New Zealand is a beautiful place to visit, but even though it’s nearby it can still cost you a pretty penny to travel, stay and play ‘across the ditch’. But what if I told you there was a potential way to pay for your journey there plus a bit more? And all you have to do is go to a driving range.
Sounds like a sweet deal, right? Of course, there’s a catch. A big catch. You just have to make a hole-in-one to earn the $10,000 prize.
Such is the longstanding offer at the aptly called Lake Taupo Hole-In-One Challenge. It’s a range where golfers hit balls at an island green 101 metres (it’s just a wedge!) away. And where making an ace will earn you $10K. Check out this video documenting one person’s trip to the scenic spot:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cnj5T5cNf_I/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=8d7edcf3-4bec-4321-bed0-82a64a560ebd
OK, so as you can see, it’s not cheap. You have to buy 50 balls to get the price down to $1 per ball. But again, just think of that 10 GRAND jackpot!
We also learned from the video that there are scuba divers constantly retrieving golf balls (don’t try to hit them, please!) and that you get an extra ball every time you hit the floating green. And there have been 1,200 people to pull off the hole-in-one in 30 years. That’s 40 per year or nearly one per week.
In other words, you’ve got a shot! This isn’t some carnival game that’s rigged so contestants can’t win. Plus, the former prime minister there, John Key, recently made a real hole-in-one at a charity event with the cameras rolling. And Steven Alker is the current king of the (senior) tour and we all know how good Lydia Ko is. New Zealand is just oozing with good golf vibes right now.
So if you happen to be over there, you may as well give it a crack. At the very least, you’ll get some good wedge work in.
