A YOUNG female golfer beat 5,000-1 odds to hit a hole-in-one – and walked away with a £30,000 dream car.
Ailsa Bain has been able to swap her five-year-old supermini worth £4,000 for a Range Rover after the 189-yard shot.
The 24-year-old, who has been a pro for just three years, was taking part in a charity golf event at the Renaissance Golf Club in Gullane, East Lothian last week.
Despite atrocious wind and rain, she shot only the third hole-in-one of her career to win the car – which was parked next to the par three hole.
The dream shot meant Ailsa, who is from the famous golfing village, was able to trade her 10-plate Citroen C1 for a Range Rover Evoque.
She said: “The weather was horrendous. It was so windy, it was pouring with rain and I said, ‘If I hole this I’m going to retire’.”
Taking the shot with a five wood, she immediately knew it would be close but could not see the green.
She said: “As soon as it came off the clubface you know it’s going to be good, but we didn’t know it had gone in.
She only found out her shot had made it when players further up the course told her:
“I came up to them and asked them where it was, and they said, ‘It’s in there’. I was just speechless.
“I was just like, ‘I need to phone my mum!’
“At the next tee I stood on the green with my club just shaking, laughing and thinking, ‘How am I supposed to hit this?’”
Speaking about her old car, she said: “I remember me and dad went to take a look at it and I took my golf clubs to make sure they’d fit in because it’s such a small car.
“I can fit everyone’s clubs in now!”
Ailsa took the car home from a charity day on on Thursday 28 May in aid of Clic Sargent, a cancer charity for children and young people.
Ailsa started golfing aged 13 and turned pro on her 21st birthday.
Ailsa, who currently works as an assistant professional, began a course to qualify as a fully-fledged PGA accredited pro.
She said she was delighted to make the shot, it proved wrong those who had doubted her decision to make a living from the sport.
She said: “I turned pro with a handicap of three and people thought, ‘Is she going to make it?’”
Russell Smith, head of golf at the Renaissance Club said Ailsa’s hole in one was “absolutely fantastic.”
“It doesn’t happen too often”, he said, “The 15th hole is one of our tougher par three holes.”
Kenny Boyd, Edinburgh fundraising manager for CLIC Sargent, said: “Well done to Ailsa. It was a brilliant shot and part of a fantastic day.
“Every penny raised will help CLIC Sargent provide vital support for children and young people with cancer, and their families.”
The longest ever recorded hole-in-one took place on a 517 yard par five hole in Denver, Colorado in 2002.
But earlier this year an amateur Scottish golfer took home a £25,000 prize after defying 12,500-1 odds to sink a hole-in-one whilst on holiday in the Caribbean.
