Before we get into hearing what Michael and Graeme have to say, the odds of a single hole-in-one are roughly 12,500 to 1 for an amateur golfer (learn more about the odds of a hole-in-one). The odds of two players making aces on the same hole in the same group? A mind boggling 1 in 17 million chance. What Graeme and Michael pulled off at Eastwood’s Local Party Hole wasn’t just rare. It was historic.
Q and A:
Local Party Hole: Thanks for joining us, gents. Congratulations again. Let’s start with your round leading up to the Local Party Hole on hole two. How were you both hitting it?
Graeme: I was playing fairly well. We started on the back nine and I had 20 points there. Then I had two points on the first after the turn and came into the second feeling pretty good.
Michael: Same here. I had 19 points on the first nine and was going alright. Missed a couple of putts I probably shouldn’t have, but overall I was playing well. I had a four for three on the first, so I was flying.
Local Party Hole: So both of you were in good form. When it came off the club, did you know straight away?
Graeme: I saw it flying straight at the hole. Normally I bail out left because of the out of bounds and the creek on the right and end up in the bunker. This time it stayed inside the bunker line, landed just short and rolled up. Then it disappeared.
Michael: Pretty much the same story for me. I flushed it and it was covering the pin the whole way. It bounced, rolled and in it went.
Local Party Hole: That must have felt pretty good.
Graeme: It wasn’t the best swing in the world, but I won’t change it.
Michael: Same here. When I looked back at the video, I thought there’s still a bit of work to do, but it worked that day.
Local Party Hole: Michael, you were first up at the hole. Talk us through your reaction when you saw not one, but two balls sitting in there.
Michael: I was stunned. When Graeme hit, I was actually walking across with my phone to zoom in on the QR code. You can see it in the video. Then Graeme starts jumping around and I still wasn’t 100 percent sure. I thought maybe the ball was hiding behind the pin.
When we got up there and saw two balls in the hole, that’s when the arms went up.
Local Party Hole: It was pretty subdued on the tee though.
Graeme: We couldn’t actually see it drop. There’s a little lip on the front of the green, so we saw it tracking but didn’t see it fall in.
Michael: I turned to Graeme and said, “Did that go in?”
Local Party Hole: If you’d clearly seen it drop from the tee, what celebration would we have seen?
Graeme: Plenty of high-fives, jumping around, all of it.
Michael: Maybe even a chainsaw celebration. It would’ve been much bigger, but we just weren’t sure from the tee.
Local Party Hole: The TV networks were out here last week. How surreal was that?
Michael: First time on TV for me. Definitely an eye-opener.
Local Party Hole: And what happened on the next hole?
Graeme: Do we have to talk about that?
Michael: It wasn’t pretty. We didn’t score any points. But we showed up where it mattered.
Local Party Hole: Fair enough. You’ve had a bit of time to think about it now. What are the plans for the prize money?
Michael: I’m heading to Scotland with a group from Eastwood. It’s a nine-day golfing tour, mainly around St Andrews and up north to Dornoch. Six or seven games in nine days. It’ll be full on and exhausting, but this will definitely help.
Graeme: My wife and I are off to Fiji at the end of March for 10 nights. It’ll come in handy for the airfares and a bit of spending money.
Local Party Hole: Sounds perfect. How did you enjoy the whole Local Party Hole experience? (Learn how Local Party Hole works)
Michael: It’s been great. I’ve been sending the videos overseas to relatives. It’s gone everywhere.
Graeme: It’s amazing to actually see your own ball go in the hole. I had a hole-in-one back in 1997 here, but there was no footage. All I got was a tie and a mounted ball.
This time, to have the video and be able to show people, it’s unbelievable.
Local Party Hole: Do you find yourselves rewatching it?
Michael: I watched it again this morning.
Graeme: Constantly.
Local Party Hole: Well, congratulations again, gents. An incredible moment and one you’ll never forget.
Graeme and Michael: Thanks very much.
If you want to be a part of history like Graeme and Michael, start playing more golf!
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