Hole-in-One Club?

[deronsizemore]

I don't know about anyone else's ace but I WAS aiming at the hole when I got mine.It did not hit off a tree or bounce sideways it went where I aimed it.I do not consider that luck I consider that as a perfect shot.

OK.

Regardless there's still a bit of luck involved to be able to hit a ball and have it go into a hole that is 4.25 inches wide from 100+ yards away. If there wasn't luck involved, you'd likely hear more stories about guys who have 20+ hole-in-ones rather than the popular story of "I've been playing for x years and still don't have one."

[Cussin hacker]

Hole in one club?? I find that the driver works best for me in hitting hole in ones!!! Short 375 yard par 4's mostly. Well I've never had one really.

[wedge player]

OK.

i have a question if you slam a drive right down the middle is that luck if not whats the differance between a perfect iron in the hole or a perfect drive that lands in the middle or a 50 foot putt dying perfectly center of the cup.if you take dead aim on an iron and it finds the bottom of the cup is that not a perfect shot?

[sacm3bill]

A great drive down the middle may not be luck, but finding a 4.25" hole from 100+ yards takes more than a perfect shot. First, any wind or variations in air density are going to affect where the ball lands. Then, more significantly, once it hits the ground minor variations in slope and bumpiness can send the ball in a variety of directions over which you have absolutely no control... hence, luck.

[wedge player]

A great drive down the middle may not be luck, but finding a 4.25" hole from 100+ yards takes more than a perfect shot. First, any wind or variations in air density are going to affect where the ball lands. Then, more significantly, once it hits the ground minor variations in slope and bumpiness can send the ball in a variety of directions over which you have absolutely no control... hence, luck.

a 20 yd chip luck?? any putt over 20 foot luck? if not why is it not luck.

[sacm3bill]

You're telling me you can read the green from the teebox? I thought only this woman could do that: hole in one woman

And anyway - yes, landing a ball on a particular spot on the green from 100 yds requires a bit more luck than doing so from just off the green.

[wedge player]

You're telling me you can read the green from the teebox? I thought only this woman could do that:

if you play a course very often you already know what each green is like from every part.i play a course and know the break of the putt as soon as the ball lands on the green.

[SQ Bimmer]

OK.

You guys are leaving out one very important aspect of this debate... STATISTICS.

As stated, "the more you practice, the luckier you get." From that point on, statistics takes over. If one person is better at sticking the ball within 10' of the pin from 100' out than another person, that person has MUCH better odds of getting a hole in one. It's pretty simple guys. I personally know someone who has had 2 aces, one of them was skulled and the ball rolled all the way down the fairway , on the ground, and into the cup. The other bounced off TWO trees. Those involved a lot of luck to beat the statistics.

[plugged]

a 20 yd chip luck?? any putt over 20 foot luck? if not why is it not luck.

Here's a little math for you:

- from 150 yds out, a hole-in-one requires accuracy of less than 3 minutes of angle (MOA) - a chip in from 20 yds requires requires accuracy of 20 MOA (roughly 10X less accurate) -a 20 foot putt requires accuracy of 61 MOA (roughly 20X less accurate) The standard of precision for a good target rifle is a repeatable 1 MOA shot from a bench rest using a quality scope. Point here is that 2.7 MOA is only slightly less accurate than a target rifle. No insult intended, but you are not good enough at golf to intentionally hit a shot that accurate. No one on the face of the planet is, or ever will be.

[wedge player]

Here's a little math for you:

good points,but if you intentionally aim dead for the flag and it hits the hole wouldnt you think thats pretty accurate?i mean if you aim for the center and it falls on the left side thats luck,but aiming dead at it and dropping it is pretty freakin accurate.

[plugged]

good points,but if you intentionally aim dead for the flag and it hits the hole wouldnt you think thats pretty accurate?i mean if you aim for the center and it falls on the left side thats luck,but aiming dead at it and dropping it is pretty freakin accurate.

That would be very accurate. But it is not repeatable. And repeatability distinguishes luck from skill. As your skill level increases, your level of repeatability for a given shot will increase to the point that there is very little luck involved. For example, if I chip in from 20 yds, that is luck. If Phil Mickelson does it, that's skill. Why? Because he can repeat that task often enough that it is not uncommon. Skill may get me on the green (not much skill there), but only luck will get me in the hole.

Back to the point, skill may get you within five feet of the hole on a consistent basis. However, no one now has or ever will have the skill to make a hole-in-one repeatable......at least from distances you see on a typical course par 3 yardage. It is simply not possible. As others have pointed out, there are too many variables that have to be taken into account that are outside your control. That's where luck kicks in.

[deronsizemore]

i have a question if you slam a drive right down the middle is that luck if not whats the differance between a perfect iron in the hole or a perfect drive that lands in the middle or a 50 foot putt dying perfectly center of the cup.if you take dead aim on an iron and it finds the bottom of the cup is that not a perfect shot?

You're really going to compare a hole-in-one to a drive down the middle of the fairway?

I have control over my drive for starters. On top of that I'm aiming it into a 25+ yard wide target, not a 4.25 inch one. I can put a perfect swing on it and send it in the direction of the fairway. I have more control of a 50 foot putt because I can read the green and calculate where I need to hit the ball to give it the best chance of falling into the hole. A 50 foot putt still requires luck though. If you've ever seen some putting stats, professional golfers only make about 60% of their six footers. So the percentage made from 50 foot likely isn't too high. You have the slope of the green, the grain, divots, spike marks, etc. to roll over on the way to the hole on your 50 foot putt. All you can do is hit it in the right direction and with the right speed and hope that it goes in. After you strike the putt, it's out of your hands; much like it's out of your hands after to strike the ball on a par 3. Once the ball hits the green, you have next to no control of that ball going into the hole. Hence, luck. Same for a chip. All you can control is the direction you hit the ball and the force in which you apply to the ball to send it in that direction. How many times have you hit what you felt was a perfect chip only to have it hit the green and take an odd kick in one direction or another and miss the hole? That's because you cannot control how the ball will react once it hits the green with great consistency.

[wedge player]

How many times have you hit what you felt was a perfect chip only to have it hit the green and take an odd kick in one direction or another and miss the hole? That's because you cannot control how the ball will react once it hits the green with great consistency.

i can its called controlling sidespin and seeing hills on greens and many hours of shortgame practice ive put into it i hit 6 chips today all were within 3 feet i can control my chips/pitches with great consistancy.

[deronsizemore]

i can its called controlling sidespin and seeing hills on greens and many hours of shortgame practice ive put into it i hit 6 chips today all were within 3 feet i can control my chips/pitches with great consistancy.

So even with all of the practice time you've put in and your ability to control spin with great consistency, you were at best 3 feet from holing out. While putting a chip to 3 feet is a great shot, it's still far from making it. With that said though, there's less luck involved with making a chip than there is with making a hole-in-one. It's no different than a 3 foot putt compared to 50 footer. There's more luck involved with making a 50 footer compared to a three footer just because you have less control over the outcome the longer the shot is.

[Shorty]

I don't know about anyone else's ace but I WAS aiming at the hole when I got mine.It did not hit off a tree or bounce sideways it went where I aimed it.I do not consider that luck I consider that as a perfect shot.

In the same way that throwing a basketball at the backboard from 30 yards is a perfect shot. In other words, mainly luck.

I t would be very conceivable to have a round with a hole in one and that shot not be the best shot of the day. Of course it would be the most memorable, but because it doesn't require perfect contact or aim, by its very nature, it is largely luck. The first question that people who know nothing about golf ask a golfer is "Have you ever had a hole in one", which illustrates how insignificant they really are with regard to your skill as a golfer. Great fun, exciting, etc. etc. But that's pretty much it. Especially when you follow it up with a double bogey.

[lumpuckeroo]

I don't know about anyone else's ace but I WAS aiming at the hole when I got mine.It did not hit off a tree or bounce sideways it went where I aimed it.I do not consider that luck I consider that as a perfect shot.

So was I, but I pulled it left, it hit the side of the hill, bounced straigh right and rolled across the green into the hole......

[DocWu1948]

I got one a year ago in April. The hole was an elevated tee box with the green on another hill 180+ yards away. While my four some was looking at a Sky Caddie and discussing the elevation, the wind, and how it would play, I grabbed my Taylormade 5 wood, which is the only club I can hit over 180 yards. I mean, I had no other options, besides driver. The swing felt good. I saw my ball fly straight. I walked back.

Suddenly one of the guys said "I think it went in!". I never saw it, and the hole was behind a dip anyway from our sight line. So we didn't know til we got up there. I was walking and the guys in carts were kind enough to wait for me to get there first and look in the hole. Sixteen guys in my playing group, the clubhouse had a nice bar, and half of them only wanted soda pop afterwards. Ahh, we're getting old.

By the way, I shot 100 that day. Started playing in 2002, after I retired.