Two GolfWA Pennants players have defied odds in the region of 17,000,000-1 by making holes-in-one on the same hole in consecutive shots.

Ian Gompertz (The Western Australian Golf Club) and Rob Clement (Cottesloe Golf Club) achieved the remarkable feat during their Division 5 North Men’s Pennants match at Sun City Country Club last week.

Hitting first at Sun City’s 159-metre par-3 14th hole, Gompertz struck a sweet 5-iron which passed from view as it landed on the elevated green. He only knew it had gone in the hole when Cottesloe’s team manager gave an AFL goal-scored gesture from the back of the green.

This being matchplay, Clement had nothing to lose by having a crack himself – cue scenes of disbelief when his 6-iron caught a downhill slope and rolled slowly and inexorably onward until it, too, disappeared into the hole.

Rarely has a halved hole in pennants golf been so dramatic.

“I’ve never had a hole-in-one before and now I’ve got a great story to tell for the rest of my life about how I got one and the guy behind me got one as well,” laughed Gompertz, who plays off a 2 handicap.

“It was surreal and a brilliant moment, but it’s matchplay, so you just have to reset and go again on the next hole. I was pretty pumped afterward and even birdied the next hole.”

Three-handicapper Clement admitted to being similarly dumbfounded when he did the near impossible and matched his opponent’s achievement.

“When we realised Ian’s shot had gone in I thought I’d lost the hole, so may as well just try to hit a good shot,” Clement told GolfWA. “I just wanted to get a clean hit and it was perfect. It was just unbelievable when it went in.”

Ultimately the match went Clement’s way as he was an estimated four under the card when he clinched a 4&3 victory in a high-quality encounter. Both he and Gompertz, however, will be able to dine out on their unique experience for a lifetime.

- By Neal Maidment