Amateur's £40,000 hole-in-one!

Watch David Haimes's ace at Hickleton golf club by the live-streamed drone!

If you’re going to put a £40,000 motor up as the prize for a hole-in-one, it makes sense to stage it on a golf hole that hasn’t yielded a competition ace in 10 years or more.

The 9th at Silkstone Golf Club is a good hit for most golfers, all of 190 yards over a pond. It was no problem for club member Dave Haimes though, because his sweetly struck 4-iron sailed onto the short stuff and gently rolled all the way to the bottom of the cup.

Along with the obvious congratulations came the keys to a spanking brand new top of the range Mini Countryman – with the bonus of all the action from hit to hole being captured in drone footage for good measure.

Dave, now a 16-handicapper who joined Silkstone in 2008, had scared the cup on the 15th a couple of times, but this was his first ever ace. Asked if he saw the ball go in the hole, he replied: “What, with my eyesight?”

Somewhat worrying for a driving instructor...

“I saw the ball land on the green and then lost it as it ran out. We were near the halfway house, and there was a lady filming the tee shot and someone said they thought it had gone in.”

Drone operator Steven Hyde was pretty sure it had and hurried up to the green to check. Amidst the congratulations Dave caught the attention of the group on the next tee – which included Roger South, whose Roann Trophy was being competed for, and who had sponsored the £40,000 prize.

“I was pretty excited,” said Dave. “I was gesturing to Roger, pointing at my chest and holding one finger up. They all congratulated me but then Roger said ‘you’ re a scratch golfer now!’ and I thought, what?”

To Dave’s relief it was soon cleared up that winning a ‘pro’ level prize like his didn’t automatically turn him professional, although he added: “I haven’t a prayer of ever being a scratch golfer, but it would have been pretty cool to tell people you play off scratch.

“The thing is, I nearly lost the ball on the next hole and I thought ‘what are you doing, playing with THE ball?’ So I changed it. Obviously I got a boost with five points for the hole in one, but from then on I played really well and even got a top three finish.”

Although there was a shiny new Mini on hand for the photoshoot, the prize, sponsored by premium kitchen worktop suppliers Roann, based in Wakefield, involved giving Dave a £40,000 budget to head along to Sandal Mini and spec out his own vehicle.

The 56-year-old husband of Donna and dad of Ellie and Daniel, thanked Roger South and Roann, who have been sponsoring the competition for the past 10 years. Perhaps more appropriately, thanks perhaps should have come from Mrs Haimes.

Asked who was getting the car, Dave said: “Donna. As a driving instructor I have to use a manual car and the Minis are automatics, plus hers is ready to be replaced.”

So, the dream golf shot – a one in 12,500 chance on any par-3 and even higher on a stroke index 9 at nearly 190 yards, and Dave is still stuck in his manual Ford Fiesta...

“That said, I did win a dozen Pro V1s for nearest the pin on the 9th,” he laughed.

Now that’s what most golfers would call a result!

*Dave Haimes’s hole in one was captured by the pro- fessional Drone It team of Steven and Tracey at www.droneit.biz and can be seen on our website at www.yorkshiregolfer.net