A hole in one is the rarest thing you can see in golf: Imagine a player standing on the tee. He hits. The ball flies. It rolls. It rolls further. And then – plop – it disappears into the hole. A single shot and it’s in the hole.
This is exactly what a hole in one is, also known as an ace or (or HIO for short in statistics): The golf ball goes straight into the hole from the tee with a single shot.
And that doesn’t happen that often.
Because the likelihood of holing out with just one shot is insanely low. Let’s put that in perspective:
Tiger Woods has made 20 holes in one in his entire career. Phil Mickelson? Only 5. And those are two of the best golfers of all time.
In a professional tournament with 144 players, the chance that someone will score a HIO in one day is around 22 percent. Calculated over the whole weekend, you can almost certainly expect one.
A hole-in-one almost always happens on a par-3 course.
These are the short holes on a golf course where the “target” is three shots (from the tee, one shot onto the green, one putt into the hole). Distances are usually between 100 and 200 meters. So short enough to get straight onto the green and yet long enough that it almost never works.
Theoretically, a hole in one is also possible on par-4 holes, but it is so rare that it has only happened once on the PGA Tour (in 2001, Andrew Magee – and his ball was actually accidentally nudged into the hole by another player’s putter).
The unwritten rule is: whoever hits a hole in one buys a round in the clubhouse. At least for their own flight group, but traditionally for everyone on the course at the time.
Professionals can also win something: At tournaments, a HIO is often rewarded with big prizes. Cars, luxury watches, trips – sponsors lay the stuff out at certain holes and if you hit it, you can be doubly happy. Here, too, there are insurance policies that will cover you if someone actually hits a hole.
If you watch golf in Germany, you will hear the name Bernhard Langer at some point. By his own account, he has hit 24 holes in one in his career – the first at the age of 15.
Nevertheless, he does not hold the record. That is held by the American professional Mancil Davis with an incredible 51 aces.
And the absolute world record holder is an amateur: Norman Manley from California is said to have achieved 59 in his lifetime.
So the next time someone at a golf tournament yells “There was an ace!” – you know now: Someone has holed out with a single shot from the tee, which happens to professionals about once a tournament, and someone is probably driving home in a new car.
No. In English, many people also say "Ace", in German you often hear "Ass". And it is abbreviated as: HIO
Absolutely. Wind that carries the ball favorably, a ricochet off the pin (that's the stick in the hole) - luck plays a huge role. That's also the reason why even absolute beginners have managed one before.
No, not exactly. There are events in sport that are just as rare and special as a"nine darter" in darts, for example. But something like a hole in one only exists in golf.
Youngest confirmed HIO player: Coby Orr, 5 years old (1975, Texas). Oldest: Gus Andreone, 103 years old (2014, Florida).
Yes - and only once. Justin Rose shot the first Olympic ace in Rio in 2016.
