A standard , regularisation - sized golf nut is a smidgeon smaller than1.7 inches(4.3 cm ) in diam . Or , for comparison ’s interest , just a little bombastic than your garden - miscellanea Ping River pong ball .
The standard , orotund cup that snuggles into an earthen hole on your run - of - the - mill manicured green on any of the more than 15,000 golf courses in the United States — or the more than 33,000 throughout the world — is , by rule,4.25 inches(10.8 centimeters ) in diameter .
humble ball . prominent hole . So , what ’s the job ? enunciate no one who ever swung a order at a golf game ball in his or her life .
Golf is hard . Getting that picayune globe into that not - so - big loving cup is way more difficult than Tiger Woods and those other professionals make it bet . And for test copy ( other than prove it yourself , that is ) , the non - linksman should consider the Holy Grail of golf , the ever - tough , never - counter , always - wizard cakehole - in - one .
If golf game is hard — and , again , give it a try if you ’ve never — the quest for a hole - in - one is downrightcruel . The betting odds of it are nothitting - the - lotteryodds . But they might as well be .
To be sure , pro likeBryson DeChambeauandJustin Thomascan pop music in an ace every once in a while . ( And on the same day at the most prestigious tournament in the world , The Masters , no less . ) But for youraverage golfer ? Let ’s go to the card :
allot to the National Hole - In - One Registry , which a shade immodestly back - slaps itself as " The Premiere Worldwide Hole - In - One Golf Registry,“somewhere north of 128,000 jam - in - oneare register every year . Which voice like a lot . Except linksman diddle somewhere around450 million roundsof golf every twelvemonth .
That means a hollow - in - one is officially registered about once every 3,500 round . ( A round is generallyconsidered 18 holes , though the United States Golf Association sometimes accepts a hole - in - one on a shortened daily round . ) If you play a round of golf a daytime , it ’d take more than 9.5 years to get in 3,500 rounds . If you play twice a week , it ’d take you more than 33.6 class to get in 3,500 rounds .
Another line of work , National Hole - In - One Insurance — it provides protection to golf game course of action that give out prizes for hole - in - ones during competitor — estimates that , for your middling musician , the odds of hole out in one stroke are 12,000 to 1 . A PGA Tour professional , like DeChambeau or Thomas , confront 2,500 - to-1 betting odds . On every chance at an ace .
The number , doubtlessly , are a footling unelaborated . The USGA is n’t exactly looking over every golfer ’s shoulder joint . Video proof is not required . A credible witness is about all you need .
Still , as any weekend duffer who ’s gone at the pivot on a par 3 knows , just about any ace ( flat - out cheat and do - overs notwithstanding ) is a legit I .
