Was it a Hole in One?

[wakefield724]

Playing a local course today. First hole 143 yard par 3. I struck a beautiful 9 iron shot and landed on the foam that is supposed to be in the hole. Unfortunately it rained very heavily making all the foam things float above the hole, making it impossible to actually get in it. 

Would this technically be my first hole in one? 

[DaveP043]

29 minutes ago, wakefield724 said:

Playing a local course today. First hole 143 yard par 3. I struck a beautiful 9 iron shot and landed on the foam that is supposed to be in the hole. Unfortunately it rained very heavily making all the foam things float above the hole, making it impossible to actually get in it. 

Would this technically be my first hole in one? 

So it hit the foam on the fly?  I'd say no, sorry, but that ball might not have gone even if the foam wasn't there.  Even if it rolled up and hit the foam, you still couldn't tell from the tee that the ball would have gone in.  Bit it was still a great shot, so i'll let you buy the beers. 

[Big C]

Doesn't count, for all the reasons Dave mentions above. But hey, at least now when someone asks you if you've ever had a hole in one, you've got a great story to tell!

[iacas]

Did the ball meet the definition of “holed”? That’s your answer.

[wakefield724]

6 minutes ago, iacas said:

Did the ball meet the definition of “holed”? That’s your answer.

Its impossible to do so as the ball could not fit in the hole  

31 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

So it hit the foam on the fly?  I'd say no, sorry, but that ball might not have gone even if the foam wasn't there.  Even if it rolled up and hit the foam, you still couldn't tell from the tee that the ball would have gone in.  Bit it was still a great shot, so i'll let you buy the beers. 

Thanks amigo!  That brings up another question then. Where do you draw the line scoring wise if the cup is physically impossible to get in? 

[dennyjones]

11 minutes ago, iacas said:

Did the ball meet the definition of “holed”? That’s your answer.

I know and read the definition of "holed".   " a ball is not technically holed until it is both at rest within the circumference of the hole and the entire ball is below the level of the lip"

But..

So what I'm hearing:  since the ball wasn't holed, no rounds during covid-19 that didn't have a hole but an inverted cup were legit?  There is a course near me that put up inverted cups around the flagstick to prevent people from getting the ball in the hole.   Are we to assume nobody followed the rules of golf at this course during the Covid variances in rules?  Were these round to be considered practice rounds since nobody "holed" any shot?

[iacas]

16 minutes ago, wakefield724 said:

Its impossible to do so as the ball could not fit in the hole.

So the answer is no. Not a hole in one.

A good shot nonetheless.

[Shorty]

47 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

 Are we to assume nobody followed the rules of golf at this course during the Covid variances in rules?  Were these round to be considered practice rounds since nobody "holed" any shot?

There's a difference between widely accepted modifications to playing conditions during a pandemic and wanting to claim a hole in one when the ball didn't go in the hole.

The foam only floats up when it's soaking wet and the hole fills with water.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Shorty

[wakefield724]

1 hour ago, Shorty said:

There's a difference between widely accepted modifications to playing conditions during a pandemic and wanting to claim a hole in one when the ball didn't go in the hole.

The foam only floats up when it's soaking wet and the hole fills with water.

Yea the entire course had the foam floating. Its been a wet week in Pittsburgh. It is a interesting conversation. How do you score a round when all the foam is floating? If we aren't counting shots outside the green, are all putts which hit the foam considered in? Are there any actual rules on this? 

[iacas]

1 minute ago, wakefield724 said:

Yea the entire course had the foam floating. Its been a wet week in Pittsburgh. It is a interesting conversation. How do you score a round when all the foam is floating? If we aren't counting shots outside the green, are all putts which hit the foam considered in? Are there any actual rules on this? 

Take the flagsticks out.

[DaveP043]

9 hours ago, wakefield724 said:

Yea the entire course had the foam floating. Its been a wet week in Pittsburgh. It is a interesting conversation. How do you score a round when all the foam is floating? If we aren't counting shots outside the green, are all putts which hit the foam considered in? Are there any actual rules on this? 

As @iacas says, current science says that its safe to remove the flagsticks.  However, the USGA provided this guidance from the early days of the pandemic, when a wide variety of measures were put in place to limit the possibility of passing the disease to others:

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rulesarticles/covid-19-rules-and-handicapping-faqs.html

 

[Troy Ocker]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

Take the flagsticks out.

Not allowed in Norway yet. Hopefully soon though... 

Nice shot OP, but I must unfortunately agree with the rest here: Not a hole in one. I've had a couple of "foam/filler"-outs from some way out myself and, as annoying and unfair it is, I can't count them as in dispite it being impossible to slamdunk a golfball in the cup with fillers/foam in the hole.

[TourSpoon]

No to the hole in one. Yes to buying a round of drinks! 

[pganapathy]

15 hours ago, wakefield724 said:

Playing a local course today. First hole 143 yard par 3. I struck a beautiful 9 iron shot and landed on the foam that is supposed to be in the hole. Unfortunately it rained very heavily making all the foam things float above the hole, making it impossible to actually get in it. 

Would this technically be my first hole in one? 

Considering the foam is floating and preventing anything entering the hole, it would be considered holed if the ball was either on top of the foam or leaning against the foam.  Of course, if you are on the green and putting, go ahead and remove it so that you can putt into the hole.

[RickK]

I feel your pain.  I had 2 balls that most probably would have been hole-in-ones last year with a month of each other that hit the foam, bounced up and stayed out of the hole.  The foam was actually down in the hole but only 1/2 of the ball would be in the hole when you holed a putt/shot.  

[DaveP043]

19 hours ago, RickK said:

I had 2 balls that most probably would have been hole-in-ones last year with a month of each other that hit the foam, bounced up and stayed out of the hole.

In normal times, I've had balls that hit the bottom of the cup and bounced out.   Not balls rocketing in from 100+ yards away, short pitches that went all the way to the bottom and back out.  There is simply no way to know that a ball that hits the hole would have stayed in the hole for an ace, especially when you're watching from the tee.

[ChetlovesMer]

5 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

In normal times, I've had balls that hit the bottom of the cup and bounced out.   Not balls rocketing in from 100+ yards away, short pitches that went all the way to the bottom and back out.  There is simply no way to know that a ball that hits the hole would have stayed in the hole for an ace, especially when you're watching from the tee.

DING!

[RickK]

On 6/16/2021 at 7:32 AM, DaveP043 said:

In normal times, I've had balls that hit the bottom of the cup and bounced out.   Not balls rocketing in from 100+ yards away, short pitches that went all the way to the bottom and back out.  There is simply no way to know that a ball that hits the hole would have stayed in the hole for an ace, especially when you're watching from the tee.

Don't disagree.  Neither of mine hit the foam on the fly.  One was first bounce, other was second bounce.  Either way...didn't stay in hole so doesn't matter.