Golfers of every description have recorded holes in one. Jake Paine, 3, had a mini-ace from 65 yards in 2001 at the Lake Forest (Calif.) Golf and Practice Center. Elsie McLean, 102, hit one in 2007 at Bidwell Park in Chico, California. So the records come in all shapes and sizes.
The longest straightaway hole in one had been 447 yards, struck by Robert Mitera in 1965 at Miracle Hills in Omaha, Nebraska. Then in 2007, Bret Melson beat that by a yard at the Ko'olau Golf Club in Oahu, Hawaii.
Theories/Speculation:
According to HoleInOne.com, the average distance of its registered aces is 150.57 yards. The club used most often is a 7-iron.
Types:
Several registries keep hole-in-one records. The U.S. Golf Register is endorsed by the USGA, but the PGA of America has the most authoritative registry, requiring confirmation from a PGA professional at the facility.
History:
The first recorded hole in one came in 1868, struck by "Young" Tom Morris in the British Open. Mancil Davis holds the record for the most aces by a professional with 51, while amateur Norman Manley claims 59 over a span of 30 years--though his verification is sketchy. "I've been called a liar many times," he once told "Sports Illustrated." In 1963, Bill Higginbotham said he hit an ace at Linton Municipal in Terre Haute, Indiana--on the first golf swing in his life. That record can be matched, but never broken.
Misconceptions:
While Davis' aces are well-documented, some records are not. The most extreme claim came from the North Korean Ministry of Information, which reported that dictator Kim Jong-Il had 11 holes in one in his first attempt at golf. Californian Jacqueline Gagne claimed to hit 10 in less than four months and 16 in a year, but "Golf Digest" research cast doubt on her claim. In 2002, Mike Crean aced the 517-yard, par-5 ninth hole at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club near Denver. Or did he? The "Rocky Mountain News" reported that nobody actually saw the ball go in the hole after clearing the dogleg, and Crean himself had doubts.
Expert Insight:
"No. 1, I aim at the hole," Mancil Davis told "USA Today." "You ask any golfer, 'What are you aiming at?' and they'll say, 'Hitting over the bunker,' or 'over the water' or 'Getting on a safe spot on the green.' Not one person says the hole, and I don't know if this makes sense. When you're hitting a 20-foot putt, you aim at the hole. Where's the magic distance where the mind doesn't aim at the hole? For some reason I carried this as a young player to 150 to 200 yards. I'm aiming at the target. I'm not trying to hit it 40 feet from the hole, which is probably why I didn't make it on the tour."
Resources
- — Mancil Davis' official site
- — Golf Register.
- — PGA of America Hole in One Archive
