Left to right – Alan Tagell and Michael Bainbridge pulled off a 17 million to one shot at Pakenham on Christmas Eve when they hit hole-in-ones … one after the other. 75290
By David Nagel
AN extraordinary run of holes-in-one at the Pakenham Golf Club went from the sublime to the ridiculous on Christmas Eve when first Michael Bainbridge and then Alan Tagell hit consecutive shots into the bottom of the 165-metre 16th hole.
The dual aces were the 11th and 12th recorded at the club in 2011. According to a study done by Golf Digest Magazine the chances of two players from the same group acing the same hole are 17 million to one. No wonder the two were excited!
Bainbridge, 22, from Lakeside in Pakenham, plays off a handicap of five and was first to tee-off, a perfectly struck eight iron landed just behind the hole and spun back in. The Pakenham member since February last year went crazy.
“I went nuts, that’s my first hole-in-one, I’ve been close so many times I just started chucking my head around, I couldn’t believe it,” Bainbridge said.
“Everyone in the group was just so excited.”
Tagell, 63, from Beaumaris, has been a member at Pakenham for 20 years and never witnessed an ace in his life. He stepped onto the tee still buzzing from Bainbridge’s freak shot. It was only the second time the two had met.
The 25 handicapper pulled out a three iron and struck it sweetly and as his ball bounced through the gully at the front of the green he just couldn’t help himself.
“Tongue in cheek I yelled out ‘GO IN’, the ball rolled up and dropped in the hole – we couldn’t believe it, I still can’t believe what happened,” Tagell said.
“We were all in shock to be honest. I’ve never gone close to seeing a hole-in-one before and then I see two within a minute.”
Bainbridge has been playing golf since the age of 12 and made the move to Pakenham from Mt Warren Park Golf Club in Queensland. His ace helped him to an impressive three-under par 33 on the back nine and a plus two score in the Par event. He was equally amazed.
“It was insane, such a surreal feeling, it was like we were all in shock but there was a buzz going through my body,” he said.
“When mine went in we were excited but we just weren’t expecting the second one to go in.”
Tagell was introduced to the course playing in a social club all those years ago and was convinced by other members of the group to join them as members at Pakenham. He is the last of that group to still hold playing rights at the club and plays regularly with good friend, Noel Boyd, who was on hand for the special day.
Two things stood out for Tagell, who ended up plus four for the day, in the hole-in-one aftermath.
“There was a group of juniors walking past that I see on the course most Saturdays and we told them to look in the hole,” he said.
“One of them said ‘You had a hole-in-one did ya?’ but got the shock of his life when he saw two balls in the hole.
“I also won my weekly $10 bet with Noel.”
