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If the flag had been improperly replaced by the group in front of him, or perhaps even left out and the flag actually assisted in the ball going in would you have NOT counted it? "Assholes in front of me left the flag out... I'm not counting it... bah humbug."  If a putt is rolling toward the edge of the hole and the hole is slightly damaged on that end and the damage helps the ball fall in, do you not count that? If you clearly miss a putt and it hits a spike mark and goes in anyway, do you not count that?  We've all had bad luck when playing golf; a ball that looks destined for the green hits a sprinkler head and bounces over the green into the trap, a putt heading for the heart of the hole hits somebody's sunflower seed husk and is diverted and misses, a beautifully struck tee shot that just catches that one twig and all of a sudden turns into a disaster. It happens. The OP can relish in the fact that he hit a great shot. But he asked the question (I think very wisely) and it looks like its not a hole in one. If you are going to CHANGE OR IGNORE the rules for this instance, are you also going to CHANGE OR IGNORE the rules when the outcome favors you as well?  I recently (while playing for an amount of money that mattered) skulled my gap wedge and it flew over the green heading for out of bounds, but it hit one of the white OB stakes and ricocheted back toward me and on to the edge of the green. I was happy to take that bit of luck. It would be wrong of me then to only accept the good luck and not deal with the bad luck. Should we change or ignore the rules and put my ball out of bounds, after all it was a terrible shot? Hitting a terrible shot and getting lucky is no different then hitting a great shot and getting unlucky. We should not change or ignore the rules in either case.   … I mean, really when it all comes down to it, isn't that kind of the point of golf? 

Understanding you have a problem is the first step in recovery. Have you contacted GA? Golfaholics Annonymus?

It can feel normal because we are used to it, but it never feels natural to me either.

Well it is not that easy. She has a legit gripe. I have seven full sets off Hogans and may be 26 loose Hogan irons. However the real problem is that I have an additional six hundred golf clubs and 30 old golf bags that also live in the basement. My addiction to collecting clubs over the years has caught up to me and is affecting her laundry process. And I don't want to be assigned those duties. Cutting down the herd is the way to go

5am wake-up, shower, get ready for hour-long drive to the season's first 7am tee time with buddies I haven't seen in months...walk outside to 15 degree windchill and half an inch of snow.