August 21, 2023 will forever remain in the memory of two golfers over the age of seventy. François Chartrand and Roger Giroux achieved a real feat on the greens of the Vallée du Richelieu golf club. In the same quartet, they each achieved a very rare hole-in-one on two different pennants in the same round.
What are the chances that this series of events will make all fans of the little white ball dream?
Infinitesimals.
Because considering that the average golfer has a one in 12,000 chance of making a hole-in-one, we need to multiply the probabilities. Each of the successes is independent, the mathematician and statistician Maxime Guy already explained when Le Journal contacted him to explain the chances of a golfer from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu who had registered an ace on three different cards in 37 days. The following season it was the turn of a Laurentians golfer to follow that feat.
According to statistics from the American organization National Hole-in-One Registry, which collects data worldwide, the probability of two golfers from the same group achieving a hole-in-one at the same place is 17 million against one.
A first surprise
This time the two members of the renowned Club de la Vallée-du-Richelieu, based in Sainte-Julie, have achieved a remarkable achievement on the magnificent square of Rouville.
As a bonus, the first one to get there at the fourth flag looked like Babe Ruth before she drove off. Seventy-seven-year-old Roger Giroux, author of three holes-in-one in his life, joked to his playing mates that he had scored his last “A” on the same hole with the pennant in the same spot.
As the “Bambino” did when he came on the record, Mr. Giroux pointed to his target.
“I told them that I can prove that it is not just luck, but above all a question of skill,” he told Le Journal by telephone.
“We never saw the ball fall into the hole because it was hidden behind the slope and a pit. When I got to the green I went to the hole and saw the ball there. It was quite a surprise. “I played a trick that worked,” he exclaimed.
Golfer Roger Giroux scored his fourth hole-in-one ever on the Rouville course at the Vallée du Richelieu Golf Club. Courtesy of Alain Jean
The little white girl disappears
Two hours later, François Chartrand copied him on the 10th with a length of 165 yards.
Unlike their companion, the group saw the ball land just in front of the green and roll toward the flag before disappearing.
In more than 55 years of training, it was the first hole-in-one for the now 79-year-old, who plays between 120 and 150 rounds per year.
“The feeling is incredible. I hadn’t lost hope, but I had been so close to returning so many times that I told myself that one day it would happen,” said the friendly golfer, who had witnessed the glorious moments of three friends in the Vallée du Richelieu.
Never seen it
Data from the National Hole-in-One Registry shows that golfers who achieve a hole-in-one do so after, on average, 24 years of practice. Additionally, 60% of aces are made by golfers aged 50 and over.
Roger Giroux and François Chartrand celebrated their achievement in style late in the afternoon of August 21st at the Vallée du Richelieu Golf Club. Courtesy of Alain Jean
At the end of the day, around champagne bottles and other glasses in the 19th, guests talked not necessarily about one success or another, but rather about the probabilities of counting two in the same quartet.
According to club records viewed by a friend, this has never happened since the club opened in 1966. The club now has around 1,100 members.
This season alone he has recorded 28 aces. Out of all of them, Marcel Émond achieved sixth place in four years!
Unusual Stats*
A hole-in-one is achieved every 3,500 rounds of golf
Probability of a hole-in-one by a pro: 1 in 3,000
The odds of a player hitting two holes in one in the same round: 67 million to 1
14% of aces are scored by women
Most popular clubs: 7 iron and 8 iron (14% each)
57% of holes-in-one are made by golfers with an average handicap index (10 to 19).
What is a “condor”? **
A hole in one on a par 5!
According to English records, it has been performed five times in history.
5 golfers would have achieved the ultimate feat.
The first dates back to 1962 and covered a distance of 480 yards. Larry Bruce had taken a shortcut by flying over trees on a crooked hole at Hope Country Club in Arkansas.
*According to the National Hole-in-One Registry
**According to PGA of America