Player loses ball then aces hole

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When Rangatira Golf Club's Jo McAlley started her Bisque Par round at the seventh hole on Wednesday, she figured it was going to be a pretty ordinary day's play.

But after putting her tee shot into the trees and losing the ball, the 49-year-old's fortunes swung 180 degrees on the next hole as she made her first hole-in-one on the eighth - a par 3, 102m, where you stand up and hit down.

"It was a proper golf shot, one of a few," McAlley said yesterday.

"I hit the fringe [of the green], it sort of had a little check.

"I said to my partner 'that's going to be a good two'.

"You can say it came in from the side. It rolled in the back of the hole."

Out practising in her paddock when the Wanganui Chronicle called, McAlley said the 8-iron she used was part of a "magic" set which was bought off top Marton Golf Club player Jenny Ritchie.

Coming from a tennis background, McAlley took up golf six years ago, starting as a nine-hole player before progressing to 18-hole after two years.

"I'm addicted to golf. I'm not a natural player," she said.

"I've hit hundreds of balls in this paddock."

She will proudly wear the badge the Rangatira club gives to those who get a hole-in-one.

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

It was the third hole-in-one in the wider Wanganui region since August 30.

McAlley's success was a bright spot on a sad occasion for the Hunterville club after learning that their eldest member, Pat Walker, had passed away that day.

Walker had celebrated her 90th birthday in March and was still playing golf regularly.