A hole in one - a golfers story

Golfshake ambassador Andrew Picken recently experience his second hole in one playing in a charity golf day. Read his great insight into what it meant and how this memorable moment felt.

---

What an amazing day we just enjoyed at Kedleston Park golf club near Derby.

As advertised on the forum we had secured a tee time for a team of 4 to play in the Rainbows Hospice Charity Day Golf Tournament.  The charity provides hospice care for families of children and teenagers who suffer from life-limiting illnesses. They serve the Midlands and provide specialist care to both the children and their parents.

At the presentation and auction after the event, I heard an incredibly moving speech delivered by two parents based in Derby who spoke powerfully about the support they receive from the charity. If you want to know more about the wonderful work this charity completes please check out their website via www.rainbows.co.uk

Kedleston Park Golf Club

Our day began at 0930 hrs with a great bacon cob and team registration. Myself (18) and my son Alex (9) were joined by regular Golfshakers Paul Hicklin (12) and Andy O Reilly (20).  We were playing with a 90% handicap allowance.

The course presented beautifully as you would expect of an Open qualifying venue (from 2018). We used the superb practice facilities to warm up and made our way to the first tee. We were announced and photographed and then the fun began.

The tee boxes for the first and tenth holes at Kedleston Park give incredible views over the layout and in my opinion provide some of the best in the Midlands.

There had been a little overnight rain but the course conditioning benefitted from this. It was in a superb condition; the greens were fast and true. The definition of the fairways and bunkering are simply superb.

Team plan for the 4 ball better ball and that shot

We set out to try and score 4 points per hole as the competition format was 4 Ball BetterBall.  72 points was our overall target and we started really well recording 6 points on the first. We dropped our first shots to target on 3rd hole.

Slightly crestfallen we headed to the fourth tee box. Our first par 3 and the flag was 149 yards away tucked to the right of the green protected by a double bunker to the front. Alex popped his shot to 15 foot right, pin high and Paul did similarly but 10  foot to the left. Andy’s shot headed unerringly into the bunker and Alex said “  Right  Dad, stick in in-between that pair please. There’s loads of room”

Remembering my day with Steve Brotherhood I pulled out a seven iron. He is David Howells caddy on the European Tour and he runs the Tourcaddyexperience.co.uk offered to amateur golfers. His advice for an amateur golfer is always consider one club more for par three shots as most trouble is at the front. It also allows for a smoother stroke. He advises knowing exactly what distance each club is hit as this allows stress-free play. www.tourcaddyexperience.co.uk

I followed my usual routine and struck one of the smoothest, purest, softest swings I have ever made. The ball arched upwards and from the moment I hit it, it was all over the pin. Alex shouted out “Wow, be the right club!” It Was!

It pitched 18 inches left of the flag, bounced and then disappeared.

My immediate reaction was to assume I had hit it through the green and past the flag out of my sight. Alex clearly wasn’t sure as he began to sprint towards the green jumping up and down as the green fell away front to back. At each jump and bounce, he shouted “ Dad, I can’t see it, I think it’s in”

His demented impression of a kangaroo did my blood pressure no good at all. Bouncing all over one of the Midlands premier golf courses is not exactly good form! My heart rate went through the roof but I refused to run as I didn’t want to have a heart attack.

We made our way to the green and my playing partners held back to allow me to check the hole. As I got nearer and nearer I still couldn’t see any golf ball. I could literally hear my heart beat in my head. I walked to the hole and there it was.

My Titleist nestled safely and beautifully in the bottom of the cup.  I let out a whoop that was heard across the course.

I scored a 1 with a single shot allowance giving me a nett 0 for 5 points. The disturbance put off the rest of the team and we settled for a par 3 by Paul for another 2 points.

At the next tee shot, I hit my best drive of the day. I was so pumped full of adrenalin it absolutely flew. The rest of the round flew by with all the team recording decent scores on different holes. We were incredibly lucky as we dovetailed well and scored 86 points over the entire round. The shot messed with my head to such an extent that I forgot to retire the ball until 3 holes later when I had hit a drive using it into a load of trees. Thinking clearly under pressure it was not.

It was almost the end of the round before I realised that I had not taken any photographs so we returned as I wanted a permanent memento of this wonderful experience. The event is so well organised that they even have specially designed flags bearing the hospice logo and branding.

                
As the heart rate settled it dawned on me that I would need to buy drinks for 150 other competitors playing in the event. I was very relieved to realise that my golf insurance policy was up to date and I knew that I would at least be able to claim £150 of the bar bills back.

We were treated to a superb two-course meal and fantastic quality venue. Supporting this event was incredibly good value given the quality of the course and the hospitality on offer.

The evening presentation was an excellent event with an auction being held of sporting memorabilia. The event raised around £11,000 on the day for this incredibly deserving charity.

Team Golfshake finished the day in second place.  This isn’t important in the scheme of things and the biggest victory given all the exciting events was the money raised for this important charity. If you have the chance to support a Rainbows Hospice golf event in the future please do so. I cannot guarantee a hole in one but I can guarantee a wonderfully memorable day that will support an incredible charity.

---

Related Articles

Kedleston Park Golf Club Feature Review

Andrew's Experience of the Tour Caddie Experience with Steve Brotherhood