A COUPLE from Malton and Norton Golf Club achieved a remarkable double recently when they both shot holes-in-one within a day of each other.

While the majority of amateur golfers only dream of claiming an 'ace', Marcus and Edith Mason, of Malton, both managed the feat in the space of 24 hours earlier last month.

Edith, who plays off a 39-handicap, said: "It was amazing to get two in two days when you think it might never happen in a lifetime."

She holed her tee-shot with a driver at the par three, 135-yard 20th hole at Malton and Norton during a friendly match (the course was converted to a 27-hole course in 1994).

She said: "I couldn't believe it. I thought I was dreaming. I still feel like it's a bit of a dream."

Unfortunately, 59-year-old Edith, who has only been playing a little over three years, was not able to savour the moment as the ball dropped into the cup because the view of the hole from the tee was obscured.

She added: "I couldn't find the ball when I walked up to the green and I thought it must have rolled off the back.

"My playing partner said it might have gone in the hole but I said 'don't be stupid.' But when we looked, there it was!"

Edith's exploits completed a husband-and-wife double, as Marcus had shot a hole-in-one the day before, while on a golfing holiday in Portugal. Marcus, a former captain of Malton and Norton and currently playing off a 16-handicap, holed-in-one on the 110-yard, par three fifth at the Parque da Floresta Golf Club, in the Western Algarve.

The 65-year-old took a much smaller club than his wife, using a pitching wedge to record what was his third ace of a 40-year career - the other two being at the 13th hole at Malton and Norton.

A modest Marcus said: "It was a fluke. You don't need to be a good player to get a hole-in-one."

Updated: 12:25 Thursday, February 07, 2002