Kent fishmonger Peter Vickerman is aiming to hook a new record for Britain’s longest ever hole-in-one after holing his tee shot on a whopping 408-yard, par-four.
Vickerman produced his moment of magic during a club competition at his home course, Littlestone Golf Club, to not only win the opportunity to cement his name in the record books but also receive a limited-edition BOSS watch to commemorate the achievement.
Vickerman, 48, from St Mary’s Bay, achieved the monster ace with his driver on the course’s feared 408-yard, par-four 11th – and, if corroborated, the 12-handicapper’s ace is set to dwarf the record currently held.
The R&A Golfer’s Handbook quotes the existing record as having been set in 1972 by assistant professional Peter Parkinson at West Lancashire, on the 393-yard seventh hole, but Vickerman was just happy to have had a hole-in-one.
He said: “It was an extremely windy day and I knew I’d caught this particular drive, ‘out of the screws’; with a gradual draw, it flew towards the green. “After despairingly looking around the green area for my ball, my opponent went towards the flag and said that there was a ball at the bottom of the cup. He asked me what I was playing with and I told him it was a Titleist Pro V1X with my initial’s ‘P.V.’ just above the logo.
“Of course, I didn’t really care what happened after that, but still went on to win the Coronation Cup.” Vickerman has been playing golf for 15 years and plays regularly, at least two to three times a week, and had scored two aces previously. The fish trader hooked his hole-in-one trio in the past 30 months and recorded all of them at Littlestone: he scored his first on its 278-yard, par-four 13th; his second on its 182-yard, par-three 17th; and then went on to complete his hat-trick with his 408-yard British record contender. He said: “There is no secret to getting a hole-in-one. Every golfer hits the ball with the intention of getting it near to or in the hole – it’s just luck.”
The luxury German brand has once again pledged to reward club golfers with an exclusive watch for every hole-in-one recorded during a club competition in 2014 after giving away £600,000-worth of limited-edition mementos 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 Peter on achieving golf’s Holy Grail of a hole-in-one. And, what’s more, achieving it on a par-four – an amazing feat! “To the majority of amateur golfers, recording a hole-in-one will be the most memorable thing they achieve in golf – a once-in-a-lifetime experience probably – and we want to ensure they have much better memories than merely a dent in their bank balance after buying drinks in the clubhouse. “The exclusive BOSS watch is available only to golfers who record a hole-in-one. It will provide a constant reminder of the achievement and also help to ensure they’re never late for a tee-time again.”
In addition to the limited-edition watch, Vickerman is 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.