English Amateur Graham Dodd Achieves Rare Double Hole-in-One

A 72-year-old amateur golfer from England has accomplished a feat achieved by very few in the history of the sport: recording two hole-in-ones within a single round.

Graham Dodd was competing in the opening round of the Winter League at Glossop & District Golf Club in Derbyshire on October 31 when he holed out on the par-3 12th and 18th holes.

According to the US National Hole-in-One Registry, the odds of such a feat are approximately 67 million to one, which is marginally better than the odds of winning the UK’s National Lottery jackpot (45 million to one).

However, the probability may have been slightly lower for Dodd, who told Golf Monthly that he has previously recorded two aces in social play and “one in a seniors competition, but that was about 10 years ago.”

Having missed seeing the first ball drop into the cup due to the elevated green on Glossop & District’s 163-yard 12th, Dodd admitted he also did not realize the second hole-out on the 173-yard 18th had occurred 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 natural question is how he reacted; for those who have never achieved a hole-in-one, one might expect an answer involving jumping up and down and considerable cheering.

His playing partners on the day may have exhibited such enthusiasm, but Dodd’s reaction was not quite the same.

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?'”

Notably, another English amateur, Gavin Bourne, recorded two aces in 2025 while winning his club championship.

Meanwhile, DP World Tour professional Dale Whitnell achieved the same feat at the South African Open Championship last year.

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Nevertheless, achieving two hole-in-ones in one round remains statistically rare and is always a moment to be treasured.

So, where does this accomplishment rank among the all-time sporting achievements of the Glossop & District Golf Club secretary?

“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, securing a hole-in-one requires the player to purchase a bottle or two of drinks for fellow players to share in the clubhouse afterward.

Dodd intended to follow this custom after his dream double, but he had to wait nearly a week before he was permitted 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.”

Dodd revealed that his fellow members reciprocated with a heartfelt display 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.”