Dubai: After making golfing history with two holes-in-one within minutes in the US, Sanjay Kuttemperoor is quite eager to test his skill in Dubai.
Kuttemperoor, a novice golfer from Brookfield achieved something when even Tiger Woods has never done before when he shot two holes-in-one in a five-hole span at Treetops Resort in Michigan recently.
"I think it was sheer lady luck," Kuttemperoor told Gulf News from his home in Naples, Florida, yesterday.
Kuttemperoor was playing with golf swing teacher Rick Smith, who also coaches Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh, at Treetops Resort, Michigan a couple of days prior to the Ing Par Shootout.
"It's only been two or three years since I have paid serious attention to my game," Kuttemperoor said.
The golf resort was buzzing because PGA Tour players Fred Couples, Chris DiMarco, Craig Stadler and Andy North were on-site to compete in the Ing Par-3 Shootout.
The amateur golfer of Indian descent, who last visited Dubai in 1996, was participating in the pro-am event and he dunked two holes-in-one in a five-hole stretch.
Kuttemperoor, who said he doesn't play much golf, had never made a hole-in-one before his visit to Treetops. But in a matter of minutes on the Treetops Course, he had achieved something which every golfer dreams of on the fifth and ninth holes.
Kuttemperoor, whose family owns VK Development, is launching a master-planned community complete with a Tournament Players Course in Naples, Florida called Treviso Bay.
And now that he has walked into the history books, Kuttemperoor wants to visit Dubai. "My father and brother visited Dubai last year and they have told me about the development boom and the swell in golfing facilities. I am surely coming to Dubai to see this and try out some of the courses," Kuttemperoor promised.
The Rick Smith-designed Threetops Course was named by Travel & Leisure Magazine as the number one par-3 course in the nation in their list of America's Top 5 Par-3 Courses in December 2002.
Treetops Resort boasts 81 holes of championship golf by designers Robert Trent Jones, Sr, Tom Fazio and Rick Smith. Treetops is a six-time recipient of Golf Magazine's Silver Medal Resort award and is rated No 32 in America's Top 75 Golf Resorts by Golf Digest.
Lloyds of London sets odds for such a feat at one in 67 million, while others say the odds can be as low as one in a million.
Based on those odds, a golfer would have to play a round of golf 365 days a year for 183,561 years in order to accomplish the feat.
Kuttemperoor's success has received wide coverage in the US with the Associated Press, ABC Chicago, Sports Illustrated, USA Today having featured the story.
However, Kuttemperoor is not overawed with the attention he is receiving. "Maybe I can carry on with this lady luck for the rest of my life," he said.
Fame time
Logging the ace achievement in US
What is a hole-in-one? There are various definitions of a hole-in-one. Put simply, it means ensuring the first stroke sends a ball into the hole. It is also called an ace.
There are various organisations set up exclusively to commemorate this feat of a hole-in-one from golfers.
The Hole In One Society in the US is a programme sponsored by the United States Historical Society, a non-profit organisation, which has teamed up with the International Association of Golf Administrators (IAGA) and State Golf Associations to enhance member services, to strengthen the game of golf, and to help golfers celebrate a truly historic moment ? their ace.
The United States Golf Register? is the nation's official historical registry of holes-in-one. The US Golf Register? is devoted to preserving history with each hole-in-one made, and recording the significance of the achievement as a historical record.
