Brendan Turner stands proudly on the Hole 14 green at Cooke Municipal Golf Course, after scoring an Albatross. (Facebook/ Brendan Turner)

By Nigel Maxwell

Sports achievements

P.A. man scores his first hole-in-one on 350 yard, par 4

Jul 20, 2020 | 5:00 PM

Adam Sandler’s character in the movie Happy Gilmore is famous for his long drive aces, but no special effects were required last Thursday when Prince Albert’s Brendan Turner scored a hole-in-one on Hole 14.

The distance from the blue tees to hole is a short 350 yard drive from the tee box, and the hole itself is invisible from the tee box, not to mention the fact that it lies at the bottom of a long sloping hill. Speaking with paNOW on Monday, Turner recalled seeing his ball land just after the hill.

“It must have run down and gone right into the hole,” he said.

The pin placement last Thursday was in the front-centre area of the green. Turner explained as he walked up the hill, he could not see his ball, and one of his friends commented that he must have gone over the green. Only when the players reached the green, did they discover Turner’s ball lying comfortably on the foam ring in the cup.

“I was hyped up. It was pretty crazy and a pretty special moment,” Turner said. “I’ve never had a hole-in-one before.”

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The view from the tee box on Hole 14 at Cooke Muncipal Golf Course. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

In fact Turner was so ecstatic about his accomplishment, he forgot to put the ball away for safe keeping, and used it again on the next hole.

“I didn’t even think to put the ball in my pocket and snap hooked it into the bush,” he said with a laugh.

Turner and his friends then spent the next 10 minutes looking for the ball, but luckily found it.

Turner, who has been playing golf since he was young, told paNOW he has always been able to hit the ball long. Turner’s grandparents even set up a small course for him at their farm.

“I think I was self taught and I just taught myself how to swing the club,” he said.

When asked if he had any money riding on the hole last Thursday, Turner laughed and said he didn’t.

“We were playing a team game actually, combined score. So my partner was like ‘between the two of us we got a nine,'” Turner said.

One thing is for sure, Brendan Turner has earned a lifetime of bragging rights. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Turner, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on Saturday, is no stranger to success in sports, having been part of the 2006 Mintos’ Telus Cup Championship team. He also played hockey in Alberta and New York.

He was back on the course Monday and when asked how he planned to top last Thursday’s feat, he explained how he scored a two on a par five hole at Emma Lake last year and thought that was pretty special, too.

“I don’t think I can hit the ball far enough to get a hole in one on a par five,” he said.

While the thought of scoring a hole-in-one-on a par four is rare, it does happen occasionally. Darcy Myers, the head pro at Cooke Municipal Golf Course, told paNOW they’ve had a few golfers do it in the last 20 years.

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nigel,maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell