CANMORE – During any given golf game, the chances of a golfer making a hole-in-one is about 12,500 to one.
That is rare enough, about as common as finding a four-leaf clover or bowling a perfect game. As for a golfer making two holes-in-one in the same round, that is far rarer.
The odds are about 67 million to one, which is far less likely than dying in a shark attack or even being struck by lightning.
That amazing golfing feat was accomplished this weekend by local golfer Adele Sanford, 14, while playing in a tournament at the Canmore Golf and Curling Club Sunday (Aug. 21).
“I never had a hole-in-one, or experienced or seen one,” Sanford said. “I was mostly in shock.”
To put it in perspective, two holes-in-one by one golfer in a single round has only been accomplished by three professional golfers in a PGA event. The first was in 1955 when Bill Whedon made the accomplishment and it took 50 years before it happened again, in 2006 by Yusaku Miyazato, followed by another in 2015 by Brian Harman.
The first hole-in-one for Sanford came on hole 12, followed three holes later when she earned her second hole-in-one.
“That one was very straight and rolled in,” Sanford said. “I was not expecting to get even one naturally.”
The golfers with Sanford were naturally ecstatic at seeing something so rare accomplished before their eyes.
“They were definitely reacting more than I was. I was in total shock,” Sanford said. “They were jumping up and down. They were very happy for me. None of them had one or experienced one, so it was new for all of us.”
Sanford didn’t have to worry about convincing others on the course about her accomplishment, as word spread faster than she and her fellow golfers moved along the course.
“When I got back to the clubhouse, everyone already knew,” she said. “Mostly everyone went up to me and asked if I was the girl who got two holes-in-one. Every person we passed; my friends would be telling them.”
The entire experience was something Sanford is not soon to forget.
“It was weird, but it was also a really fun experience.”
Having accomplished something most golfers could only dream of, Sanford now hopes to accomplish at least one more hole-in-one in her golfing career.
“I think, No. 1, I was pretty happy with it, but No. 2, maybe a little greedy,” Sanford said. “I would love to experience one more in my lifetime.”
