Shropshire Star

Amateur Newport golfer hits four holes-in-one

Keen golfers will always remember their first hole in one, but a self-confessed amateur from a club in Newport has hit four in five months.

Published
John Cotterall

John Cotterall admitted it was an unbelievable achievement that even he could not give much of an explanation for – apart from "I hit the ball fairly straight".

With a handicap of 13, the 76-year-old retired product manager has now made a total of six hole in ones, playing at Lilleshall in his club group known as The Owners.

"I don't think I'm ever going to achieve anything similar again in my life," he said.

"It's remarkable; it's unbelievable. I hit my first this year in March on the sixth hole. We saw that quite clearly, it was a good shot that finished short and ran in.

"In April it was in the eighth hole where there's a bunker so we couldn't see it go in. I hit the shot and looked around the green but couldn't see the ball. We searched round the back with no luck and finally decided to check the hole to see it there.

Wonderful

"In May and July it was on the 16th hole. On both occasions it ran past the hole on the hill and fell back, landed topside and flopped in the hole."

John, who lived in Newport for more than 45 years but now makes the 40-minute journey from Tamworth three times a week, plays at Lilleshall Hall Golf Club, which said it is currently checking with England Gold to see if John's remarkable feat has ever been officially recorded before.

Competitions to win cars and extravagant prizes by hitting a hole in one are fairly common, and according to Hole In One Insurance, the likelihood of an amateur making a hole in one on a par three hole are roughly 12,500 to one, opposed to a professional at 2,500 to one.

Since 1973, there has only been six hole in ones in Ryder Cup matches.

"The Owners couldn't believe it, it was a wonderful experience and something I'm never going to do again," he added.

"Im a reasonable player, I hit the ball fairly straight but I think it's the quality of being consistent. You have to set up correctly and hit the middle of the golf club so to the amazement of the players I was with, I managed it on four occasions this year."

John added his first hole in one was as club captain in 2011 on the 12th hole during a charity match, before making his second a year later to win a friendly against Worfield Golf Club.