Ten holes-in-one for Moray golfer Maxi
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A MORAY golfer has achieved an incredible 10th hole-in-one on his home course where he used to work as greenkeeper.
Maxi Grant (66) must know the fairways and greens of Garmouth and Kingston Golf Club like the back of his hand after taking his ace tally into double figures last month.
Amazingly, the former club champion holed his latest tee shot at the 236 yard par-four 11th for an albatross, the second time he has aced that hole during his 40-year golfing career.
“It’s a straight shot. It’s got two bunkers guarding the front of the green with a bank that runs over on to the green,” he said. “So you can’t actually see the ball going into the hole.
“Both times I’ve holed it there, I thought I was through the back of the green and was looking for my ball there.
“On this occasion my playing partner said there’s a ball in the hole. I was elated, I was very, very pleased.”
Grant, who lives in Garmouth and whose normal handicap is seven but plays off a senior handicap of two, got his latest hole-in-one during a senior medal competition playing with Vic Konczewski and George Murray.
He took up golf in 1976 and scored his first ace in the late eighties at the par three 13th hole.
His playing partner on that memorable day was the late Jock Spence.
In 1993 he joined Garmouth and Kingston’s greenkeeping team and progressed to the position of head greenkeeper, where he learned more about the lie of the land at the Speyside course.
It was a role he maintained until a couple of years ago when he retired, but has remained a regular at his local club.
His inside knowledge of every nook and cranny of the course must have paid off, as he kept bagging holes-in-one along the way.
As well as aceing the par-four 11th twice, he has also managed two each at the 13th, 18th and the old par-three 16th, which no longer exists due to parts of the course being washed away by Spey floods. He has also holed out once at the 4th and 9th.
“Once I had managed to get to nine I was always hoping to get to double figures.”
Grant also became Garmouth and Kingston’s club champion in 1997 and has won several scratch opens over the years.
His hole-in-one achievements haven’t even hit him hard in the pocket. Traditionally when a golfer gets an ace he buys everyone in the clubhouse a drink, but his club supplies a bottle of whisky whenever a senior golfer achieves an ace.
“I still bought a few drams as well,” he said.
Grant’s achievements top the ace totals of two other Moray golfers who have proved to be particularly accurate off the tee. Retired teacher Bob Adams clocked up his seventh at Moray GC last year while Hopeman member Frank Sutherland went one better in December with his eighth ace.
Both have some catching up to do on Maxi’s tremendous 10.
