Weird feeling about first hole in one!

[rxk9fan]

I am 62 years old and have played a lot of rounds during 10 of those years. I played a lot 20 years ago, then took off 15 years due to two compound fractured arms and then a lot the last two years.  It feels like I have had a lot of shots that were so close, then finally had my first hole in one last weekend. 
The round was with one grouping of our normal larger group and everyone was so nice about it. And, it made me really pleased.  But I think I had told myself that getting one was not all that important, so when I got one it was not all that important.  Just kind of weird and wondered if anyone else felt like that in any way?  
I have only broken 70 once in my life and if I could do that again, or one day shoot my age…those things would make me shout from the rooftop.  I really enjoyed the ace and would love to have more, but not a huge thing for me.  Others feel the same?

 

FWIW, the shot painted the stick the whole way, hit about 4 inches in front of the pin and disappeared. I don’t want to seem like it was nothing, just not everything I guess.  Just talking out loud.

 

I will say, in true WRX fashion, the week after my first hole in one…I bought a used set of irons from a member here :-))

[cookout14]

I think important is the wrong frame.  Instead, I’d say it’s significant.

 

Totally agree that the feeling afterwards is a little bit strange, and for me, I was acutely aware of the luck involved. 
 

That said, it’s something that very few golfers ever do, so even if it’s not going to represent a major milestone for you, still worth celebrating!!

[Hawkeye77]

Second one was more fun than the first - couldn’t see the first one go in. But yes, I let out a pretty good whoo on the second but was kind of over it pretty quickly. 
 

Congrats!

[Ghostwedge]

I think we are kindred spirits, got 3 and was more happy to mark the 1 on my card than anything, nirvana I guess. Now when I broke par the first few times, I got excited because I'm not a scratch player.

Congrats on your Ace, yes, luck is involved but you still hit a great shot.

[Socrates]

Kind of the same feeling about my first one.  2nd one was more exciting as was the 3rd.  Now that it's been ~25 years since the last one, they have become more special in my mind.  Lots of close calls, but no soap.  I think after a few months you will realize it was more special than you currently feel.

 

FWIW, there was no exuberant celebrations for any of them.  A few minutes of high 5's and fun comments, but then it was on to the next hole.

[jordan2240]

I was happy to join the fraternity of golfers who had gotten one, but given the amount of luck involved, particularly for someone of my skill level, I couldn't get too excited about it - though it's the only scorecard I've ever kept.  Of course, I might have found it more exciting had I been able to see it go in, so I'm hoping to get another one where I can to compare. 

[phil75070]

I feel the same. I've got 10 HIOs, some the result of great shots, some after hitting poor shots. My first HIO was probably the worst shot I hit that day. I think they are just as much a case of luck as they are skill. For example, the most HIO by a pro on the PGA tour since 1983 (my first was in 1984) is 10. I've holed out from the fairway several times though we don't tend to keep track of that. I think those are more noteworthy as you don't have the benefit of using a tee or otherwise to insure a perfect lie.

 

I'm certainly just as if not more proud of the number of times I've shot my age starting at age 68. It gets easier as you get older, though! 😄

[Greenie]

I've never had a hole in one myself. If I did get one I would get excited if it was a good shot. Sure you can say there is luck involved but if I made a good shot to start with and it went in I would be proud of that.

 

I've had one from 175 yds that actually rolled up and looped around the hole. I've had another roll up and stop 1 inch short. My favorite close but no luck shot was when I had my ball on the fly gouge out the cup, hit the bottom of the cup and fly back out towards me and end up in the pond in front of the .green. I took a drop behind the pond and holed my shot out for a par. My claim to fame as far as being close is considered.

 

A few of my playing partners have hole in ones.

 

The one guy hit his ball ten yds into the woods and had his ball bounce out,roll down a hill and roll across the green and end up in the hole.

 

My other friend has two hole in ones. The first one was a worm burner that rolled into a creek, hit a rock, flew up in the air and continued on ending up in the hole. His second one was a pull slicing worm burner that rolled through the sand trap on the left, popped out of the trap and rolled across the green into the hole.

 

Neither of these guys say anything about their hole in ones and I can't say I would either if I got one that way.

 

We all enjoy playing golf and for me I have a lot of good memories. My friends hole in ones are good memories to me.

 

How I feel about something I have done playing golf I guess depends on what it is. I have holed out from 200 on a par4. A good memory yes. Important to me not really. If I got a hole in one I would be excited in the moment. I wouldn't feel weird about it. I have a few things that I have done playing golf that I am proud of. Getting a hole in one for me would be another good memory and it would be nice to say I got one but I wouldn't rank it as high on my list as a few other things I have done.

[Bob Cat]

As one who's played for over 30 years without a single HIO it's IMPORTANT to me to get at least one before I'm done.

 

Congrats OP!

[Socrates]

41 minutes ago, Bob Cat said:

As one who's played for over 30 years without a single HIO it's IMPORTANT to me to get at least one before I'm done.

 

Congrats OP!

Back in the '90's, I was working at a golf course and it was late October when there were very few people still playing.  An old guy in his early 80's came in and reported a hole in one.  His first one.  He was elated but disappointed because there was no one to attest his feat.  He had been playing for 50+ years and never thought it would happen.  I signed his card and sent it in to the local papers.

[kwcsports]

Congrats on the hole in one. I felt the same way, excited for about 10 minutes. I've had 2 over 45 years of playing. I feel they are 90% luck so not too bothered about them. A record low score means much more to me or a string of birdies. 

[Greenie]

19 minutes ago, kwcsports said:

Congrats on the hole in one. I felt the same way, excited for about 10 minutes. I've had 2 over 45 years of playing. I feel they are 90% luck so not too bothered about them. A record low score means much more to me or a string of birdies. 

I agree with you.

 

 My lowest score I have shot means the most to me. I can almost remember every shot on every hole from the day I shot my lowest round. 

[rxk9fan]

I have really enjoyed the comments.  After reading, I now think there are actually a lot of us with the same mind set.  When I really think about it while reading your post,  I better understand what we feel after an ace.  Maybe it goes like this:

1. Absolutely appreciative getting to join the group fortunate enough to card a 1.

2. Maybe like hitting a home run, it was a nice feeling but the final score is what matters much more.

3. An ace can come in many ways. Shooting your age or your all time low shows you played some golf for the day.

 

Fun to share this game and all it brings with others!  Thanks for your comments!

Edited November 14, 2021 by rxk9fan

[OnTheBag]

First off, congratulations on the hole in one.  I have been playing golf my entire life.  My dad introduced me to the game a young age and am now in my 5th decade.  Having said all that, in the thousands of rounds I've played, I've never carded a 1.  

 

I have been present for dozens of them and the reaction has run the spectrum.  From guys that do a polite wave, nod, and grin....to guys that lose their mind.  In my experience, most serious golfers understand there is more luck than skill involved in the feat.  I was present for a 59.  That was really special.  Also for a couple of course records.  Those were special too.  

 

But a hole in one is cool for a few minutes, until you tee it up on the next box.  The game goes on.  My personal best accomplishment was in my early 30's when I shot a 63 on a rainy Friday afternoon.  Those days are long gone and I'm more likely to shot an 82 now, but I can still remember almost every shot of that round all those years ago.

 

Enjoy your moment and keep driving for the next one.  This game we love is brutal at times.  Take the good with the bad that inevitably comes all too soon. 

[Jwin323]

The only one I’ve had brought mixed feelings for me as well. When I first discovered golf I already knew of the term hole-in-one and it’s relative importance in golf. I think it’s the one thing non golfers recognize as an achievement and would congratulate someone on.

 

I had had a couple close calls over the years ( including a ball embedded in the front lip) when I finally got one. I wasn’t playing with my normal club but with a friend and a group of his co-workers. It was dusk, a couple of days after Christmas and the hole was cut in a low spot so I didn’t get to see it go in which looking back lessened the excitement for me. I hit what I thought was a good but not great shot and couldn’t find it when we got to the green. Someone looked in the hole and found it. It must have landed where the contours took it to the hole.

 

The best part was by the time we finished it was happy hour in the bar so I didn’t get reamed on that tradition to bad.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Jwin323

[CourseJester]

Had my first today. Couldn’t see it go in because the pin was tucked behind a mound at the front of the green. 
 

Feeling of elation walking up and finding the ball sitting at the bottom of the cup!

 

 

[jomatty]

I’ve never had one but think I can understand how you feel.  Growing up my dad was scratch.  We lived in a golf course and many nights we would walk out the back door and play this loop of two short par threes and a par four.  My dad was scratch and we played those holes over and over again as it was getting dark.  Most nights he would play 3 balls and I remember him just raining them in on the pin.  He played to scratch for over 20 years including multiple club championships.  Never did get one.  Not in an actual round or even in our many times just walking the par threes behind our house.  Made me very aware of the luck involved so if I ever get one I’m sure I will feel more lucky than anything else.  Don’t get me wrong I would be pumped but I don’t think I would view it as an accomplishment…

[rxk9fan]

1 hour ago, CourseJester said:

Had my first today. Couldn’t see it go in because the pin was tucked behind a mound at the front of the green. 
 

Feeling of elation walking up and finding the ball sitting at the bottom of the cup!

 

That is awesome!!  Great shot and I hope the bar tab didn’t require a loan  :-)!

 

[MattyO1984]

OP, I hear ya, completely.

 

Sat here with 3. The first two, I never saw them going in. In fact, the first one we thought it must have done long and we were searching behind the green. It was only half as a joke that we checked the hole and there was my ball. Second one, was possibly the purest strike I can ever remember but back into the sun and with a wet green, we never saw it land and again it was only when we got the green. Third one was the only one I saw go in and it was a terrible shot. Pulled left, kicked off the hill and rolled in. Total anti-climax!

 

Now just glad that I have had them because I can say that I have. Up with asking what your handicap is, it must be the most common question that any non-golfers ask but beyond that, I would rather (finally) get down to Scratch or get back to playing under par rounds.

[DON SVO]

No HIO's, but I can strangely say I have 2 eagle hole-outs on the exact same hole, a 2 club difference in, and almost exactly 2 years apart.

 

I'm not quite sure how I'd react to a HIO but like others have said I would probably prefer to shoot a career low round, which for me would also mean the first time breaking 80 (shot half a dozen 80 on-the-nose up to this point) on a 72.

 

Good stuff OP!

[Socrates]

5 hours ago, jomatty said:

....  Made me very aware of the luck involved so if I ever get one I’m sure I will feel more lucky than anything else.  Don’t get me wrong I would be pumped but I don’t think I would view it as an accomplishment…

Absurd amount of luck involved for a good shot to actually go in the hole.  As you can attest to, so many good shots and nary an ace.  But, it is really rewarding when a good shot does go in.  My 1st, I was just looking to get the ball on the green as it is a hard hole.  #2 and #3 were both shots that were struck as intended and actually went in the hole.  Still, to go in the hole, it has to be stupid lucky.  25 yrs later and lots of good shots, but no more aces.  Ran out of luck.

 

One weird thing about the 2nd one was that the next day I was playing in a local event and had this odd feeling of disappointment every time an approach shot didn't go in the hole.  I actually felt they should go in every time.  Only time I ever had that kind of feeling.

[lefthack]

Congrats! I doubt I will ever get one and other than dance the jig, I'm not sure what else I would do. I get that they are mostly luck and I usually have none. So my expectations are realistic.

[larrybud]

On 11/13/2021 at 9:35 AM, phil75070 said:

I feel the same. I've got 10 HIOs, some the result of great shots, some after hitting poor shots. My first HIO was probably the worst shot I hit that day. I think they are just as much a case of luck as they are skill. For example, the most HIO by a pro on the PGA tour since 1983 (my first was in 1984) is 10. I've holed out from the fairway several times though we don't tend to keep track of that. I think those are more noteworthy as you don't have the benefit of using a tee or otherwise to insure a perfect lie.

 

I'm certainly just as if not more proud of the number of times I've shot my age starting at age 68. It gets easier as you get older, though! 😄

I have a bunch from par 4s. I think I'm up to 9 or 10 (plus two aces). I holed out TWICE this year on par 4s. One from 129 and the other from 158. While you don't have the benefit of a tee, you have more opportunities since there are usually 10 par 4s vs 4 par 3s in a given round.

 

[jholz]

Perhaps I'm bitter/jaded or whatever because I've never had a hole in one, but I don't think it would be a huge deal to me either - at least no more of big deal than holing a chip, pitch, or shot from the fairway.

 

I pretty much consider any shot holed from a considerable distance as a fluke.

 

I've seen folks deliberately hole chips before, but I've never seen anyone deliberately hole a shot from >50 yards. They are trying to get it close, sure, but the fact that it happens to roll in the cup is pure chance. Additionally, I've seen great players make shots like that, and I've seen horrible players make shots like that. So, skill clearly isn't the determining factor.

 

As a result, I don't think making a HOI would make me feel like I was a better golfer. I wouldn't brag about it or think I was cooler because I had one. I would just be stoked to take strokes off my score - the same way I would be if I holed one from the fairway - which I have done on several occasions.

Edited November 16, 2021 by jholz

[mwkbmw]

On 11/16/2021 at 10:19 AM, jholz said:

I've seen folks deliberately hole chips before, but I've never seen anyone deliberately hole a shot from >50 yards.

Mickelson

[miamistomp]

 An ace is a confidence booster

 Yes it is luck, but it also affirms the feeling anything is possible on a golf course

[jholz]

24 minutes ago, mwkbmw said:

Mickelson

 

Touche. One of the best and the cockiest, for sure, but also full of absolute $hit too. Gotta be that way to gamble the way he does. 

[rxk9fan]

Now some time has passed since I made the original post and a lot of things have changed but not what I posted about the hole in one.  For sure  my friends brought more attention to it than I did.

On the contrary, about two weeks ago I was playing the hardest hole on the course (not by HC only because it is a par 4).  It is in the mid 400 plus yard range with a severe sloping fairway and the green guarded by bunkers front right and left.  I hit a good drive that left me 178 to the pin.  I hit a beautiful soft draw that felt right from the moment the club hit the ball.

It flew straight in the cup.  No bounce, no roll, just in.  I walked straight to the hole and picked it out of the cup.  
I must have told 20 people about that one.  It was much more rewarding and exciting to me.  It put me two under for the round and it was a shot to hang my hat on.

 

 

 

[A.Princey]

On 11/11/2021 at 8:21 PM, rxk9fan said:

I am 62 years old and have played a lot of rounds during 10 of those years. I played a lot 20 years ago, then took off 15 years due to two compound fractured arms and then a lot the last two years.  It feels like I have had a lot of shots that were so close, then finally had my first hole in one last weekend. 
The round was with one grouping of our normal larger group and everyone was so nice about it. And, it made me really pleased.  But I think I had told myself that getting one was not all that important, so when I got one it was not all that important.  Just kind of weird and wondered if anyone else felt like that in any way?  
I have only broken 70 once in my life and if I could do that again, or one day shoot my age…those things would make me shout from the rooftop.  I really enjoyed the ace and would love to have more, but not a huge thing for me.  Others feel the same?

 

FWIW, the shot painted the stick the whole way, hit about 4 inches in front of the pin and disappeared. I don’t want to seem like it was nothing, just not everything I guess.  Just talking out loud.

 

I will say, in true WRX fashion, the week after my first hole in one…I bought a used set of irons from a member here :-))

My dad got one, his first and only, about 5 years back, around the age of 70. On that day, he looked at all of us after it disappeared, shrugged his shoulders and just said stoically, “Pure luck...”.  He took a photo and semi-celebrated at the green, but whenever we bring it up, he just shrugs it off like nothing. 

Edited January 10, 2022 by A.Princey

[ProStryker]

I’ve never had a hole in one so I couldn’t say. I have left a couple on the lip, and I’ve lipped one out, but I haven’t had one to fall yet.   Shooting your age, or breaking par seems like more of an accomplishment, since a hole in one is based on some luck, but low scores are skill.   Regardless, I hope to make one some day!