Six of the best for Spa golfer
Six of the very best: Woodhall Spa's ace golfer Barbara Lennox who celebrated her sixth hole-in-one.
MOST golfers go through their entire careers without ever recording a hole-in-one.
Woodhall Spa’s Barbara Lennox is making something of a habit of it.
She recently recorded her SIXTH ace at the par three 11th hole on Woodhall’s Bracken course.
The odds on anyone holing their tee-shot are a staggering 12,000-1 against. It is widely considered to be one of the biggest feats in any sport. To achieve the six aces puts Mrs Lennox, who plays off a handicap of 14, ahead of many of the world’s top professionals.
Indeed, she could be pressing for a place in the record books with figures suggesting few lady golfers in this country have matched her amazing tally.
Mrs Lennox said: “I don’t know if there is a secret. I think I must be a lucky golfer.
“My husband is quiet upset. He’s been playing golf for longer than me and is still waiting for his first hole-in-one so he’s a bit miffed!
“I haven’t heard of anyone else managing six. There’s another member at Woodhall (Sue Fletcher) who has five so at least I am one ahead now.”
Mrs Lennox, a former captain of the ladies section at Woodhall, didn’t even see her latest ace. The hole at the 11th was cut towards the back of the green.
She explained: “I couldn’t see the bottom of the pin from the tee. When we got to the green, I actually thought my ball had rolled off the back and gone done a bank.
“We started to look for it, without success. The, I just looked in the hole and there it was. I couldn’t believe it.”
It is a tradition for golfers to celebrate an ace by buying a round of drinks for everyone in the clubhouse.
Mrs Lennox’s latest ace cost her £54 - and proved to be a lot more expensive than her first hole-in-one more than 20 years ago. Fortunately, she is covered by a special insurance policy.
Mrs Lennox’s first two aces came at Hankley Common Golf Club in Surrey during the early 1990’s.
She added a third at Leven Golf Club in Scotland two more followed after she joined Woodhall Spa just over 10 years ago. Both came on the famous Hotchkin course - at the fifth and 11th holes.
Now, she’s added a sixth ace on the Bracken course and it would be no surprise if number seven followed.
Mrs Lennox said: “I’m not so sure whether I’ll manage another but I’ll keep trying.
“I can still remember my first hole-in-one. That will always be something special but the sixth meant just as much.
“The only annoying thing is that I didn’t win the competition I was playing in when. In fact, I honestly didn’t play that well - apart from the one shot!”
Mrs Lennox’s latest ace was recorded with a nine-wood and it appears to be something of a magical club for Woodhall members as the previous owner had also used it to achieve an ace.
She added: “Someone told me that Tiger Woods has more than a dozen holes-in-one to his name. I bet he got a car for every one of them Still, there is always hope!”
Meanwhile, Mrs Lennox has some way to go to equal the world record for the number of holes-in-one. Norman Manley, from Long Beach, California, recently record his 49th ace.
Age, though, should be no barrier. Elsie McLean recorded her first ace in 2007 - at the age of 102!
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Weather for Horncastle
Sunday 19 May 2013
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Temperature: 10 C to 18 C
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