A 32-year-old golfer from Worcestershire is believed to have struck the longest hole in one in British history after his tee shot travelled an extraordinary 411 yards straight into the cup.
Matthew Vigurs achieved the incredible albatross on the par-four third hole, known as Twin Oaks, at Great Barr Golf Club in Sandwell, near Birmingham.
England Golf, the governing body for the amateur game, is currently examining its records with confidence that no longer hole-in-one has ever been recorded in this country.
No such distance has been matched on either the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour.
The incredibly dry conditions of this summer played a decisive role in the feat.
Vigurs normally drives the ball around 300 yards, but the wind and bone-dry ground produced by weeks of scorching weather propelled his shot far beyond that distance.
He said: "It was really surreal. I just froze to start with. The lads ran over and we all belly-slammed and high-fived.
"It was a moment I will never forget for sure. It was brilliant. I think we were all shocked. Typically, the ball wouldn't go that far.
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"It is just unheard of to get a hole in one really, let alone on a par four."
Graham Dudfield, chairman of Great Barr Golf Club, whose son James captained the side involved in the match, explained the dry turf sent the ball far further than usual.
"It would have helped that the ground is hard and (Vigurs) would have probably gained more distance than he would normally have hit the ball.
"But if you could see the hole, it is an incredible shot. There's an element of luck in it, I suppose, because for the ball to travel that far and then end up in a hole not much bigger than a tennis ball – it's incredible."
The club has the capacity to water its tee boxes and greens but cannot hose the fairways, leaving them rock-hard throughout the summer.
Finding out the ball had gone in the hole was special in itself, with Vigurs walking up to the green only to find his ball had vanished.
He spent several minutes searching behind the green, around its edges and in the bunker, while his playing partners waited on the putting surface.
David Skidmore, who was competing against Vigurs in the match, recalled the confusion.
"We're looking for a few minutes, and then it was a complete mystery; it didn't even cross my mind to look in the hole," he said.
It was only as Vigurs walked back towards the group that he peered into the cup – and spotted his ball sitting at the bottom.
"As I was playing him in a match, I had a few mixed emotions," Skidmore said.
"It hit me after the round that it's probably the best shot I've ever seen or will ever see on a golf course."
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