KEY POINTS:
After nearly 50 years of playing golf Bill Preston decided it was time to get serious, so he made a New Year's resolution to get a hole-in-one.
But on New Year's Eve, his eight iron set him on the hunt for a new resolution after he bagged two
holes-in-one during one round at Mangawhai Golf Club.
The Devonport company director was astonished after his eight iron landed the first ace at the 131m fourth hole, a par three.
"It landed on the front of the green and then ran straight into the hole. I was hoping just to get close to the pin."
The 61-year-old was still recovering from the shock when his trusty eight iron did it again on the 127m 13th, also a par three.
Club manager Dave Barlow said it was the first double hole-in-one in the club's history. "It really is rare. On average we would get about four holes-in-one each year, but they've always been single ones. All of us at the club were blown away by somebody getting two aces in one round."
Mr Preston has played golf since he was a boy and is a member of the Waitemata Golf Club and associate member of Mangawhai, where he and his wife have a nearby holiday home.
For his reward, he got hugs from wife Carol and fellow player Sheila Gough, the wife of the local policeman, "and a lot of cheering from the four playing on the tee in front of us".
Mrs Preston said: "My reaction to the first was amazement. It just kept running towards the hole and ran in. The second one was shock. I couldn't believe it, nor could the people on the other tee. It was a real thrill."
Mr Preston came home seven shots under his course handicap of 15, finishing the par 72 course with an 80.
It took the Mangawhai club's 2006 tally from three aces to five.
The club responded by shouting a round at the club bar.
The two balls will be mounted on a piece of kauri and Mr Preston's name will be added to the hole-in-one honours board.
However, every triumph brings pain, and so, in accordance with hole-in-one traditions, Mr Preston found himself shouting the bar. Twice.
