Sport
20 October, 2022
Hole-in-one for two Kilcoy golfers
A HOLE-IN-ONE occurred at the Kilcoy Golf Club twice in four days, with Steve Bichel and Jay Bryant achieving the milestone.
Steve’s moment of joy was in a Single Stableford event on October 5, before Jay replicated the feat three days later in a two-ball Ambrose Alternate Drive event.
Steve and Jay said they would have their respective golf ball mounted on a trophy base, as per custom for a hole-in-one.
Having played golf on and off for about 30 years and been a member of the Kilcoy Golf Club since 2010, Steve also landed a hole-in-one on the 18th hole in 2013 but it was not recorded as he was on his own.
Nearly a decade later, Steve’s accomplishment on the same hole became official as he had three colleagues in a club competition.
Steve said none of them saw the ball go into the hole, but that he had seen it land on the green. He said the four of them were walking towards the green when they realised they couldn’t see the ball.
Steve said he used a 5 iron and that it was “just one of those shots where as soon as you hit it, you knew it was going to be at it”.
“The green had only been sanded the day before,” Steve said.
“I didn’t know it was in, until we got to the green.”
Steve said “it was a high” to discover his milestone.
“It took me a bit to calm down,” he said.
“My next hit off the tee was a bit ordinary.”
Steve, who coaches juniors each Thursday afternoon and has a hit of golf two or three times each week, said he was playing to his handicap of 9 at the time of his hole-in-one.
Steve said the hole-in-one was the highlight of his golfing career, along with an occasion when he scored 69 off the stick.
Jay, meanwhile, has played golf on and off for 55 years but said it had been more of a “hit and giggle” for her and that she never had a golf handicap.
This year has been her first year of golf in Kilcoy, after previously being in Augathella, and she now has a handicap of 44.
Jay said the hole-in-one was “most definitely” the highlight of her golfing days, and that she had a session with Woodford Golf pro Dean Dagan about four weeks earlier.
Jay nonetheless said her hole-in-one “was a complete fluke”.
“Usually as I stand ready to hit off, I hope I don’t miss the ball completely,” she said.
Jay said she was “pretty ecstatic” and that it felt unbelievable as soon as she discovered her achievement on the hole which is both the ninth and 18th for the ladies’ course.
Jay said she used the driver and that “I thought it was the sweetest feeling” when she hit the ball on this occasion. She said she “knew it was a good shot” but didn’t think the ball would go too close to the hole, let alone in the hole.
“I lost sight of the ball, and I thought it went over the other side,” she said.
“The three people I played with saw it, and ‘Choppy’ (the groundskeeper) on the balcony.
“They were all cheering it on.
“There was a lot of noise going on.”
Upon suddenly realising what she achieved, Jay recalled, “I thought holy dooley, that’s not possible.”
