How Easy Is It To Get A Hole In One?

14 Feb

It’s taken a couple of years, but I finally got a hole in one the other day!

Welcome to 54 to Scratch, the blog following my journey from beginner golfer to someone able to (in theory) play the sport we all love!

So yes, I got a hole in one. I’ll talk a little about the shot itself in a minute, but as I’ve been reflecting on achieving this goal, it got me wondering - How easy is it to get a hole in one?

I must say, it feels like a lot comes down to luck as much as skill. For example, on this particular shot I was playing with someone who had seen 3 previous Hole in Ones (not his unfortunately), but by all accounts not one of them was a decent shot.

In fact, all of them were awful hits by a high handicapper golfer.

The other day, I was playing with some friends on the same hole I got mine on and one of them hooked their tee shot into the trees on the left. 9 times out of 10 that results in a lost ball (obviously).

But this was one of the 1 out of 10 times that he got lucky, the ball ricocheted in the right direction and ended up on the green, about 10 feet from the pin.

ON another day, that could have easily gone in.

Then there are the standard external variables that we all know about:

Distance

Wind Speed/Direction

Green Speed/Slope

Elevation/Slope

And then there are the millions of others that not everyone realises affects the ball so much, including air temperature, humidity, lie, type of grass etc

Then you have the internal variables, whether its tired, cold muscles, or issues with your mental game (that 3 putt/duffed chip/poor approach etc from the last hole) affecting your setup and swing.

So you could argue that a lot needs to come together for a hole in one to happen.

Statistics would back that up. According to Golf Digest, for an average player the chances of getting a hole in one are 1 in 12,500. For single digit handicappers it’s 1 in 5000 and for a professional its 1 in 2,500.

As an example of just how unlikely it is, Rory McIlroy has had just one in his entire career (although I’m sure that doesn’t count practice rounds). But even so, I think that it does go to show that luck plays a huge factor.

I’m a high handicapper, so the odds are obviously against me, but I also play a lot of golf.

Since starting to play, I’ve played approximately 198 full rounds of golf. The average amount of Par 3’s on a course is 4, but if you assume 5 for me (due to the fact my home course is short and has 6 par 3’s), I’ve had around 990 chances at a hole in one.

If you add in the few scrambles and match play’s I’ve done over these last couple of years, that number probably gets closer to 1050.

So I have definitely beaten the odds!

Which brings me onto my hole in one itself.

As I mentioned, I had managed to get out in between meetings with my step-dad for a quick round, on a very foggy morning (it was still foggy at lunchtime!).

We had started off ok, both playing the first hole well despite the fog but quickly caught a 4 ball of elder statesmen on the 2nd, who let us through while standing on the hole which even on a clear day can be a daunting prospect as you worry about slicing into them etc (how the pro’s play with crowds around them I’ll never know!).

Anyway, we eventually played through, hacking our way to the end of the hole while eyes bored into our very soul at how long we were taking…

Which makes what happened next all the more surprising.

My step dad stepped up to take his shot, which landed nicely on the green (from what we could see through the fog), but left and long.

I stepped up to take my shot, knowing that recently I had had trouble playing off of the winter mats and had had some issues with my shoulder alignment which was resulting in some pulled shots.

When I looked at the pin position through the fog I could see that it was at around the 130 yards mark (based on the info on my watch), which would be an easy 7 iron for me normally, or a full 8 iron.

However, part of the reason for the fog was because we had just come out of a wet snap, so the ground was quite wet, with the greens very soft.

So I figured I probably needed to club up a little and decided to hit a 6 iron.

I would love to say that I was aiming at the flag, but at my level I’m essentially just trying to get it onto the green. I did what I do on every shot, a couple of warm up swings, step up to the ball, adjust my right hand to try and bring my shoulders into alignment and then swing, focusing on getting my left shoulder to my chin.

I have never hit an iron so straight.

It went straight at the flag, disappearing a little in the fog. I didn’t see it hit the green but then thought I saw a white dot roll and disappear.

I sort of half celebrated, asking my step dad if it went in?! “I couldn’t see it Patrick, but it will be close either way based on the flight”.

Then those elder statesmen from the previous hole chipped in - “It didn’t go in, its there on the green! It went long!”

So, deflated, we walk to the green. There, as expected is my Step-Dads ball but mine is nowhere to be seen. Confused, I walk to the back of the green and start looking in the rough. Then I hear ”Patrick - come and have a look here” and right there in the hole is my ball!

It had pitched about 4 feet before the hole and rolled straight in. What was apparent is that you would NEVER want it to happen in a competition if you had hopes of winning it. The adrenaline you get is like nothing I’ve experienced.

I’ve scored goals in.football (some pretty spectacular ones if I don’t say so myself), I’ve ridden Mountain Bikes down some pretty gnarly trails, I’ve white water rafted and raced sail boats (team building events) despite not being able to swim and yet I’ve never felt the same adrenaline as that moment.

So playing golf for the next however many holes was pretty difficult…

I told my coach who said a tab would be put out in the clubhouse and then had a friend texting me throughout the round with how much the tab was.

When we got to the clubhouse, no-one was there, so my round cost me £4.50, which was a bonus.

So for me, it was a strange moment. I really hope that I get to experience it properly some time, it would be nice to see one properly!!!

But I’m not complaining. I didn’t put this down as a goal for 2024, but it is nice to be able to tick something off the golf bucket list that isn’t something everyone will get to experience.

Thankyou so much for taking the time to read - looking forward to what this year brings golfing wise!