Golfer Shane Gesch slots a million to one chance shot of an albatross for the second time
An Australian hockey champion has defied the odds once again after hitting a million to one golf shot for a second time.
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If winning a World Cup for Australia in Masters hockey wasn't enough for Sunshine Coast golfer Shane Gesch, scoring an albatross on two separate occasions must be close.
Surrounded by a group of mates playing at the Caloundra Golf Club as part of the Sunshine Coast Monday Club, Gesch was able to achieve the feat on the 490m par five 14th hole.
After rocketing a drive down the middle of the fairway, Gesch then decided to go for the green 205m away with a three wood.
He hit the shot beautifully and said he saw the ball land on the green just to the right of the flagstick, then lost sight of it.
“After I hit it I thought it would have rolled off so when we walked up and we couldn't see it we went down the back and starting searching in the long grass, in the gardens and even accusing the other group that they had picked up my ball,” he said.
“Another bloke in our group Greg Sulzberger said that you should always check the hole which got a few laughs initially.
“He eventually walked over and sure enough it’d dropped in the hole.”
His five-point albatross wasn’t enough to give the four-handicapper a winning score for the day but it guaranteed a few gasps of admiration from his fellow golfers back at the clubhouse.
Dean Knuth, inventor of the slope rating system for golf courses and handicaps, calculates the odds of an albatross at one million to one, though some experts rate the chances as high as six million to one.
A person is 10 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to score an albatross and remarkably enough this was the second for Gesch after achieving the feat two decades ago at the par five 14th at the old Horton Park course in Maroochydore.
Gesch said he now had to rethink what he does with his clubs after he was planning on upgrading in the coming weeks.
“The 3 wood that I hit the shot with is one of the clubs I’m about to upgrade so I’m thinking this old beauty has just hit an albatross for me and now I’m not so sure I want to get rid of it,” he said.
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Originally published as Golfer Shane Gesch slots a million to one chance shot of an albatross for the second time
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