Golf Dilemma: Does a Hole-In-One on a Closed Course Count?

There are plenty of courses around the country that are closed, either due to the weather or to the Coronavirus. That hasn’t stopped people from playing though. It made me think of an interesting question. Would a Hole-In-One on a closed course truly count as a Hole-In-One?

Before we get into it, no, this hasn’t happened to me, neither has it happened to anyone that I know. It’s just something that popped into my head seeing how some of the courses have changed up their setups. Does a Hole-In-One on a closed course actually count?

If you are playing on one of the courses that have changed the size of the hole, then it’s an easy answer. No, it doesn’t count, and neither does anything else that you accomplished during your round. If the golf hole is any larger than the normal 4-1/4″, then nothing you did would count during the round. That’s easy, and there shouldn’t be any argument about it.

However, if you are playing on a normal course, that is set up the way it would be during the regular portion of the season, then this is where the conversation needs to start.

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First, you need to ask yourself “does playing on a closed course count as a real round?” This, I think, is where the basis of the conversation and answer to the question would come from.

On one side of it, the course is, in fact, closed. People are not supposed to be out there, so you could argue that anything that happens during your time on the course shouldn’t count. A closed course would mean that it isn’t a true or real round of golf. In a way, it’s like the people who live on a golf course. They can sneak out there, play a few holes that are near their residence, and head back home with no one the wiser. Would a Hole-In-One during their excursion count?

Then there is the pro-side of the argument. You are out there, playing to you at least, what is a real round. Playing by all the rules, maybe with a foot wedge or mulligan in there somewhere (cause most people do), and trying to treat it like any other round you would be playing during the year. The USGA Is letting you post scores, even without holing out, so you would think that your round should count as well, right?

To me, it all comes down to the person, and how the Hole-In-One is accomplished. If you are doing it on a real course, with the hole set up the correct way, then I don’t think that there should be an argument against it. Everything, besides the course actually being “open”, is the same, and if you are playing by the standard rules of golf, then it should count.

If you are out there dinking around, playing on a course without a real hole, then by no means would it count. Also, this should go without being said, if you have hit more than one tee shot, any shot after your first doesn’t and shouldn’t count as a Hole-In-One. Just think about Fred Couples on the 17th at Sawgrass in 1999.

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If you are one of the people who are actually able to get out there and play, and you are playing by the rules on a real course, then congratulations to you on your Hole-In-One. To everyone else, too bad.

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