Most golfers dream of scoring a hole-in-one just once in their lifetime.

For Ōtūmoetai Golf Club member Lynette Whitehead, that dream has come true not once, but three times - with two of those remarkable shots coming in the past 12 months.

Her latest hole-in-one came on July 1, just weeks after another ace on May 27. Her first was in 2013, making the recent double feat all the more extraordinary.

“There isn’t really a secret,” Whitehead laughs. “You just look at the hole, hit the ball and hope it doesn’t go in the drain. Then it’s quite exciting when you see it disappear into the hole.”

She has been playing golf since she was 13. Growing up in Mount Maunganui after her family moved from Hamilton in the late 1950s, Whitehead attended Mount Maunganui Primary and College and would often head to the golf course during a free period at school.

“We used to sneak out, play a couple of holes, then go back to school,” she said.

Golfer Lynette Whitehead with her three trophies for three hole in ones. Photo / Kelly O'Hara

Although she played for decades, Whitehead didn’t officially obtain a handicap until joining Ōtūmoetai Golf Club in 2010.

“I started on a handicap of about 26, got down to nine after a few years, and now I’m playing off 17,” she said.

She plays every Tuesday with the club’s women’s competition and joins mixed veterans’ golf on Wednesdays, where players are drawn into different groups each week.

For Whitehead, however, golf is about far more than chasing the perfect shot.

“I just love the camaraderie,” she said. “It’s a team sport as well as an individual sport. I love the competition, but I also love going away with the team. It’s really good for the soul.”

Ōtūmoetai Golf Club may be one of the smaller clubs in the region, but Whitehead said it regularly punches above its weight, with members enjoying success in Bay of Plenty pennant competitions against clubs including Ōmokoroa, Ōmanu, Fairview, Te Puke, Waihī and Tauranga.

“We do very well for our little club because we don’t have very many people to choose from,” she said.

The trophy board at Ōtūmoetai Golf Club. Photo / Kelly O’Hara

Whitehead is one of six siblings and comes from a golfing family, with her parents playing at Mount Maunganui Golf Club. Today she has five grandchildren, all aged 8 and under.

Whether any of them will follow in their grandmother’s golfing footsteps remains to be seen.

“They’ve got so many choices these days,” she said. “But they often come down and watch me play.”

While there is already an honour board at Ōtūmoetai Golf Club recognising members who have scored a hole in one, Lynette’s achievement of recording two aces within just a few weeks has created plenty of excitement around the clubhouse.

Ōtūmoetai Golf Club has about 400 members and welcomes new golfers of all abilities.

“Everybody’s welcome,” Whitehead said.