Novice Golfer Makes Hole in One for Charity at Heythrop Park

Post by Golf Journalist Josh Carr

When the Bridgestone Challenge pro-am rolled into Oxford’s Heythrop Park on August 26, nobody expected that it would be Bridgestone’s Consumer Marketing Manager Wim Belckx who would steal the headlines with his first ever hole-in-one.

Despite only picking up a golf club for the first time a mere 12 months ago, Wim picked the perfect time to make his first hole-in-one as the 13^th hole was sponsored by Siepe Sports and any ace that day would see the lucky golfer win £5,000. To add, £2,500 of the winnings would be donated to WorkingOptions, the official charity of the Blackstar Sports managed European Challenge Tour pro-am event.

Having played with Wim during the pro-am, it was a delight to see how much it meant to him. The sweetly struck three iron at the 176-yard hole, pitched just short of the green and rolled on the perfect line to fall into the hole. It was hard to tell from the angle as to whether the ball had fallen in or just clattered the pin, but as we made our way to the green it was apparent that the ball was stuck between the pin and the cup.

Nathan Gregson, the Managing Director of Siepe Sports said: “A hole-in-one contest is a great addition to any golf day. Not only does the chance of winning a large prize create a real buzz – it is also a great way to raise money for charity.”  And a real buzz is exactly what was created when Wim holed out. You realise how relatively rare these moments are in golf and it was a great to be able to share it with Wim.

Our accompanying professional that day was Belgium’s Thomas Detry, who went on to win the Bridgestone Challenge with a record score of 29 under par over four rounds. Some would argue that it was his fellow countryman Wim who inspired him to his victory, but nonetheless it was a great week for both parties.

The £2,500 will be donated to Working Options, a project of the MKB Foundation established by Paul Monk in April 2012 and helps and inspires 6^th form college students to realise their full potential and increase awareness of the food, drink, retail and grocery industry as a career path.

“Obviously the odds are stacked against a hole-in-one but we got lucky today,” said Paul Monk the CEO of WorkingOptions. “The £2,500 donation really was the icing on the cake and a totally unexpected boost.” All in all, there were lots of happy faces come the end of the Bridgestone Challenge on the Challenge Tour.

Wim defied the odds at Heythrop Park, but it's still not quite as remarkable as what 21-handicap player Ann Bache achieved in 2012 by making TWO aces in one round.