Cowan, the 82-year-old marvel who has never let his passion for golf die, became the talk of Benalla’s links last week when he aced the 13th hole on on the way to score an impressive 79 on the par 72 course.
And it was a score, as he so merrily mentioned, was only just shy of his current age.
“When I holed in one, I had a 79 off the stick and beat my age by three shots which is pretty hard to do,” he said.
It’s hard to argue with the difficulty of Cowan scoring below his age.
But what he did on the 13th hole? That is something entirely different altogether.
With one pure strike from his trusty six iron, Cowan saw the ball soar into the heavens before dropping right where he wanted it to eventually nestle — the hole.
By doing so he achieved the holy grail for any golfer, and when adding in the fact Cowan has been eligible for the pension for 16 years when his ball nestled in the cup, the effort becomes that much more admirable.
However, what’s even more impressive is that it’s not even his first hole in one.
Back in 1968 on the 12th hole at Wangaratta, Cowan swung his seven iron to produce the same, one-in-a-lifetime feat, a cool 53 years before he’d eventually do it all again less than 50 kilometres down the road.
He’s still an ace player now at 82, but back in those days he proudly represented Victoria for eight years as one of the state’s most promising talents.
More than half a century later Cowan continues to use golf as his recreational medium, blowing off steam with a few rounds of nine during the week as well as competition when lockdown allows it.
And though his hole in one came during a round with friends, Benalla Golf Club are apparently not downplaying the magnitude of Cowan’s achievement.
“The club said they would mount the golf ball at the club — and I think that means I have to shout the bar,” he said with a laugh.
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