Woman Aces Two Holes in Same Round at Yellowstone CC

42-year-old mother of four pulls off 67 million-to-1 feat with 102- and 125-yard pitching wedge and 9-iron shots.

Kathie Dugger defied some hefty odds on the Fourth of July when she knocked in two holes-in-one during the same 18-hole round on her home course at Yellowstone Country Club (YCC) in Billings, Mont

A Golf Digest study calculates the odds of that happening at an incredible 67 million to 1, the Billings Gazette reported. With those kind of lottery-winning-type odds, the 42-year-old mother of four was asked if she would rather be a Powerball winner or someone who had shot her way into the golf history books.

“You know, I think you’re rich either way,” she responded with a laugh. “I got to defy the odds doing something I love to do.”

Using a pitching wedge, Dugger first hit her first shot on YCC’s eighth hole into the cup from 102 yards out.

On the back side of her round, she then took out her 9-iron and repeated the feat with a 125-yard shot on No. 17.

Dugger was able to watch both of her shots hit 10 to 15 feet from the cup on each of the par 3s and roll in.

“You could hear the little ping,” she said of her ball hitting the bottom of the cup both times. “The weather was so nice you could hear it.”

She took her Bridgestone ball out of play after the ace on No. 8. Her Callaway would also become a memento after No. 17.

“Playing 18 was really, really hard,” said Dugger, who finished with a 4-over-par 76. “I was shaking. It was surreal … neat. You don’t expect a hole-in-one, let alone two in the same round.”

A project controls specialist with an electrical consulting firm in Billings, Dugger now has three lifetime holes-in-one to her credit, having also made an ace on YCC’s No. 8 in April 2009. She currently plays to an eight handicap and has been as low as three.

Dugger grew up playing at YCC, where she has captured the last two women’s club championships and has nine titles overall. She is a five-time winner of the Women’s County Amateur, including the past two years, andalso tied for third at the Montana State Women’s Amateur in 2008 at Laurel Golf Club.

“A hole-in-one is luck. I mean, I think there’s some skill,” she noted. “But people get a hole-in-one out of blading the heck out of a shot. So, what was fun is they were pretty shots, and that’s what some of the skill was.”

She played the historic round with a foursome that included Troy, her husband of 24 years, and her father, Carl Jahr, 75, who were both also her playing partners for her first ace. Jahr also has three holes-in-one of his own.

“My family has supported me a lot in my adult golf career, from the grandparents to my husband,” Dugger said. “So this is special. Not many people get to play golf with their dad every weekend or husband, for that matter.”

Dugger said she jumped and screamed for joy from the No. 17 tee box. The celebration then continued in the clubhouse. “We’re in the hole-in-one club here,” Dugger said. “There’s a pot of money. I bought a lot of drinks. I had a new driver that needed to be paid for, so it’s been paid for.”

Thanks to social media, word quickly spread throughout the country about Dugger’s rare accomplishment. “It’s just unbelievable,” she said. “I had a gal tell me she heard about it in Minnesota right after it happened.”