Hole in one puts Mary, 90, in golf's elite club

Mary Tattersall, 90, who took up golf as a way of meeting new people and getting a bit of exercise, amazed her fellow golfers by achieving a hole in one.

She was playing a round at Shay Grange Golf Centre, Long Lane, Heaton, Bradford.

"I was just amazed," she said.

"I could not believe it. It's not really a skill until I have done five holes in one," she joked.

Miss Tattersall drove the ball 181 yards on the second hole of the club's course, which is a par three.

James Kelly, of the club, said: "It's very difficult to do – obviously it needs to be a good shot and there's a certain amount of luck –but its an incredible achievement."

He said most female golfers would be thrilled to be able hit the ball 181 yards, let alone someone aged 90.

In golf, a hole in one is scored when a player hits the ball directly from the tee into the hole with a single shot. It is a feat that is difficult to achieve.

Miss Tattersall, who worked in the nursing profession and now lives near Bingley, took up golf as a way of meeting new people.

She said: "I am getting a bit older and I was getting a bit inward looking and I thought that I needed to get out a bit more.

"I went to see the coach and he said, 'Well, you can hit the ball,' and it went on from there."

Miss Tattersall still has lessons from time to time and says playing golf is good exercise.

"I like really to go up twice a week but not always but I am not a competitive person," she added. She had never played golf before taking up the game at the age of 88 on the advice of a neighbour but she intends to carry on playing the game.

She doesn't know if she will ever get a hole in one again but describes her first as "incredible and lucky".