Leeds golfer from Headingley Golf Club recognised by son of his golfing hero Seve Ballesteros for scoring four holes-in-one in 2022

The odds of an average golfer scoring a hole-in-one are 12,5000 to one, according to the National Hole-in-One Registry.

Hugh Barrett, 63, is a member of Headingley Golf Club and scored his fourth of 2022 last Saturday.

As a passionate golf fan who idolised former world number one Seve Ballesteros, he contacted Seve’s son Javier about his achievement on social media and received a reply.

“Seve is my favourite sportsman of all time,” Hugh said. “It’s fantastic [that Javier recognised my achievement] and just adds to the storyline I think.”

Javier, a professional golfer, wrote: “Hi Hugh! Wow, four holes-in-one, it’s a lot. I’ve had two, but on practice rounds. My dad had at least one in competition in La Moraleja, in Madrid. Not sure of more. Kind regards.”

The holes-in-one this year have taken Hugh’s total tally to seven, having scored his first as a teenager in the 1970s at Gotts Park in Armley.

When he scored his seventh, he was not initially aware that his tally for the year had been taken to four.

"I couldn’t see it go in because the tee is higher than the green and you can’t quite see the bottom of the hole,” he explained. “As I walked off the tee and walked down, I had a feeling, a sixth sense really, that it had gone in.”

Hugh lives in Meanwood with his wife Lesley and has three children, Daniel, Francesca and Hanna.

He has been a member at Headingley Golf Club for 46 years and is also a proud owner of several items of Seve Ballesteros memorabilia.

The dad-of-three’s previous three hole-in-ones of 2022 were scored in January, May and September.

He has described the realisation he had scored his fourth hole-in-one of 2022 as “surreal”.

“I’m passionate about the game,” he said. “It was surreal, when I think about it now it was an unbelievable feeling.

"I thought ‘wow, this can’t be happening.”