Latest news with #holeinone
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Golfer, age 90, sinks first hole-in-one the day after his birthday
John Payne hit his first ever hole-in-one at 90 years old - just one day after celebrating his milestone birthday. Even with declining eyesight and after three decades of trying, the retired amateur golfer struck perfection on a 200-yard par three at Brailsford Golf Course in the U.K.


Fox News
3 days ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Age no barrier as golf lover sinks 'miracle' hole-in-one for 90th birthday
A 90-year-old amateur golfer is celebrating a once-in-a-lifetime moment as he hit his very first hole-in-one just a day after his milestone birthday. (See the video at the top of this article.) John Payne, who said he's been playing golf for three decades, achieved the feat on July 18 at a local golf course in the U.K. The longtime player nailed the shot on the sixth hole, a 200-yard par three, despite dealing with deteriorating eyesight. "I didn't realize that it had gone in," Payne told news agency SWNS. "It's 200 yards from the tee to the hole. I never imagined I'd get it in one." Payne said he hit the ball using his driver, and watched as it struck the downslope of a bunker before rolling straight into the cup. "When I was told I'd hit the perfect shot, I felt magic," he said. "It is a once-in-a-lifetime shot." Payne had been playing that same course for 30 years without ever scoring an ace, SWNS reported. "Some people have never had one in their life and I can see why," he said. "I've been playing for 30 years and only just got one now. It's a miracle because it is very difficult." Given his poor eyesight, Payne didn't see the ball drop himself. "It is a once-in-a-lifetime shot." "You play with other people and their eyesight is much better than mine," he said. "They gave me a running commentary as the ball landed." Payne took up golf in his 60s after retiring from a management career. He now plays regularly with a close-knit group of fellow golfers, he said. "When you've come to the end of your working life, you want to keep busy," he said. "You want to be out and not cooped up." He added, "We play Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. It's a nice little group of eight of us." While Payne maintains a club handicap of about 26, he said he doesn't compete in official tournaments anymore. For more Health articles, visit "I'm getting too long in the tooth for that," he joked. Beyond golf, Payne keeps active with twice-weekly gym sessions, something he says helps keep his joints mobile and his swing in check. "Golf is important, but the gym is important for the movement side of things," he said. "As you get older you need mobile joints," he said. "You need to be able to turn." Payne celebrated his remarkable hole-in-one with his family, which includes 16 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, SWNS said. Gurj Bowbanks, operations manager at the golf course, said everyone at the club was thrilled for him. "I think we are all in awe of him, and he's put us all to shame," Bowbanks said, according to the same source. "We are really over the moon for him." Payne's story has reportedly inspired fellow golfers — and reminded many that it's never too late to achieve something extraordinary.


Fox News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Golfer, age 90, sinks first hole-in-one the day after his birthday
John Payne hit his first ever hole-in-one at 90 years old — just one day after celebrating his milestone birthday. He talked about the importance of staying active and healthy and finding something interesting to do in one's later years.


CTV News
3 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Golfers celebrate back-to-back holes-in-one
Two Ottawa golfers aced the same hole at Greensmere Golf and Country Club. CTV's Camille Wilson with the story of the back-to-back holes-in-one.


CTV News
4 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Ottawa golf course celebrates golfers who hit back-to-back holes-in-one
A hole-in-one is a special occasion for any golfer, but seeing it happen back-to-back is an even rarer event. Greensmere Golf and Country Club in Carp announced Thursday that two golfers on its links each hit a hole-in-one on the same hole. 'Greensmere Members Lyle Alexander and Jim Read had back to back (same group-consecutive shots) hole-in ones on #12 Premiere today,' a Facebook post says. 'If hole-in-ones are very rare, this is something else all together! Well done gentlemen!!!' Alexander and Read joined Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal on Friday to discuss their achievements. 'I got the hole-in-one first and then Jim copied me,' said Alexander, adding this is his seventh lifetime hole-in-one. 'I was looking forward to my free beer until Jim teed off.' Read said his hole-in-one was his first. 'It was very, very impressive. There was four of us playing and Lyle had the honours and he hit a beautiful shot. It landed on the green and the ball disappeared into the hole,' he said. 'It's now my turn, and I said, 'Well, this is a tough act to follow.' So, I pulled out my trusty wedge and landed it and all of a sudden my ball disappeared and it landed on top of Lyle's. We were still celebrating Lyle's when mine went in.' Read said since Alexander had the first hole-in-one, he had the honour of buying the beer. 'I think everybody was in shock. We tried to calculate the odds of that happening and they were so large we realized it was a feat that might not ever be repeated again,' said Alexander. 'We're gonna try,' Read said. According to Hole in One International, the odds of making a hole in one on a par 3 are roughly 1 in 12,500 for amateurs and 1 in 2,500 for professionals. 'But what about the odds of two people making it on the same hole? Or better yet, back-to-back hole in ones?' Hole in One International's website asks. 'Those are even more astounding: 32,000 to 1 and 156,250,000 to 1, respectively.' Read says Alexander finished with a score of 68 strokes on Thursday. 'Lyle is very polite. He's been a club champion at Greensmere. He's been a club champion at Outaouais, Mississippi, and Carleton. He knows his way around a golf course,' he said. Alexander says they're talking with management at the Greensmere Golf and Country Club about some kind of commemoration of the moment.