Waverley dairy farmer Phil Hooper capped off a purple patch of form when breaking the long standing course record on his home links on Sunday.
Hooper, a former Manawatu Wanganui rep player, shot a 64 to beat the 65 record set seven years ago by Thomas Hill, who is nowa greenkeeper in the United States.
The record has been in danger for some time with Hooper knocking on the door during his last seven or eight rounds on the Waverley Golf course.
"I've had lots of 65s and 66s, especially over my last seven or eight rounds, so I guess I've been in a purple patch of form, really," Hooper said.
Playing off a 2.8 handicap, Hooper was playing with longtime club stalwarts, 82-year-old Keith Nixon and mate Brian Sutton, on Sunday and he knew he would go close after shooting a handy 29 on the back nine.
"I thought 29 on the back nine was pretty cool and that set the scene."
Funnily enough Hooper has never scored a hole-in-one before, but is a nine-time club champion between the Waverley and Rangitikei clubs and has won his hometown club championship for the last two years running.
He is a former New Zealand long drive champion, a record he set in Auckland and was also a member of the history-making Waverley team to win the club's first ever Dow-Agro Taranaki handicap Pennants golf tournament last year.
