August 29, 2019

Two amateur golfers record holes-in-one on same hole in back-to-back swings

Rob Gaboriault and Bob Maritano couldn't see where their ball landed due to a small knob on the front of the green that obscured their view of the hole from the tee box.

"That's why we couldn't see them go in," Gaboriault said. "I still can't believe it happened."

The two were playing their afternoon round at the Links at Lang Farm near Essex Vermont when Gaboriault hit his first hole-in-one from the white tee on the 156-yard par-3 10th hole and Mariano, playing from the red tee a few yards closer, nailed his, which was the 18th of his career. Odds? One in 144 million.

"I was in a daze. To have one hole-in-one, even if it was Bob's or mine, is something that's pretty unbelievable," said Gaboriault. "But to have both be in the hole on your first shot of the day ... things like that just don't happen."

Gaboriault used a 5-iron, Maritano a 5-wood, according to Gaboriault.

Maritano has hit 18 hole-in-ones, including four this year (3 in the last 10 days.) "I remember my first hole in one. That was down in Farmington (Conn.) in '69 in a driving rainstorm," said Maritano, the 1981 Vermont Amateur champion. "Probably three-fourths of them I can't remember the dates. They don't even faze me. But this one did because it was with a friend and it was his first."

Maritano couldn't see it go in. A case of macular degeneration has severely limited his vision in his right eye. "I lose the ball in flight probably 25 yards out," he said.

Don't we all.