By DAVID NAGEL
THE old saying “it might not be your day, but it might be your moment” has rung true for Pakenham golfer Pat Ellerton after a pure strike of his five-wood has led to his first ever hole-in-one.
Ellerton, 70, and an 18 handicapper, hadn’t played his best as his strode to the Pakenham Golf Club’s eighth hole, a 150-metre par three, but a short time later he was celebrating golf’s ultimate feeling after the sweetest shot of his life.
“My game up until then was atrocious, I wiped the hole before, and then wiped the hole after, but it didn’t matter because it was all very exciting,” Ellerton said.
“The ball took off with a slight fade, landed just short of the green and then rolled up and disappeared. At first I was concerned that it had rolled off into the bunker at the back of the green, but it was in the hole.”
Ellerton may have found the secret to his golfing success, as May 31, the day of his hole-in-one, was the first time he had ever used a yellow golf ball.
“I received a voucher from a friend for my 70th birthday, I bought a rescue club, and had a few bob left over so I thought I’ll buy a dozen balls. That was the first time I’ve used a green ball, and now I use them regularly, every time I stand on a par three now I reckon I’m a chance.”
Game’s fourth hole-in-one had a familiar feel to it, struck with the same club and on the same hole as his previous ace on the eighth back in late 2011.
“I hit a flush eight iron, it landed a foot short, with a little bit of side spin and we saw it fall in the side door,” he said.
“The last time we never saw it go in, but this time there was my group, and a few others around who saw it drop in the hole. The unfortunate thing was we were playing a foursomes round, so we had to take my partner, Brian Seers’ ball, and we ended up with a six.”
Also in the group was one of Game’s good friends, Doug Amos, who in February started sponsoring the hole through his company, QPR Locksmiths.
“There’s a $100 prize for a hole-in-one so it was a sweet moment taking his cash.”
