BENNY’S BACK HANDER
GOLFER’S REMARKABLE ACE
DAVID Skeen has blasted his way into an exclusive club, becoming just the third golfer to hit a hole-in-one on a par four at Surfers Paradise.
Skeen’s magic moment occurred last Friday at the sixth hole, when he pummelled a 251m tee-off hard into the flag, only for the ball to drop in.
The 60-year-old, who has been a member at the club for a decade, was initially unsighted and had to rely on the excited reaction of golfers on a nearby hole before seeing proof.
“At Christmas time my son bought me some lessons with Ben Jewell, who’s our training pro here,” Skeen explained.
“Normally (at the sixth) the members will either lay up short or they will go for the green. Well, I’m one of the ones that go for the green and usually end up in the drain on the left or in the trees on the right but Benny straightened me up.
“This one I just luckily hit pretty pure … I couldn’t see it and then next minute a couple of members that had just walked off and were on the next tee come running out and waving their arms and pointing at the hole.
“I thought, ‘surely not’. I had to wait until my group hit their second shots before I could get up there. I saw it in the hole. It was unbelievable.”
And there have been plenty of messages of congratulations for Skeen, a former Gold Coast Vikings rugby league player and Australian touch football representative who transitioned to golf after a hip replacement.
“I have had good feedback from the members and friends but unfortunately they all know that I am going to be unbearable for the next 20 years or so,” he laughed.
“It’s sort of the holy grail for us all to maybe one day hit a hole-in-one.”
Neil Wall and Troy Kennedy are the only other golfers to achieve the feat in 50 years at Surfers.