For most golfers, a hole-in-one is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But Barbara Gibbins, who only took up the game ten years ago, has recorded three aces - and amazingly - two of them have come in the past month.

Barbara Gibbins Barbara, who plays off a 15 handicap, achieved all her hole-in-ones at the Waterstock club, where she has been a member ever since she started.

Ace 1 came in 1998, during a friendly round with her son Chris. It came on the 110-yard 14th hole.

"I think I took a seven-iron," recalled Barbara, struggling to remember a feat that would be unforgettable for those with only one ace to their name!

"Luckily, there was nobody in the bar, so I didn't have to buy a round," she said.

Ace 2 came on October 4 this year, in another friendly round and was on the 159-yard third hole.

Barbara remembers clearly that she took a five-wood. She said: "I hit it perfectly and the hole swallowed it up. I couldn't believe it."

Ace 3 came on Tuesday at yet another of Waterstock's par threes - the 179-yard seventh, where she used a driver.

"After I hit it, I remember exclaiming: 'It's going in the hole' - and it did," said Barbara.

"It's amazing and I still really can't believe it. It's just as well that the ball went in the hole, because my putting these days is diabolical."

Barbara, 61, who lives in Tiddington, is no stranger to sporting success.

She played both tennis and badminton for Oxfordshire, and still represents the county in both sports at over 50 level. She is a member of Oxford City LTC and Abingdon Badminton Club.

Meanwhile, her husband Bob, also played badminton for Oxfordshire, and only last week their son, Chris, became Oxfordshire closed champion in the sport.

For Barbara, there must surely still be one target. Having aced three of Waterstock's four par-three holes, only the 16th now remains.

"I don't think I could possibly do a hole-in-one there," she said. "It's a longish hole with a stream running in front of it, and it's difficult to stop the ball on the green."

Watch this space!