Marton Golf Club's Bryan Cameron was toasting his good decision to rejoin his old club when he snagged the first ace of his 35-year golfing career just before Christmas.
Cameron, who had picked up a new membership with Marton when he returned to the area five weeks ago, landed a'Hole in One' during the Thursday club round on December 22.
It was the last Hole in One in the greater Whanganui region in 2016 and the eighth officially recorded overall.
Cameron took out a hybrid 4 iron for the 17th hole on the Marton course - a Par 3 of 148m which has an elevated tee.
The distance was a little outside the range of his eyesight, but Cameron was right on target and got the favourable bounce when it landed past the rise to stay on its trajectory.
Since picking up the sport in 1981, Cameron has been a member of several golf clubs depending on his current residence, including Marton previously, Castlecliff and the Omanu club near Tauranga.
He brought the magic 4 iron with his current set of clubs around two and a half years ago.
Cameron plays a mixture of the Thursday and Saturday club events.
Coming just before Christmas, he also counted himself lucky in the pocket that his first ace happened when there were only a dozen fellow club members on hand for the customary shout at the clubhouse bar.
Cameron said he was able to get away with purchasing one jug of gin & tonic for everybody to partake in the celebration.