HE is, by his own admission, no Tiger Woods – just another "rubbish" golfer who hacks his way around the course and usually ends up with the booby prize at company outings.
But Allan Errington, a golfer who doesn't even have a handicap and has played only a handful of times, has joined the likes of Colin Montgomery and Sergio Garcia in the professional ranks after he fluked a hole-in-one, earning himself the prize of
a £15,000 car.
He aced his drive last Friday with a seven iron while playing the 181-yard, par-three ninth hole on Newmachar's Hawkshill course, one of the north-east of Scotland's top courses, where a Volkswagen Golf was on display as a prize. He was playing with clients on a company outing.
His employers, service management company Sodexho, had put up the prize for an ace at the short par-three at the corporate outing in a deal with the National Hole-in-One Association.
Mr Errington, from Blackburn in Aberdeenshire, recalled yesterday: "When it got to the ninth pretty much everything was going as usual – not well. I took my seven iron. There was no logic to it.
"I teed up. I looked at the car and hit the ball and it went in the hole. It bounced once and rolled straight in the hole. It was a pure fluke. Everybody knows me as a pretty poor golfer. I'm rubbish."
He added: "Everybody went mad. We were jumping up and down like young kids. It was hilarious. I win every year but it's usually the booby prize."
Mr Errington was left with the stark choice of simply accepting the accolades of his fellow golfers or entering the professional ranks because amateur players can only accept nominal prizes, such as vouchers for goods in golf shops. In deciding to accept the car, he has now lost his amateur status.
He has, however, no chance of figuring in next week's Open Championship or any other professional tournament. He only has a cheap set of golf clubs which he uses once a year for his company outing. And he had to borrow a putter for the Newmachar competition where he was one of field of 22 golfers. Until his hole-in-one, he was averaging seven shots per hole.
He also lost four balls in a water trap at the next hole. Mr Errington added: "I started the day with 23 balls and the only one I have left is the one I scored the hole-in-one with."
"I don't think I stand any chance at all playing against other professionals so I'm going to retire at this high."
A spokesman for the National Hole In One Association said the value of the car awarded depended on the number of players taking part and the length of the hole played. He explained: "We've given away a Lamborghini Diablo worth £185,000 before. Most winners want to keep quiet because winning a prize over £500 means they lose their amateur status.
"We would like to congratulate Mr Errington for such a good shot and wish him all the best in his golfing career."
According to guidance issued by the amateur status committee of the sport's governing body, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews: "A common example of an improper prize offered for achieving a hole-in-one is a car.
"It is easy for an amateur golfer to overlook or forget the benefits of being an 'amateur', particularly when he is offered the keys to a new car for a hole-in-one.
"But acceptance of such a prize will have certain consequences which may cause him to regret his decision – his official handicap will lapse, any club or society of which he is a member may review his eligibility for continued membership and participation in amateur competitions is a thing of the past.
"The game that he used to enjoy so much may be changed significantly."
IN QUOTESTHE rules of golf, set by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, state:
"An 'amateur golfer' is one who plays the game as a non-remunerative and non-profit-making sport and who does not receive remuneration for teaching golf or for other activities because of golf skill or reputation, except as provided in the Rules.
"Amateur Status is a universal condition of eligibility for playing in golf competitions as an amateur golfer. A person who acts contrary to the Rules may forfeit his status as an amateur golfer and as a result will be ineligible to play in amateur competitions."
The rules continue: "An amateur golfer must not accept a prize (other than a symbolic prize) or prize voucher of retail value in excess of £500."
The full article contains 811 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
