Wednesday, 12 November 2025, will long be remembered at Pennant Hills Golf Club. It was one of those rare days when the golfing gods smiled upon the course and chance, skill and a touch of magic combined to produce something truly extraordinary, three holes-in-one on the same hole, on the same day.
The 14th hole, playing around 152 metres from the tee, is a testing par 3. On this remarkable day, however, it was unusually generous.
First came Stephen Taylor, whose crisp mid-iron disappeared into the cup to the delight of his playing partners. Not long after, Scott Bailey arrived at the same tee, swung with purpose and watched his ball vanish into the hole as if summoned by destiny. Then, a little later in the day, Rob Bush stepped up and, with a smooth swing and modest flourish, produced a third ace. Each was in a different group, yet all three found the same target.
Those fortunate enough to be nearby witnessed scenes of disbelief and celebration in equal measure. One Member, John Hill, playing in the group behind Rob, shared the following recollection:
“We were standing on the tee watching Rob’s group. The two young guys with him both missed the green before Rob stepped up and hit one perfectly, landing in the shadows a few metres left of the pin. As Rob picked up his tee, the following played out:
Young Guy One: ‘Hold on, it’s still rolling, it’s going…’
Young Guy Two: ‘Did that go in!?’
Young Guy One: (very excited) ‘I think it’s in! You made it!’
Rob: (dead casual) ‘I don’t know, I can’t see.’
As Rob trundled down the hill, his partners quickened their pace. When they reached the green, both peered into the hole together, one pointing while the other turned to Rob, still halfway down the slope. When he finally raised both arms in the air, we gave him a loud ‘woohoo’ from back on the tee.
We thought they’d be done quickly, but a few minutes later it looked more like a committee meeting on the green. Eventually they cleared off and we played our shots. By the time I reached my ball at the back, Rob was heading up the 15th fairway. I congratulated him, and he said, a bit exasperated, ‘Yeah, but did you see the card!?’
I ducked over to have a look, and there it was, three aces on the 14th. I now understood why Rob was only one-twelfth as excited as I thought he should be.”
The National Hole-in-One Registry estimates the odds of a single amateur golfer recording an ace at roughly 1 in 12,500. Two golfers acing the same hole in the same round raises that to 17 million to 1. Add a third, and the likelihood enters the realm of the impossible, a one-in-billions event by most estimates.
Even within Australian golf, such days are vanishingly rare. Only weeks ago, Golf Australia’s Liam Wyllie reported on three Members at Belvoir Park Golf Club near Bendigo, each making a hole-in-one on different par 3s during the same Saturday competition, a story fittingly titled “Local Legends: Belvoir Park’s hat-trick heroes.”
Yet this achievement stands in a class of its own three players, three groups, one hole, one day. It is, quite simply, the stuff of golfing folklore.
Stephen Taylor, Scott Bailey and Rob Bush, congratulations on a day that will live forever in the proud history of Pennant Hills Golf Club.
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