Hole in One - Do You Buy Drinks?

[DocWu1948]

I bought for my group, about 12 guys and many of them had diet cokes. We happened to be at a course with a nice bar, not your typical muni with plastic chairs. The rest had beers, and the bill was only around 100 bucks, so I guess I must have paid for the two strangers at the bar too. My first one and I hope to do it again.

It's also becoming common in the UK to purchase golf insurance which amongst other things covers 'hole in 1 costs'. Don't know if this is common elsewhere.

One of my playing partners later told me about one of his aces (he has three) from his private club days. Everyone on the course hears about it and expects a party that lasts the rest of the day. His club had the insurance too, but it treated the bar bill as an income payment and he got a tax invoice (1099 form in the USA) at year's end. Said the whole bill, including taxes was over a thousand dollars. Must have been a lot of drinks.

[Fairway_CY]

This is why, secretly, I hope I don't accidentally hole a tee shot any time in the next few years. I play golf on a limited budget... and I would also NOT want to sneak out into my car and drive away... but I could NOT afford a bar tab that high.

A few years back, I played with a guy in a club who said that he'd made a hole in one at the specific hole we were playing at the time... and even with the closest-to-the-pin winnings, he had to put over $600 on his credit card to cover the bar tab.

My wife would KILL me!

CY

[doof_dizzler]

I've never made an ace, but I absolutely voted "yes" in the poll. A fellow made one in our club championship last year, and it cost him several hundred dollars. The bar gave him a roll of tickets to hand out to keep track, and I thanked him gratefully but gave the ticket back to him. A large number of players politely declined his offer to help him keep the cost down, but the usual suspects all soused it up on his bill.

If/when I make one, I'll certainly expect the bar to buy a round at my expense for all present, and will ask the course to put my name & the date on the wall/board/plaque/trophy/whatever they use to record said events.

I normally always buy a round for whoever I'm playing with, no matter what, so the idea of buying them a drink when I make an ace is beside the point. This is a part of the world where we all offer to buy when the cart girl announces the price. It's a gentleman's game, that's a big part of what I like bout the game!

[kevinbomb123]

no way! whats that going to cost 2 grand

[phishin]

I would buy drinks for the group but i would use my father's credit card to pay for it :)

[MiniBlueDragon]

I hate this.

To me it's like the whole "It's my birthday so I have to pay out loads of money on cake for the whole office"...

It's MY birthday, therefore YOU should all me putting money together for cake, not me!

Likewise if I played a hole really well and aced it, why should I be punished by having to pay out hundreds in a bar tab?

[bkoguy07]

I would for my group but I'm soooo poor I'd be scared to announce it lol

[QuazerSKITS]

In my club, if you shoot a hole in one you buy a bottle of whisky which goes into a "Hole in One" Decanter and is left on the bar. People can then go up and have a shot of whisky if they want.

I'm also pretty sure that theclub sells the bottle at trade price aswell so it isnt to expensive.

[luu5]

Originally Posted by Neil

It's also becoming common in the UK to purchase golf insurance which amongst other things covers 'hole in 1 costs'. Don't know if this is common elsewhere.

In Finland hole-in-one insurance is included in the normal personal golfing insurance, which also covers injuries etc. The Club would write you a proof to be included with your claim to the insurance company.

So, yes, "I" would pay. The coverage limit is not very high though.

[Fairway_CY]

Ha!  It's funny that I posted this.  A little more than a month after I posted it... I made my first ace!  I won a $40 CTP prize for that... and only ended up having to buy about $25 worth of drinks!

CY

Originally Posted by Fairway_CY

This is why, secretly, I hope I don't accidentally hole a tee shot any time in the next few years. I play golf on a limited budget... and I would also NOT want to sneak out into my car and drive away... but I could NOT afford a bar tab that high.

A few years back, I played with a guy in a club who said that he'd made a hole in one at the specific hole we were playing at the time... and even with the closest-to-the-pin winnings, he had to put over $600 on his credit card to cover the bar tab.

My wife would KILL me!

CY

[fairwayguy2]

I always heard you buy drinks for everyone who witnessed the hole in one.  I would buy my foursome a drink only.

[FLOG4]

Have had two...One at a convention of 1000's at Grand Cypress...I bought for my group. One in the group bought me a plaque with picture of hole. 2nd had at course I grew up on but hadn't been to for years.  Bought again just for my group. Thrice I have been in 4some where someone had ace. One guy bought for everyone in club....cuz only about 10 guys were there.  The other time the guy was so scared he left the course immediately with some lame excuse.  Another time me and a bud joined up with a couple and the guy had an ace.  When we finished I bought them a drink.  He just said thanks and went his merry way.  I'm thinkin his galpal was anxious to get her ace if ya know what I mean...

[meenman]

We have hole in one insurance at our club. $1 is taken out of every golf members account when a witnessed ace is recorded. Right now we sit at around 350 golf family memberships so I would hope the $350 would cover it - I seldom see more that 40-50 people in the bar after my round.

[ThunderStruck]

Well just got my first. We have a good size group 28 guys the day I made mine. I bought a drink or two for the guys that stuck around afterwards and I bought my foursome lunch. Bar bill was not as bad as I thought it would be and since I won nearly $2k it was a drop in the bucket.

I hope I get another chance soon to buy!

[Wansteadimp]

It would be a huge social no-no not to buy the drinks at my club. At another private club I probably would.

A story from last week - A player with a reputation for having deep pockets and short arms makes a hole in one. Playing partner makes call to club house, club captain organises everyone he can contact to get down the club! Leading to a much bigger bar bill than anticipated.

[jtw89]

I have never hit an ace, but I would absolutely buy a round for every one if I had the chance.  To be fair, the three courses I play most often never have very many people in the club house, but still.  If I hit an ace, I want to celebrate, and what better way to get people to join you than picking up the tab on a round!

[M2R]

I did by a drink for everyone in my group and in the clubhouse when we finished and came into the bar.  I also bought a drink for the other groups in the league I was playing in as they finished and came in but not for other random people as they finished and came in.  However, everyone who came in after I stopped buying did come over and congratulated me and at the time I thought that was really nice.  Later someone told me I was supposed to by drinks for everyone and I sort of felt guilty.  Even later than that I joined a club and we were talking about HIOs one evening and I said I had one already and somehow it came out that in more private situations it is expected that you will buy for all the membership which sort of freaked me out but I never got close to another HIO so I stopped worrying after a while.

A few years later I holed out for an eagle from about 175 yards on a par four and the guys I got paired with (joined their regular group as a single when one of their guys cancelled) freaked out.  They were so excited it was kind of funny and they demanded to sign my card and buy me drinks afterwards.   Made me kind of stop and think about how for a HIO I buy and for an eagle I get treated like a king.

[Spyder]

This is a funny tradition. I would buy beer in multiples for myself and whoever I was with at the time - after we finished up. I would never feel obligated to buy anything for the entitled buzzards that frequent the few courses that I do. They're the ones who you can hear from inside of the club house the moment their spikes touch the parking lot, already talking about brands and crossing swords with their buddies.

They annoy me when they think that they need to mimic Lewis Black while talking about something as pointless as ball markers. They annoy me when they go out as a six-some and keep us waiting on them while they are ball hunting on Par 3s. Aside from that, go play poker at a table rather than at the bar so that people who are actually contributing revenue in to the course can actually get what they need and go back out.

Long story short, the "entitled" golfers annoy me to the point where I do my best to avoid them, let alone buy them something. My wife laughs at me because I'm the type of guy that can spark up conversation with anyone, anywhere. When I come home and vent about people at the course though, she just laughs at me.

Poll Answer - If I Ace and you witness it, you better call for a cab. If you were sitting in the club house watching the Golf Channel and critiquing the pros on TV, as if you know what you are talking about, I'm not buying you a damn thing.