The exclusive BOSS Watches H1Club has rewarded more than 5,500 golfers with a limited-edition timepiece for scoring a hole-in-one during a club competition, but Gordon Brown is one of the few to have achieved the feat on a par-four.
Brown, 25, from Dunfermline in Scotland, achieved his monster ace on the 256-yard, par-four 12th at Gogarburn GC, and the 10-handicapper was rewarded with membership of the exclusive BOSS Watches H1Club and a specially-commissioned, commemorative timepiece.
But it was the fact that Brown’s albatross – or double-eagle as it is referred to on the US tours – was scored on such a long hole that raises the achievement above those of the vast majority of BOSS Watches H1Club members.
He said: “Standing on the 12th tee, having had possibly the worst first 11 holes for a few seasons, I decided to use my driver.
“Usually, I’d play it safe with a wood or a long iron, but, seeing as my round was all but gone, I figured why not go for it.
“I took a line down the right half, wind off the right, and hit a promising shot which took off bang on the line I’d aimed for.
“The wind brought it back inside the line of the greenside bunker and it bounced, before rolling optimistically towards the flag from right to left.
“At this point it disappeared from sight so I thought it had either gone in the hole or run through. Naturally, I thought the latter, but after reaching the green and checking the rough, I found nothing.
“I decided to check the hole and, lo and behold, it was sitting at the bottom of the cup – my first hole-in-one and an albatross!”