A father and son, from Sunderland, have defied the odds by both scoring a hole-in-one in the same week, at the same golf club.
Ian McConnell, 51, and his son, Matthew McConnell, 22, achieved the holy grail of golf within a six-day period, and were each rewarded with membership of the exclusive BOSS Watches H1 Club and a specially-commissioned, commemorative timepiece.
Ian, who plays off four, scored his ace on the 194-yard, par-three second, while nine-handicapper Matthew holed out at the 173-yard, par-three 14th, both at Whitburn Golf Club.
Matthew explained: “We were obviously very shocked as a hole-in-one doesn’t happen very often, never mind two in the same week! Personally, it being my first ace, I really wasn’t sure how to react. It was a strange feeling, especially given the fact that it was a blind approach to the green and so I didn’t know it had gone in until I got to the hole.
“As my father so kindly put it ‘I don’t know how you got a hole-in-one as you usually struggle to even hit the greens’. I found it very difficult to contest that claim, given that on average I probably hit under 30 per cent of the greens in regulation during a typical round.
“My father’s hole-in-one was ace number five for him, so maybe he has the track record to be able to get away with a comment like that. Each of his aces has been at Whitburn. Maybe he was just born lucky. We rarely play together: the father/son combination doesn’t seem to promote good golf.”
BOSS – the luxury German brand – has pledged to reward club golfers with an exclusive watch for every hole-in-one recorded during a club competition between April 15 and October 31 this year. With nearly 4,000 holes-in-one recorded annually, BOSS Watches could feasibly be giving away £1m-worth in 2013.
The scheme is open to any golfer whose club uses HowDidiDo – a free-to-use, web-based social network for golfers – and anybody playing in official club competitions will be eligible. Currently, more than 1,800 clubs use the website.
Stephen Brydon, commercial director for MGS Distribution, the official licenced UK distributor for BOSS Watches, said: “Congratulations to Ian and Matthew on what, to most of us, is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.
“To the majority of amateur golfers, recording a hole-in-one will be the most memorable thing they achieve in golf – yet all many have to show for it is a dent in their bank balance after buying a round of drinks in the clubhouse.
“We aim to make it a lot more memorable for them by presenting them with an exclusive BOSS watch, only available to golfers who record a hole-in-one, so they are truly exclusive and will provide a constant reminder of the sight of their ball popping into the hole and the emotions attached to that very moment.
“It also adds a frisson of extra excitement to club competitions for golfers who may not be in with a chance of winning the event, for they know that every time they stand on the tee on a par-three, they are just one shot away from winning a stunning timepiece.”
In addition to the limited-edition watch, Ian and Matthew are also awarded membership of the exclusive BOSS Watches H1 Club which offers its members access to exclusive benefits and merchandise.
No extra registration is required to participate in the BOSS Watches promotion as all official club competitions are recorded on the HowDidiDo system, so holes-in-one will be noted and automatically ratified by the golfer’s club.
BOSS Watches www.bosswatches.co.uk