Arizona Couple Makes Back-to-Back Aces on Same Hole

Capital Canyon Club in Prescott, Arizona, has five par 3s on its par 71 layout, which is a bit more than the normal course. Two on the front nine and three on the back nine, including back-to-back par 3s in No. 16 and 17.

Perhaps its that extra chance than normal or maybe the consecutive chances, but Capital Canyon has seen 141 aces on its course since 2020. So far this year, eight holes-in-one have been recorded.

"We've been labeled as the luckiest golf course in the world," says Marko Hardin, the club's PGA of America Head Professional. "You can see why!"

None of the other 147 dunks, however, could match the story of Bill and Ann Gray's aces on July 10.

The two were playing the 16th hole with friends David and Karen Barriera. Ann went first using her 7-wood from 82 yards.

"It's not a hole I particularly like," Ann said with a laugh. "The tee box is above the hole, and there's trouble in front of the green so it's a bit tricky. I hit my shot and we had some friends driving in watching our tee balls. They saw it fall in and yelled back that it went in. It was my first hole-in-one!"

Karen hit her tee shot next, which almost dropped into the hole right on top of Ann's. The two drove back to Bill and David's tee, which was a completely different shot from 140 yards.

"It was probably playing about 150 yards into a little breeze," remembers Bill. "I pulled a 9-iron and thought I hit it OK, but didn't see the result so thought maybe it was a little short."

Instead, Bill's ball had dropped into the cup right alongside his wife's ball that went in just a short time earlier. It was his seventh career hole-in-one . . . but undoubtedly the most remarkable. According to the National Hole-in-One Registry, the odds of two players from the same foursome acing the same hole is 17 million to 1. It's safe to say, that odds had been defied.

"I just remember getting to the green and yelling, 'THEY'RE BOTH IN HERE!' when I saw Bill's ball in the hole," says Ann. "It was incredible."

The pair grabbed a photo of their moment but couldn't hang around the hole too long. A huge storm was approaching and so they needed to get inside, putting an end to their round prematurely but making the celebrations even better.

"The skies just opened up and we had a huge downpour," says Hardin. "But that allowed everyone to come into the clubhouse and we had a big celebration at the bar."

Ann knew the perfect drink to celebrate the occasion: "Champagne of course."

Added Bill: "With a little extra gratuities, the total bill was $800, but we were more than happy to take care of everyone. It's not every day you make two back-to-back holes-in-one with your wife!"