UNBELIEVABLE HOLE-IN-ONE STORY LENDS NEW WRINKLE TO THE ‘DOES IT COUNT?’ DEBATE
“Does it count?” Millions of golfers have asked this very question after making a dubious hole-in-one. Does it count on a par-3 course? Does it count on a provisional? Does it count if you were playing alone or as part of a scramble? The list goes on and on and on. But here’s one situation we’ve never thought to consider:
Does it count if you accidentally aced the wrong hole?
Quick story on the bench at the 5th hole. byu/icecreamdude97 ingolf
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That’s a new one, at least to us. A Redditor recently discovered the origin of a memorial bench at his club’s 5th hole. As Icecreamdude97 wrote, he believed the bench bore the golfer’s name because he had played at the club for over 20 years, but as it turned out, the story was much wackier. The golfer was immortalized for decades to come not for generous donations to the club or departing this mortal coil too soon, but instead for slicing his tee shot on the 5th hole so badly that it landed on the 6th green, nearly taking out the group ahead of them before finding the bottom of the cup. A hole-in-one in every way but the one that mattered most: Intention.
So, that brings us back to our original question. Does it count? The overwhelming majority of golfers—not to mention the Rules of Golf, which requires players to take a drop without penalty at the nearest point of relief—would say absolutely not. 99.9 percent of our rational brain agrees. The other .1 percent, however—the fraction that recognizes life is short and golf is cruel—says YOLO.
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