Queenstown firewood supplier Fraser MacLachlan’s almost been too busy to play golf, but when he managed to squeeze in a round at Kelvin Heights two weeks ago, he burned up the course.
The 33-year-old scored 60 off the white tees to break the previous white tees record by two shots.
Former pro at Arrowtown’s The Hills, Craig Palmer, had the previous low of 62 in 2009.
MacLachlan equalled that feat in 2021, but needed to have beaten that score to get on the honours board, which of course he has now.
He says Kelvin Heights is his favourite course, and he used to try to play it every week, ‘‘and I didn’t even come close’’.
‘‘Like, I shot 10 under [in 2021], which was an absolute fluke, and then, of all things, I don’t even practise now, and I went out and shot 12 under.
‘‘I didn’t see that coming.’’
Ironically, although thrilled with his record, ‘‘I think I was more gutted that I three-putted my second-to-last hole for bogey, to not shoot 59’’.
Queenstown Golf Club’s players committee, in congratulating him, also mentioned his only bogey of the day and told him: ‘‘Perhaps that lights the fire to go one better!’’
MacLachlan, who briefly had a go at being a pro before Covid ‘‘put a stop to it’’, also holds the course record of 64 off the longer blue tees.
