Dave gets his third hole-in-one at the seventh!
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A LOCAL man was in seventh heaven when he got a hole-in-one at the same Forres green, for the third time!
Dave McCartney (61) was playing in the Cystic Fibrosis and Medal Finals at Forres Golf Club when he scored his ace on the par-three, 190-yard, seventh hole.
“I’m playing off an eight handicap at the moment (7.7),” he said. “It’s not been a good year ... up until now, that is!
“I felt a mix of feelings, mainly astonishment, when the ball actually went in.
“I could see all the way that it was a well struck five iron. It took a wee kick about ten yards from the hole and straightened up to disappear from view - amazing!”
Dave achieved the feat at the seventh two years ago in a winter competition with a considerably shortened hole. He also got one at the same place back in the nineties while playing with friends off the yellow tees which shortens the distance to around 150 yards.
“This time I actually saw the ball drop in,” he said. “I wish I could say that it was the finest moment in a great round, but it was just about the only decent shot I hit the whole day!
“There were high fives from my playing partners, Andy Cowie and Neil Finlayson, who were just as excited as I was.”
Andy realised it was a great shot as soon as it left Dave’s club: “As it got closer to the green it took a much needed kick of the ridge of the bunker that put it on the perfect path towards the pin,” he said. “I went to get my club out then all I heard was Dave and Neil going daft!”
The club’s insurance treated everyone in the competition to a free drink at the bar to celebrate his achievement.
Dave appreciated the congratulations - and ribbing - from the other members.
“Forres is that kind of club,” he said. “Friendly and somewhere you don’t want to take yourself too seriously.”
He was rewarded with membership of the exclusive BOSS Watches H1Club and a specially-commissioned, commemorative timepiece.
“Well done to David for accomplishing one of golf’s most elusive feats,” said commercial director for BOSS watches distributor, MGS, Distribution, Stephen Brydon.
“For most amateur golfers, a hole-in-one is as memorable as winning The Masters would be to a professional.
“We want to ensure they have something tangible by which to remember the day, other than an expensive bar bill.
“We also hope it might lift the spirits of amateur golfers during club competitions who may not be in with a chance of winning the event, but can still feel excitement every time they play a par-three, knowing they are just one shot away from winning an exquisite timepiece.”
Dave thanked Hugo Boss Ltd for the gift and the great job they do for golf, joking: “The fact that, in a club competition two weeks later, a hole in one at the seventh would have won me £5000 has not made me bitter and twisted at all!”.
