Lorna O'Brien's lucky hole-in-one

The number 13 is for many people a superstitious number associated with unluckiness.

But O’Brien said her hole-in-one was a fluke, a stroke of luck that she did not plan.

However, the stroke of luck ended up costing her the game on April 26, as she became so excited she stopped concentrating.

‘‘I knew it was going to be on the green because it was such a good shot. It went off the tee straight as a dart,’’ she said.

‘‘I couldn’t see whether it went in but people closer to the hole were screaming that it went in and I thought it was a gee up.

‘‘I was playing very well up until that stage and it went downhill from there.’’

It was the first hole-in-one O’Brien, whose handicap fluctuates between 17 and 18, has ever made.

She said it was a very exciting moment for her, when she finally got on the green and saw the ball in the hole.

‘‘What was nice about it was that everybody was so happy. Everybody enjoyed the moment and I thought it was very nice,’’ she said.

O’Brien said she ended up losing the game by one stroke. ‘‘I was messaging everyone to tell them what had happened and I lost focus on what I was doing,’’ she said.

‘‘It has made me determined to have another hole in one.

‘‘One of the guys I play with has had two, and another has none, but this guy I work with, who used to be a pro, has had eight and he is proof that skill is involved in it.

‘‘But mine was a fluke. It was the first one I’ve had and I’d never even come close.’’

O’Brien said her dad had scored a hole-in-one on the second hole of the course many years ago.