Going from slap shot to hole-in-one
Toronto Maple Leaf forward Peter Holland has some advice for hockey players turned golfers
Toronto Maple Leaf Peter Holland is hoping the third time’s the charm.
Teeing off at his third Joe Carter Classic this year, he’s also looking for his third annual hole-in-one. He’s only ever hit two. The first came at a 2014 charity tournament held by fellow NHL player Cory Conacher — it found the hole on the same day Holland signed his contracts extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It also won him a three-night stay at the Banff Fairmont Springs, and he figured it was “kind of a good omen.”
The second came last year in a friendly fairway session with teammates — including Matt Frattin and T.J. Brennan — at Copper Creek Golf Club in Kleinburg, Ont..
With back-to-back summer success, Holland says he’s aiming for his third hole-inone at the Joe Carter Classic. And he just might have the skills and experience to pull it off.
Holland says his golf game relies on hockey skills such as hand-eye co-ordination and rotational strength. But a killer slap shot doesn’t necessarily translate to success on the golf course.
“[Hockey players] can typically hit the ball a long way, but it’s not always accurate,” Holland says. “The slap shot, believe it or not, doesn’t necessarily help the golf swing. It goes a long way, but it can go a long way left or right, too.”
He concedes hockey players have a favourable off-season schedule to work on their swing. “No matter how long you play, you still get a couple of months during the warm weather to be a golfer. Baseball you play right through the summer so it is tough to get out.”
But that hasn’t stopped the charity tournament’s namesake. “Joe Carter is an unbelievable golfer,” Holland asserts. “He might even be a plus one or a scratch.”
And Holland admits his short game al- ways takes time to shape up every season. “It’s a repetition thing,” he says. But if practice makes perfect, the 25-year-old forward has a lot of experience under his belt.
Holland is better than the average golfer, possibly because he’s been playing since age 8 in Caledon, Ont.
“I loved it immediately,” he recalls. “I liked the individual aspect of it.” Though golf would never replace his No.1love of hockey.
For those aspiring hockey pros looking for a game where the grass is greener, Holland has some tips.
“When you shoot a puck, you kind of come down on it. But when you are hitting a driver, for example, you almost want to hit up on the ball. It’s a little bit of a different technique.”
While Holland was a Leafs fan growing up, he wasn’t a big baseball fan — he was only a small child when Carter led the Blue Jays to back-to-back World Series’ championships in 1992 and 1993. But he lauds Carter’s tournament.
“Joe Carter brings together so many celebs — it’s the who’s who [of sports celebrities],” Holland says, adding he values the charitable cause — the Children’s Aid Foundation — and the rare company (rapper Snoop Dogg played the after party in 2015). “It’s so cool to be a part of it.”
Holland hopes his golf good fortune translates to the hockey season. A third hole-in-one would be great, but it likely wouldn’t beat leading his Leafs back into the playoffs.
Holland called his first hole-in-one “a good omen” on the day he became a longterm Maple Leaf. Fans of both sports may want to cross their fingers for Holland to hit his third perfect swing at the Joe Carter Classic.