'Crikey, 67 Million To One Is Quite Unbelievable Isn't It?' - Ecstatic Amateur Reacts To 'Unsurpassable' Feat

A 72-year-old amateur from England has achieved something very few golfers have ever done in the history of the game - record a hole-in-one twice during the same round.

Graham Dodd was playing in the first round of the Winter League competition at Glossop & District Golf Club in Derbyshire on October 31 when he holed both tee shots on the par-3 12th and 18th.

The odds of anyone managing such a task is, according to the US National Hole-in-One Registry, estimated at roughly 67 million to one - slightly better than winning the UK's National Lottery jackpot prize (45 million to one).

But maybe it was always slightly lower for Dodd, who told Golf Monthly he has recorded two aces socially and "one in a seniors competition, but that was about 10 years ago."

After failing to see the first one actually go in due to the raised green on Glossop & District's 163-yard 12th, Dodd admitted he wasn't aware the second hole-out on the 173-yard 18th had occurred either at the time.

The 7-handicapper said: "The second one, I saw it pitch and it looked like it pitched about 6-8 feet short of the flag and then it disappeared.

"Now, I thought it had gone behind the flag and the ball was masked by the flag pole itself.

"But one of my playing partners, who is significantly younger than I am and has better eyesight said "I think that's gone in!"

"I said "No! That's ridiculous if it's gone in following the one I just had back on the 12th!"

"When we got close to the green, you could see the pitch mark but there was no ball visible on the green.

"When we walked up, we all looked into the hole like we were in some comedy and there it was, sat in the bottom of the cup."

The obvious question then is, how did he react? For those of us who have never quite managed a hole-in-one, you'd expect an answer involving jumping up and down and plenty of cheering.

There might have been from his playing partners on the day, but not quite from Dodd...

He said: "It was a surreal moment for me. I think my playing partners were more excited than I was!

"It was certainly something very, very unique. It was a crazy, crazy day and very difficult to absorb. Other people were more enthusiastic about it than I was at the time.

"Maybe I'm just a bit too laid back for it to be that impactful, but when I thought about it afterwards was thinking 'crikey, 67 million to one is quite unbelievable, isn't it?'"

Remarkably, another amateur golfer from England called Gavin Bourne recorded two aces in 2025 on his way to winning his club championship.

Meanwhile, DP World Tour pro Dale Whitnell did likewise at the South African Open Championship last year.

Nevertheless, a hole-in-one twice in the same round remains statistically highly unlikely and is always something to be cherished.

So where does it rank among the Glossop & District Golf Club secretary's all-time sporting achievements?

"From a golfing perspective, this is unsurpassable, I would suggest.

"I've had quite a successful career in golf. I was down off two in my younger, younger days and I'm now off seven at 72 years of age.

"I've had some successes over the years, but this is right up there with them and probably surpasses anything I've done before."

Traditionally, bagging a hole-in-one requires the hero to purchase a bottle or two for fellow players to share in the clubhouse afterwards.

And Dodd had every intention of doing so following his dream double, only he was required to wait almost a week before he was allowed to celebrate.

Explaining why his celebrations were put on hold, Dodd said: "There weren't many people in the clubhouse afterwards because we were one of the last groups out, and with it being a Saturday competition, a lot the guys had already gone.

"So what I did was, we had our presentation evening the following Friday and I put a couple of bottles on the bar top for the members to enjoy."

And Dodd revealed his fellow members paid him back with a heartfelt show of congratulations.

He continued: "What was nice, actually, when the two hole-in-ones were mentioned by the captain there was like a standing ovation from all the members there which was quite humbling.

"It was an amazing feat, and the messages of congratulations and the feeling from within the membership was very touching. It was lovely from everybody to go to the extent of congratulating me as they did."