John, 83, gets wallet out after his first hole in one

Wanganui Golf Club's John Broad will be a very popular man at the clubhouse after today's round for the nine-holers.

The 83-year-old was on a casual round with his wife last Tuesday when he sank his first hole in one in 23 years of playing.

Broad took out a 5-iron on the third hole - a 125m Par 3 - where the flag is visible but the actual hole obscured by the slight rise in front of the green. While he felt the swing was good, Broad was perturbed when he searched the area around the back of the green with no success.

"I couldn't find the ball because I wasn't looking in the hole. My wife, she said, 'have a look at the hole'.

"She just said, 'you better keep your scorecard'."

Broad laughed that the ace had made a very average round of golf look considerably better.

He took up the sport for fitness after his retirement, and per tradition, it will be his shout this evening.

It was the seventh hole in one in the wider Wanganui region in 2015.

Golf insurance company US Hole In One calculates the odds of the average player making an ace at 12,500 to 1.