Terrible Shots That Ended up a Hole-in-one

[boil3rmak3r]

I have golfed for 20+ years and have never had a HIO - been close many many times, but it has never happened.

I witnessed a player in my group that hit a low screamer from 120 yds.  It must flown 80-ish yards , bounced, bounced, rolled, rolled, and went in.  We all yelled and tried to give him accolades.  He was beside himself and said he didn’t deserve it, and just kept saying how bad the shot was.  It was his 2nd HIO.

How many of you have gotten a HIO that was obviously not deserved based on your shot?  And, do you poo- poo it?

I now (if I ever get one) want to have a great story about how it happened.  Just hitting a beautiful shot is a boring. 

[RayG]

50 years and no HIO for me, But I have seen a couple of real doozies over the years. On one of my first trips to FL after my parents moved down, I got to play in my Dad's little group thing. One of the Gentlemen was 90+ and still played twice a week. On one of the Par 3's it was no more than 130 yards, slightly uphill, with two bunkers flanking a little run up area no more than 2 yards wide. Fairway is a little baked being early Summer. "Matt" takes out his driver (as usual) and top-thinned it... straight as an arrow and trundles up through the gap and in the hole. Needless to say, he wasn't impressed. He said it was probably the worst he's hit any of his TWENTY SOMETHING aces... 

I hate this game sometimes....

[billchao]

I’ve never had a HIO, nor have I ever witnessed one in person. The closest was seeing @iacas jar it from 220 only for the ball to bounce out of the bottom of the hole and off the green.

I used to play regularly with a guy who told me his HIO came from a worm burner that didn’t get more than 10’ in the air.

[Ty_Webb]

I've had 2 (and a half) holes in one. The 2 proper ones were about 3 months apart from each other (in a 34 year golf career). First one was a 4 iron into the wind from 188. I got stuck and saved it with my hands. I hit a shot that I hated at the time. Savey high one that goes relatively straight. My thoughts went "f*** I hate that shot, where'd it go? Oh, pretty straight, oh god it's gone in, what an awful shot for a first HIO". Second one came three months later. That one was about 170 and I hit a 6 iron perfectly and it went in. The half of one was on the pitch and putt at Turnberry. I hit it 10 yards left from about 80 yards. It hit a bank left of the green, shot right and slam dunked into the hole. 

Friend of mine was at college in Jacksonville. He told me one of the holes on the course they usually played at he had real trouble with. It was about 210 and he just never played it well. He was playing with his coach in his final year and stood on that tee, hit a squirrelly cut a little right of the green, turned to his coach and said "before I leave this place, I'm going to figure out how to play this stupid hole". The ball meanwhile was kicking left off a bank and rolling down onto the green. His coach didn't say anything, just pointed at the green. My friend turned around just in time to see the ball go in. He said "I guess that's how you play it huh?"

[iacas]

I was playing with @NatalieB and @DrizZzY one time and hit a great 6I on the 14th at WW. Natalie has one, and I have zero. It looked great in the air.

I thought to myself "I should say 'hey Nat, we're tied'" but I looked at her and she was just looking at her phone in the cart, so I didn't say anything.

My ball hit about an inch from the hole at 4:30 and hopped once, stopping at 2:00 or so, also an inch from the hole. If the hole wasn't in those two square inches, my ball wasn't going to go in (and didn't). And even if it had been in that two square inches, if it was the first one of the two spots…

4 hours ago, billchao said:

The closest was seeing @iacas jar it from 220 only for the ball to bounce out of the bottom of the hole and off the green.

Yep. I didn't take my eyes off that one, either. And saw it rebounding out of the hole as fast as it went in.

---

I thinned a 7I (a 10 handicap would have been "okay" with the shot) on the 9th hole at Orchard Ponds once with my brother-in-law and Natalie once. I said "Oh, god, no, don't go in." The ball lipped out. I've never been happier for a ball to NOT go in than that time. I'd rather die with zero holes in one than one being that one.

[bkuehn1952]

Up to this point, all of my aces have been well struck shots. I used to be mildly worried about jarring a terrible shot but now, it would just be a funny story to tell, I have other good examples as "backup."

I have not witnessed any terribly hit hole-in-ones.

Edited August 6 by bkuehn1952