There have been many grand sporting achievements in the Farmer household through the years, so it takes something special to rank a mention.

That “special” happened today.

Brett Farmer, back into golf for only three seasons after a near two-decade absence, holed a 3-wood for an albatross on the par-5 ninth hole.

For a man who’s done a lot in sport and seen even more, it was a moment to take his breath away.

It's understood to be just the fourth albatross in a Portarlington Golf Club competition.

“The majority of us out here can’t reach the green in two, let alone sink it, so it’s beyond my wildest dreams to be honest,” Farmer said with the broadest of smiles.

“I was a long way back up the fairway and thought I’d hit a pretty good shot, but I couldn’t see it when we walked up, only a ball at the back of the green.

“So I went and looked and that wasn’t mine and then one of the fellas, who I reckon had snuck a quick peek at it when he walked past, said without a hint of anything in his voice, `Why don’t you look in the hole?’.

“So I took a look and there it was … my heart skipped a beat, I couldn’t believe it.”

Farmer’s father Graham – better known to all footy fans as Geelong great “Polly” – was one of the inaugural legends of the AFL Hall of Fame in 1996. But Brett had been a good footballer in his own right, playing under-19s for Geelong before returning to Western Australia and becoming a premiership player in the powerhouse Claremont WAFL teams of the early 1980s.

He returned to the Geelong region and coached Torquay, where he lived beside the course and honed his game to the point where at one point he was off “about four in my late 20s”.

“But then I didn’t play for years,” said Farmer, now 61.

“I’m really just getting into it again and having some fun with my mates.”

The left-hander had 15 stableford points through eight holes in the Thursday competition and was pushing for a birdie when he strode on to the ninth tee in order to reach 18 to be back in line with his 10 handicap at the turn.

His drive “wasn’t one of my best” but did enough to crest the hill on the dog-leg and roll to the right side of the fairway.

“The wind was coming from right to left which is the same way that I normally (shape) it, so I started about 10 yards right and it just seemed to hold its line enough,” Farmer said of his magical blow.

“It was always heading in the right direction, but it was from about 215m and I obviously didn’t see it drop because I wear glasses, so I can’t even see the ball landing on par-3s, let alone from that far.

“The other guys all said it looked like it’d be good up somewhere near the front and the pin was cut pretty maybe just right of centre and only about 7m on.“I just kept it pretty low, hit it pretty solid … and it rolled up about 30m … then I had no idea what happened at all.”

The closest Farmer had come to the magical albatross previously was on the long sixth hole when he blazed a fairway wood on line, but had it finish about 2m short.

“I was one (point) down on my handicap and hoping to get a birdie to get to 18 points (for the nine), but that was a “two for five” and I ended up with 20,” said Farmer, who ended with a neat 36 for his round.

Farmer seemed in the mood to celebrate, but wasn’t sure of the protocols.

“I don’t know. It’s obviously never happened to me before. It’s such a rare thing, particularly in comps.

“But it’s pretty exciting, I know that.”