Rare bird lands for Sale golfer (From Messenger Newspapers)

Rare bird lands for Sale golfer

1:28pm Friday 1st June 2012 in Trafford Sport

THE magnificent Pleasington course was presented in superb condition for the first event of the Maxitours season.

It provided a great day’s golf for a full field of players and brought great smiles to the faces of three Sale members.

Top of the shop with 45 points were Sale’s dynamic duo Moby Rawthore and Steve Rourke, one more than local pair Tariq Aziz and Joe Leech.

But the undoubted highlight of the day came on the seventh hole from former Sale captain John Stubbs as he secured that most rare of birds on a golf course – an albatross.

John, handicap 18, has never had a hole-in-one after 35 years in golf and according to statistics it is much easier to get an ace than an albatross.

The scenic hole measures 518 yards and John, playing with another former Sale captain John Royle, took full advantage of a favourable slope to blast his drive some 300 yards.

He then took out his trusty four-wood and hit it sweetly some 218 yards into the cup for the albatross and six Stableford points to go ahead of playing partners Keith Coxon and Guy Hall the Captain and President of Stamford Golf Club and a top ten finish with 41 points.

John said: “I have never had a hole-in-one and I was told that to get an albatross is much rarer and it also meant that I did not have to buy a round of drinks in the clubhouse afterwards.

”It was also great to get it on such a superb course as Pleasington.”