For years, it has been a popular “guesstimate” that the odds of getting a hole-in-one are somewhere in the range of 20,000 to one and 33,000 to one, according to the United States Golf Register.
The US-based National Hole-In-One Registry puts the odds a bit higher, but still out of reach for most: 12,000 to one for the average player, 5000 to one for a low handicapper and 3000 to one for a tour player.
On average, the registry notes, each golf course gets about 10 to 15 aces total each year, while only 1 to 2 per cent of golfers achieve the distinction in any given year.
While there are no statistics available for those who have achieved two hole-in-ones in a week, PGA of America places the odds of getting two aces in the same round as 67 million to one.
“It’s very rare,” acknowledged Neil Edmonds, who serves as treasurer at Helensville Golf Club and, like Jenkins, is another keen player. “Some people play their whole life and never get a hole-in-one.”
It also depends a lot on luck, he and Jenkins agreed.
A retired teacher and tour van driver who has a handicap of 15, Jenkins works in the Helensville Golf Club office two days per week and tries to get out on the fairway as much as he can.
“I enjoy the challenge, I suppose,” he said, explaining that equally important for him is “playing with your mates and having a chat with them”.
“I just enjoy a good social game. It keeps you in touch with people, and that sort of thing.”
Jenkins has been playing golf for about 45 years, since about the age of 30. He’s boasted holes-in-one on five other occasions prior to this past week, but he estimates the last one had been about a decade ago.
He’s had mobility issues for the past three or four years, but returned to the links after recovering from a hip replacement earlier this year - a feat he humbly brushes off as a “typical story”.
On Thursday, he teed off with three mates at 7.30am and got the hole-in-one on the ninth hole - a par-three shot at a distance of roughly 140 metres.
He received the usual round of, “Congratulations, well done, well done”, but left with little fanfare as it was still quite early. On Saturday, after setting off even earlier, he received his next ace on the second hole at a distance of about 150 metres.
“Quite a difficult hole, actually,” he acknowledged.
This time, he joked, he thought it was worthwhile to “wait for a while” at the clubhouse after the game concluded to “let the boys get their shout”.
“Then once their money ran out, we went home,” he said with a chuckle, adding that there wasn’t too much time to bask in adulation when considering the drink prices at the club.
Jenkins attributes some of his success last week to a YouTube video his son recently sent him that methodically broke down a swing into four parts. He followed the advice, he said, and “the ball went straighter than ever before”.
“Whatever I saw there, it worked,” he said, adding of the shots: “In my mind it’s good, it’s great. It’s pretty rare.”
But he also acknowledged there’s no magic to it. You always aim for the hole and hope luck is on your side, he said.
And when it happens, he added, “You say, ‘Yep, life is good’,” and then you move on.
