Three is the magic number: Amateur holes trio of aces in one day
The odds of making a hole-in-one are around 2,500 to 1. The odds of making two are significantly more. But three in the same day? Think of the highest number you can and then keep going.
If she was a betting woman Ali Gibb would be a billionaire.
The 51-year-old six-handicap, defending her 36-hole club championship title at Croham Hurst in Surrey, holed out from the tee in the space of just 25 holes – a span in which only eight were par 3s.
“It’s just absolutely extraordinary,” Ali told BBC Sport. “I think I will wake up tomorrow asking if I’ve just been dreaming about it and if it is club championship day today instead.
“Our pro Adam came up to me and said: ‘I’ve had one hole-in-one in 42 years, you’ve just had three in five hours.'”
Two of her aces came on the same hole – the 5th – with the final coming on her second visit to the 160-yard 11th.
Ali has previous for aces, too: “I have had a hole-in-one before – three actually. One was here on the 7th, one at Surrey National, and one at the Atlantic Beach in South Africa.
She added: “Today was just a weird day. It was just very, very strange. On my card I had a nine, two eights, sixes, fives, fours, threes, twos and three ones.”
As well as cementing her place in club golf history books, Ali went on to defend her title with a score of 163.