Married + hole-in-one on same day

With one swing of the Ping, Les Pockett officially became the stuff legends are made of. The Realtor and self-described golf addict started off his wedding day with a bang July 21st when he, his best man, son Kiel and his groomsman Dave Bradshaw, took the links for a quick 18 holes. They teed off at 7 a.m., and 45 minutes later an excited Les was calling his bride to be, Shelley, to let her know he’d just aced the tricky Par 3 Hole #6 at Qualicum Beach Memorial Golf Course.

The trio, who had been pushing hard to get the round in in plenty of time for the wedding and reception at the Arrowsmith Golf & Country Club, quickly walked to the green, “and right away we could see one ball on the fringe, which we knew was Dave’s. We walked up, and there was mine in the hole, so we started high-fiving” Les said

The ensuing phone call from beside said cup went something like this:

Les: “Hi honey — what would be the best thing that could happen today.”

Shelley: Awkward silence.

Les: “No, wait. What’s the second best thing that could happen today.’

Shelley: “I don’t know, no rain?”

“I thought about what I’d said and knew I had to rephrase it,” Les chuckled later.

Pockett pocketed his hole-in-one — a 124-yarder over a small ravine — with his 8 Iron, a Ping I-2. Shelley (nee Cotton) took it all in stride and the new bride, a golfer herself, thought it was befitting. “It’s pretty cool,” she beamed from behind her bouquet on the Tuesday after the ceremony, back at the site of the ace. “Pretty cool. A real good start to the day.

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Pockett relocated to Parksville, B.C. from Edmonton three years ago, and is a member of the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. Shelley made the move to the island from Mission B.C. a year ago.