HE had already done it three times previously, but Emerald Downs golfer Brian Cottam hit an incredible hole-in-one last Friday.
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As part of his regular Friday afternoon round of golf, Cottam walked up to the 18th tee and casually hit the ball in the general direction of the hole 180 metres away.
It was a par three.
The 71-year-old admitted the fact he cleared the water put him ahead of about another 60 or 70 per cent of golfers who play that hole.
Then he looked up and was informed by his son that the ball had hit the front side of the green, missed another ball by an inch and rolled into the hole.
“I knew I hit it well,” he said.
“But people say whenever you hit a hole-in-one you’re lucky.
“Well of course you’re lucky, but when you play the game you’re trying to get the ball as close to the hole as possible.”
It was one of the more difficult holes in the entire course.
“It was just one of those things,” he said.
Cottam’s success was just the third hole-in-one in the entire Friday afternoon tournament at the Emerald Downs course.
“They told me it had only happened another two times previously in the 15 years they’ve been running it,” he said.
“I’ve played at a few different courses.”
For Cottam, his hole-in-one success comes on the back of one he hit at the Hallum Golf Club eight years ago.
Before that he completed the feat at Forster and his first one was at the Hume Country Club in Albury.
He could have had another in Kalgoorlie nine years ago, but he missed that by an inch.
“If you don’t aim at the hole you can’t hit a hole-in-one,” he said.
“I just enjoy playing golf because you get outside and enjoy it with mates.”