Sir John Key has landed his second hole-in-one at Northland’s Kauri Cliffs golf course – a rare feat saluted by son Max Key as showing “the old dog’s still got a bit of game in him”.
Key told the NZ Herald he got the ace on Wednesday, using a 9-iron on the fifth hole of the golf course in Matauri Bay during a fathers versus sons game with Craig Heatley, Nick Heatley and Max Key.
“It was 118m to the hole.”
It is his second hole-in-one. His first was in December 2022 during a charity fundraiser for the Chasing the Fox Super Six golf day at Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Club.
That was being filmed so the moment and celebrations after it were caught on camera.
Sir John Key, Max Key, Damian McKenzie, Ryan Fox, Anton Lienert-Brown and Will Jordan during The Super Six Chase The Fox event in 2022. Photo / www.photosport.nz
While there is no video evidence this time, Max confirmed the story.
“They say lightning can’t strike twice, but the old dog’s still got a bit of game in him. A beautiful 9 iron that never looked like missing.”
John Key said he had watched from an elevated tee box as the ball landed just to the left of the hole and started rolling towards the pin.
However, the angle made it hard to judge if it would roll in.
“Then Max started screaming ‘Go in the hole!’ and next minute it just disappeared. You could see it go in the hole. I didn’t see the last [hole in one] but I did see this one. And everyone was jumping round for joy, and I was looking round for the TV cameras, cos that’s what I’m used to when I get a hole in one, obviously. But it turns out they don’t follow me on a regular Wednesday game.”
Key said it was nearly two years to the day since that first ace and he would be playing in the same fundraiser again this year on December 13.
“I was thinking I was one and done, now maybe I’m two and done. But who knows?”
Key said the added bonus of this hole-in-one was that the traditional shout at the bar was cheaper, because he was the only one of the group who drank alcohol. “It was two sparkling waters, a Coke Zero and a cup of tea for me. So it was a lot different to 400 people at Royal Auckland.”
He said the Kauri Cliffs game on Wednesday had ended in a draw after the seniors “squandered” their lead.
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