The SOCIETY #126

The Loss of a Hole-In-One

Golf History Chronicles

How to Lose a Hole After Making a Hole-in-One

Golf has always produced stories stranger than fiction, but perhaps none are more absurd than the tales of players who somehow managed to lose a hole despite making the perfect shot. These remarkable accounts, preserved in old golf literature and newspapers, remind us that golf’s history is filled with equal parts brilliance and heartbreak.

The Hole-in-One That Lost the Match

The first story takes us back nearly 150 years to the ancient links at Musselburgh. In 1870, Robert Clark was engaged in a match against a playing partner on the recently expanded nine-hole course. The deciding moment came at the new uphill one-shot hole, what we would now call a par 3.

Standing on the tee at the 18th hole of their match, Clark struck what appeared to be too strong a shot. Both players instinctively believed the ball had flown over the green. His opponent, taking the safer route, played conservatively to the middle of the putting surface.

The two men walked to the green and then searched behind it, convinced Clark’s ball had carried too far. Minutes passed and the search came up empty. Under the rules of the day, when the allotted search time expired, Clark conceded the hole and, with it, the match.

Only afterward did they discover the unimaginable truth.

Robert Clark’s ball had never gone over the green at all. It was sitting in the bottom of the hole.

In one of golf history’s cruelest twists, Clark had somehow lost a match by making a hole-in-one.

The Brother Who Lost With an Ace

The second story was shared by Reverend H.C. Moor and dates to 1940 at Bromwich Links. Two brothers were playing a match on a blind par 3 when both struck the shots of their lives.

Neither player could see the putting surface from the tee, so they walked forward uncertain of the result. Upon reaching the green, they made an astonishing discovery. Both golf balls had disappeared.

One by one they peered into the cup and realized the impossible had happened. Each brother had made a hole-in-one.

Surely the hole would be halved.

Not quite.

In match play, one brother happened to owe the other a stroke on the hole. That meant the player receiving the stroke officially recorded a “net zero,” while the other carded a one.

As absurd as it sounds, one brother actually lost the hole despite making a hole-in-one.

Imagine standing on a tee, producing the perfect golf shot, and still walking to the next hole one down.

The Hole-in-One That Counted for Nobody

If the first two stories seem impossible to top, the third may be the strangest of all.

This tale comes from 1950 at Walsall Golf Club on the hidden fourth hole, a green concealed behind massive bunkers. During a club competition, Dr. E. Grice and Mr. L. Watson both struck tee shots tracking directly toward the unseen flagstick.

When the pair arrived at the green, they found one ball resting near the hole and another sitting in the cup itself.

Naturally, both men celebrated. One of them had clearly made an ace.

There was just one problem.

Neither golfer had marked his golf ball.

Both players were using the exact same brand, the same model, and even the same number. There was absolutely no way to determine whose ball was in the hole and whose ball sat beside it.

Under the Rules of Golf, both balls had to be declared lost.

The two competitors were forced to walk back to the tee and replay the hole entirely.

Somewhere in golf history there exists a hole-in-one that officially belonged to nobody at all.

The Rockford Country Club Playoff Miracle

One final story, accounted a couple of years ago at Rockford Country Club, and may be the most unbelievable ending of them all.

During a playoff for the club championship, two players arrived at a dramatic short par 3 sixth hole perched high on a hill overlooking the Rock River. With the title hanging in the balance, the first golfer stepped onto the tee and struck a flawless shot.

The ball soared against the skyline with the rapid tide or the Rock River behind the green, landed softly, and disappeared directly into the hole.

A HOLE IN ONE IN A PLAYOFF FOR THE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!

The gallery erupted. The match appeared over.

But the second player still had a shot to play.

Trying to answer the impossible, he teed his ball high and swung. His shot flew on nearly the exact same line, dove straight into the hole itself!!!

What happened next hardly seemed real.

The second ball crashed into the first golfer’s ball inside the cup and knocked the competitors ball completely out of the hole!!!

When the players reached the green, one ball sat outside the cup while the other remained holed.

So who won? At the moment nobody knew- did the first player have a putt for a birdie and a loss????

Under the Rules of Golf, the second golfer’s ball was considered holed when it came to rest in the cup. The first player’s ball, had already been holed when it had come to rest at the bottom of the hole. So both balls were considered to be holed. The playoff had to continue!!!

The History of Golf in 50 Tournamments

The next TalkinGolf History Podcast will cover the History of Golf in 50 Tournaments with our special guest Tony Dear who wrote the wonderful book by the same name.

Buy the book before the podcast and be an insider for our next two podcasts!!!

The Society Summer Outing at Oak Hill CC

This week golfers from both coasts of the United States will be joining me at Oak Hill CC in Rochester, NY to play their famous East Course and learn more about their wonderful history.

I am so excited to spend the day with you!

THANK YOU!

Thank you for taking the time to read are newsletter and listen to our podcast. If you have ideas for stories or podcasts please feel free to shoot me an email. Would also love to hear from you. How are we doing? What do you think of the newsletter? Is it entertaining- why do you read it- what kind of stories are your favorite?

Yours in Golf History,

Connor T.