Good on ya!
Former tour pro sets Guinness World Record with four aces on same hole
Peter Dazeley
It took former tour pro Tony Riches 46 years and around 18,000 par-3s to hit an ace. Now, he can’t stop hitting them.
Over the past eight years, the Australian has nailed four holes-in-one ... all on the same hole. The par-3, 161-yard seventh hole at Club Catalina Golf Course has become Riches’ home away from home and also the site of a vaunted Guinness World Record: the most holes-in-one on the same hole during competition play.
“I thought: ‘I wonder if anyone’s had four holes-in-one on the same hole’?’’ Riches told Golf Australia after his fourth ace earlier this year. “I sent an inquiry to the Guinness people and they came back and said the current record was two. They asked me for evidence to support it.”
The Guinness research took six months and featured “submission of competition scorecards, screenshots of the club’s honor board, production of competition scorecards and a witness statement from the club’s director of golf Rod Booth,” but the 64-year-old recently got the news that he’s a certified world record holder.
“The odds are 1-in-10,000 of a hole-in-one,” he said. “But I’ve been a scratch golfer since I was 20. I’m 64 now and I’m not playing well. Age is catching up and I’m struggling with the putter. It’s been a full life, I’ve been playing 50 years so I’ve hit a few shots. I’m pretty proud of it, to be honest.”
A retired PGA Tour pro and former teaching pro at Yowani Country Club in Canberra, Riches has now had six holes-in-one in his lifetime with two-thirds of those dropping on the same hole. His most recent at Club Catalina came with a 6-iron.
Don’t expect any critical ace advice from this instructor, however, as Riches says these incredible moments are mostly due to a good swing and a good deal of luck. There’s no doubt that this seventh hole is one of his favorite places to be, and if he has his druthers, it won’t just be in this lifetime.
"When I pass away, I want to be cremated and have my ashes scattered behind the back of the hole, so I can watch everyone else play that hole."