Young golf star hits eagle before elder sibling notches hole-in-one

But for Emily and Jessica Dalgetty, the competition to be the best on the golf course has reached new heights.

When one of the Loanhead duo hit a fabulous eagle shot on a par four recently, she could not have imagined there was any way for her sister to do better – until she hit a hole-in-one.

The jaw-dropping play came in a bounce game involving the pair and their dad, Ross, at Glencorse, their home club at Milton Bridge.

Emily, 14, thought she had done enough to grab the bragging rights by making an eagle at the 225-yard first hole, which is a par four for ladies.

But that was eclipsed by her older sister producing the most memorable shot of her fledgling career.

Jessica, 16, a fifth-year pupil at St David’s High School in Dalkeith, said: “I knew I had hit a good shot but we didn’t know it had gone in the hole. When we got down to the green and couldn’t see the ball I started to get a bit excited.

“I knew it was straight and I was well chuffed when we found the ball in the hole.

“It’s my first hole-in-one and will hopefully be the first of many.”

The sisters were introduced to golf by their dad and instantly became hooked.

They have already made their mark on the Midlothian scene and are now starting to spread their wings.

Last year, Emily played in the Scottish Junior Masters, the country’s biggest event for boy and girl golfers, at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian.

It was Jessica’s turn when the same event was held at Gleneagles last Sunday, having come through a local qualifier at Turnhouse earlier in the year.

Emily said: “We’re really enjoying our golf. We play together all the time and are always pretty competitive.

“We’ve both managed to reduce our handicaps quite a bit over the last year or so.”

Jessica added: “I’m pleased to have become the first between the two of us to get a hole-in-one. Now that’s something Emily has got to try to catch up with me.”

Glencorse has a good record when it comes to producing golfers.

George Macgregor helped put the Midlothian club on the map during a glittering career.

He played in the Walker Cup and also captained Great Britain and Ireland in that match against the Americans.

Now the Dalgetty sisters have their sights set on achieving similar notable successes in the game.

They have two sets of twins for inspiration as they bid to climb up the golfing ladder.

Samantha and Johanna Head were successful English players in the 1990s and, in the past few years, Northern Ireland twins Lisa and Leona Maguire have hoovered up a whole host of leading titles between them.