Golf has some odd traditions. Near the top of that list is how players who make a hole-in-one have to foot the bill for the impending celebration in the clubhouse after the round.
This concept, which dates back at least 100 years, is taken to the extreme in Japan. About 40 percent of the country’s golfers—some four million people—pay around $65 USD per year for hole-in-one insurance to receive around $3,500 worth of coverage for celebration expenses.
The expectation is that golfers making an ace should pay not just for drinks but lavish gifts like push carts, rangefinders and more for their playing partners, likely exceeding the insurance coverage.
That level of hole-in-one insurance for individual golfers is not as prevalent in other parts of the world, but it definitely exists. Join a private club in the U.S. and it’s possible, if not likely, that the option exists to pay a small monthly fee that goes into a hole-in-one pool so there are no additional out-of-pocket expenses for the lucky golfer. A lot of clubs make the cost a part of a member’s monthly dues.
Look, I don’t want to be a curmudgeon—making an ace is really cool and it’s a blast to celebrate them. It’s so unlikely (12,500-to-1 odds for mere mortals) that it’s worth making a big deal of every one.
Enjoy that accomplishment however you want.
But doesn’t it seem a little dated for a golfer to make a hole-in-one and then feel obligated to immediately open a tab?
If anything, it should be the other way around.
The tradition is also centered around alcohol, which has become progressively less popular with millennials and younger generations. A recent Gallup report showed 62 percent of adults 35 and younger drink alcohol, down from 72 percent a decade ago. On average, those who drink are drinking less.
I think it’s time for some new, fully inclusive and more reasonable traditions that can take hold over time.
Here are four ideas that make more sense than our current custom.
Hole-In-One Clubhouse Party
The average golf course sees about 10 to 15 aces per year, although that can vary by a wide margin depending on the course and how many rounds it hosts. The average is one ace per 3,500 rounds.
What if everyone who made an ace over the course of the golf season contributes $100 each for a combined hole-in-one party to take place after a tournament?
You have $1,000 to $1,500 for food and drinks on top of whatever the tournament entry fee is for everyone else.
The ace-makers still pay for the celebration—but it’s a shared cost where one person isn’t buying drinks.
Maybe for northern courses this tournament comes at the end of the golf season. For other facilities, maybe it comes during the member-guest or another important event. It can stand alone as an outing to honor all the aces for the year or be combined with something else.
This idea works better for private clubs but could easily work with public courses as well.
It’s a reasonable amount of money for those who make a hole-in-one, there is a party to celebrate their ace, everyone who plays in the tournament gets to enjoy it in whatever way they want (drinking alcohol, eating, just spending time with friends or however else they want) and, if people who made a hole-in-one don’t want to pay to participate, they don’t have to feel pressured to do it.
The Hole-In-One Tip Jar
One of the problems with my first idea is that making an ace warrants an immediate celebration.
My second idea takes a stab at incorporating more traditional hole-in-one customs through a new take on the insurance system.
In short, golf course communities—regardless of stature—collectively fund hole-in-one bar tabs through a tip jar.
At nicer clubs, you could put the jars (waterproof, of course) out on each par-3 and have someone come around and collect the money at the end of each day or throughout the day.
If security is an issue, a hole-in-one tip jar can be in the pro shop with a clear explanation about why the money is being collected. Clubs could give golfers the option to round up their green fee each time they play—or provide incentives, like offering free range balls for a year if you donate to the tip jar and then make a hole-in-one.
Every time an ace is made, the golfer who made the hole-in-one gets a course credit that has to be used that day on food and drink. The course assigns maximum credit amounts and how many witnesses have to be present for the hole-in-one to count toward the program.
The same golfers who give to the program will be among the ones who benefit from it. And if they aren’t, golfers who donate can rest easy knowing their spare change went to a good cause.
Playing Partners/Golf Friends Pay for Hole-In-One Plaque
Any golfer who makes an ace will want to remember the moment with a plaque that includes their scorecard, the ball used for the shot and all the shot info (course, hole, yardage).
These plaques can run $150 to $250 depending on the style and size.
I like the tradition where playing partners and close golf friends are responsible for gifting that plaque. It’s affordable for everyone who has to pay and is meaningful to the person who makes the ace.
You could even personalize it by including a photo of the whole group that played.
In the case of a golfer making a hole-in-one while playing alone or in a smaller group, other friends who weren’t there at the moment could come up with the plaque together.
It’s straightforward and wouldn’t happen immediately after the ace but it’s a nice gesture.
The Buddy (Trip) System
Let’s say you consistently play golf with a certain group of friends.
Wouldn’t it be cool if the friend who makes a hole-in-one is responsible for planning the next buddies trip?
There are so many variations to this system that can make it fun.
Maybe losing (or winning) a bet during a normal round requires an extra $5 payment to a pool to fund dinners on the trip. Maybe the trip is only a golf weekend within driving distance—or maybe the group goes to a place like Ireland.
This is a way more positive outcome for someone who makes a hole-in-one—they get to pick the destination and what courses their group is going to play. But at the same time, they are responsible (within reason) for the main logistics involved. Everyone else just shows up, pays their share and enjoys the trip.
For most golf friend groups, an ace might only happen every handful of years, if that. The certainty of having a buddies trip on the docket for an ace is a fun storyline to have.
What other new traditions should be incorporated into golf’s hole-in-one culture? Let me know below in the comments.
