Peter Vallance scores a Rare Feat

GOLF: It’s regarded as a significant test for veteran golfers – to shoot a score equal to or less than your age.

But Peter Vallance last week achieved the feat for the second time.

The 75-year-old carded a round of two-under par 69 at his local haunt, the Mansfield Golf Club.

“I wasn’t playing that well but sunk some really long putts on the front nine,” he said. “There were some ridiculously long ones which went in.”

Among the shots of the round was a 45-foot putt on the par-four eighth green.

“That shouldn’t have got anywhere near the hole but it went in so I’ll take it,” he said.

Peter Vallance hitting an approach to the eighth green

His chipping game was solid though, getting up-and-down regularly.

He went out in even par 35 before returning in two-under par 34 at the weekly Thursday men’s stableford event.

For Peter, shooting his age or lower is an ever-present goal.

“It’s in my mind every time I go to play,” he said.

“I think about it all the time. It keeps me reaching.

“You’ve got to have a goal and keep moving towards it otherwise you go backwards.”

Peter has been playing golf since the early 1950s at the Royal Canberra Golf Club.

Now, he takes to the course twice a week and practises twice a week.

He also keeps fit, walking around both the Mansfield and Alexandra golf courses every second day or more.

Peter first shot lower than his age in late 2015, when he carded a round of 69 as a 70-year-old.

By Phil Conway