2 Aces in 23 Minutes

Holes in one are rare, but not for Karen Veseth (she’s made five). The most recent two came just 23 minute apart, in the same round. Which is even more rare. Actually, this means that Karen's round equates to about 1 in 67 million.

Karen has been golfing since she turned 13 and has been playing regularly in her free time since she was 35. She’s 62 now and golfs about twice a week at Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club where she has been a member since 2003.

Her first hole in one was 25 years ago on a short par 3. Her second one, the ball caught a lucky bounce and fell in. She doesn’t remember the third one. On April 18, 2021 she made her fourth and fifth just 23 minutes apart.

As Karen tells it, she was playing her normal “bogey golf” when she approached the 8th hole on the South Course of the Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club. The distance was about 150 yard and she always pulls her driver on that hole.

“[That hole] is surrounded by water on the right hand side, so I usually never go straight at the pin because I have a slight fade, and it sometimes goes in the water, so I usually play a little conservatively and play a little left. But for some reason this time it went straight at the hole and bounced once and went in.”

Karen, who was playing with two good friends could hardly believe it. They called the golf shop and asked what one gets for a hole in one (she’s a member of the Hole In One club at the course). Turns out it’s worth $500 at the bar and $300 at the golf shop. Awesome!

Two holes later, on the 10th, Karen pulled her 9 wood. As she put it: “That green’s pin placement was in this sort of impression in the ground. I hit left of the pin and it caught the curve of the green.”

“I immediately thought ‘well, that’s gonna end up pretty good’, and it kept getting closer so then I thought ‘well maybe I’ll get a two’ and then all of a sudden it just disappeared again. It just rode the wave into the hole.” Karen and crew called the golf shop again, and had a good laugh when they had to ask what happens if you hole it twice in one round.

So, how did she celebrate? “Based on the winnings, I had a $1,000 bar bill, which I’ve never had. I bought drinks and lunch for everyone so that was really cool. I don’t really think it’s hit me how amazing it is to make two in one round. I didn’t know how rare it was until after it happened. I really couldn’t believe it after the second one went in.”

Take that, 67 million to 1 odds.