TRENTHAM Golf Club’s most famous hole has added another chapter to its folklore, this time written by a teenager playing his very first competitive round.
Seventeen-year-old Harrison Kenton-Barnes produced a moment to remember when he scored a hole-in-one on the 112-metre par-3 13th hole, the same hole made legendary by the late Jim McCormack, who famously aced it twice albeit 48 years apart.
Harrison was playing alongside his father, Paul, when he selected a pitching wedge and struck what could only be described as a perfect shot.
The ball landed on the slope to the left of the green, took a gentle bounce and rolled into the cup.
Harrison Kenton-Barnes (right) receives his hole-in-one trophy from his dad Paul.
It was Harrison’s first official game of competition golf … and his first ace.
For long-time club members, the moment carried special meaning. McCormack, a revered figure at Trentham Golf Club, passed away in 2024, but his legacy remains deeply woven into the fabric of the club.
“One would like to think that Jim was watching over Harrison in his first competition and possibly saying, ‘here you go lad, have an ace on me’,” said Kent Newton, the clubhouse manager.
McCormack’s association with the club spanned six decades.
One of his earliest feats came in 1974 when, armed with a trusty nine-iron, he recorded his first hole-in-one on the same short par-3, then known as the 12th hole.
Guarded by a pond to the front right and three bunkers, the hole has always demanded precision but it never troubled McCormack.
Remarkably, in 2022, he returned to the 13th tee, pulled out a five-iron and repeated the feat, holing out, exactly 48 years after his first ace.
“Jim played at the club for six decades,” Newton said. “During that time, he was club president, captain, handicapper, historian and the early-morning competition starter long before any of these fancy booking devices were around.
“He was also a life member – a real club man. He remembered everyone’s name and greeted them each competition morning with a smile and a kind word.”
Jim McCormack lifts his ball from Trentham’s 13th hole after acing it.
McCormack died at the age of 86, but his contribution has not been forgotten. A plaque has been installed on the 13th hole in his honour, commemorating both his extraordinary golfing feat and his lifelong service to the club.
Trentham Golf Club’s 5200-metre course is renowned as “an easy walk”, with its main defences coming from beautifully manicured greens and tall, mature trees.
“We’ve just finished a major investment in our greens irrigation and the course is looking its very best,” Newton said. “Visitors are always welcome.”
Located about 90 minutes north of Melbourne in the Hepburn Shire of the Central Highlands, Trentham Golf Club continues to produce moments of magic – sometimes delivered by legends and sometimes by teenagers playing their very first round.
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