AS Chris Crossland walked up to the 13th green at Warrnambool Golf Course, he knew he had hit his tee shot on the par-3 well but he didn't know he had nailed it.
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"It's hard to tell because it (the 13th hole) is raised up and it could be rolling up the back then it could roll to the front and into a bunker," the 36-year-old said of his ace last Saturday.
"It is a bit of pot luck if you're close. It felt good off the club, it was a bit left of the flag but it was up there and I felt once we got up there it might be close to the pin.
"I never expected it and it was a bit of a subdued one. I got up there and we were looking around and there was one ball up there.
"We thought we would check the cup and we looked inside and I went 'oh that's a surprise'. It was a bit of a slow burn and then I was like 'oh that's great' and got more excited."
The 13th is the shortest hole on the course at 117 metres but it is one of the most difficult to nail. The green is situated 20 metres above the tee with bunkers surrounding the front half of the green.
The green slopes very heavily from back to front making putting challenging if you are above the pin.
Listen to this week's episode of The Main Break with Athletics coach Jeremy Dixon.
Two others players - Laird Heffer (September 29) and Michael Blake (October 1) - have nailed a hole-in-one on the 13th since play resumed at the club after the second coronavirus lockdown.
It was the third ace for Crossland, who moved to Warrnambool from Blackpool in England 10 years ago, but it was his first in the heat of a club competition.
Unlike his others the right-hander, who has played seriously for the past four years, decided to hold onto his ball.
The next hole it turned out to be a smart choice.
"Originally I did twig how rare they are and it can be bit a subdued and my friend said to write the date and the hole on my ball," he said.
"So I decided to keep that ball and inevitably the next hole I teed off, hooked it straight into the trees. It was deep in the trees too and I didn't get my new ball back.
"I threw the other ace balls back in my bag and didn't think of them but this was one in a competition and that means a bit more."
Crossland was playing alongside Stuart Blignaut, Simon Hermans and Steve Waterhouse when he nailed his hole-in-one.
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