professional Andy Earlam, he was confused saying he thought the ball had to hit the bottom of the cup to count as a hole-in-one.
“My friends were annoyed as they couldn’t share a bottle of whisky.
“But we did some research and discovered the rule was the ball must be completely below the level of the ground which is what it was.
“We therefore had the celebrations the following Friday.”
Dave says he is a late convert to playing golf on grass – he had previously played the game on browns – compacted sand – as he had spent most of his teaching career in the Middle East. He taught in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
He said: “It was a different challenge and nice to play in the desert in the days before the influx of money when grass courses were built.
“In my day the courses were made by enthusiasts who borrowed equipment to roll out the services when it was very much DIY.”
SADDLEWORTH’S qualifier for the Chronicle Cup was won by Phil Jones with a score of 79-15-65.
He finished two shots clear of James Fahey (88-21-67) who was second on the card from Alan Dorrington (81-14-77).
Only 0.6 of one shot separated the top three pairings in a Texas scramble.
Winners were Ben Simpson and Mark Andersson-Wild (62) on the card from Dave Pullen and Roy Dobson. Third was Gary Elds and Stephen Pullen (62.6).
Two separate fourball Stablefords were won by Howard Johnson and Darren Smith (47pts) along with Ross Sutton and Andy Li (36).
And a four-ball betterball medal saw Tad Knebel and Phil Ramsker top the field with a nett 62, beating Paul Clough and Marek Baldwin after a card play-off.
The women’s spring meeting, held over two days, was won by Kay Orme with 38 points.
Runner-up was Debra Cockburn (32pt) on the card from Fiona Heston and Pam Tomlinson.
A women’s yellow ball team Stableford produced a win for Janice Nicholson, Louise Hinchcliffe and Cheryl Eastwood with 19 points, two ahead of runners-up Sue Knebel, Barbara Shuttleworth and Pauline Richardson.
Winner of a singles Stableford was Louise Hinchcliffe with 25 points, two ahead of second-placed Sue Booth.
Saddleworth is hosting a pro-am on Friday, August 3 with the cost £210 per team. Entries by email to professional@saddleworthgolfclub.org.uk