19th Hole

A GolfWRXer wonders: What’s the luckiest hole-in-one you’ve seen?

Published

6 months ago

Oct 30, 2025

Ever had a hole-in-one? While all aces seem to involve (or take on) elements of myth and magic, some defy belief and can surely only occur thanks to the divine intervention of the golf gods.

GolfWRXer @Jordan2240 seems to have been inspired by this fact and started a thread titled “Luckiest hole-in-one you’ve either had or seen” earlier this year.

He writes:

“I have 3 instances:

“1. I was playing a par 3 course where the tee on one hole was on a hill well above the green. Instead of lofting the ball into the air, I simply tapped it off the tee. I watched as it rolled down the hill, changing directions multiple times, and into the hole. My buddy looked at me and groaned, “that’s not how you’re supposed to do that”.

“2. Same course, different hole, I watched a guy hit his shot into a tree, and it ricocheted off and rolled into the hole. He was thrilled. I just laughed.

“3. Playing a 150 yard par 3 at a regular course. You couldn’t see the bottom of the pin. My buddy worm-burns his tee shot down the fairway and across the sand trap. When we go down to the green, he immediately heads toward the back thinking he went through it. I told him I didn’t think it was going that hard and that he should check the hole. There it was. I didn’t even know how to respond. “Good shot” didn’t seem appropriate.”

The replies in the thread are superb, so it’s difficult to choose which ones to highlight. Here are a few.

@murdoc613

“I’ll preface this by mentioning that my grandfather is a TERRIBLE GOLFER. His average round at this point is probably about 150, his driver goes about 140 yards and he doesn’t get enough backspin to hold a green. There’s this one hole at this course that I play at a lot, a short par 3 at only like 75 yards with a giant sideslope on the left side of the green. A few years ago we’re playing there, and my grandfather hits an iron shot that hits the bank on the far left, kicks right, and rolls like 50 feet across the green and into the hole.

“His first ever HIO. The next time we play the same course a few weeks later, we’re all joking about him making back to back HIOs and all that. He pulls an iron into the trees left of the sideslope, is like “Well that didn’t happen”, and turns away to put the club in his bag. The ball hits the tree, we lose sight of it for a few seconds and then see it pop out onto the fescue bordering the sideslope, at this point we’re like “Grandpa I see it!” It slowly trickles through the fescue, hangs on the edge of the sideslope for about 3 seconds, then wobbles and rolls down the slope. We’re all excited because it looked like it was going to get close, walk up to the green, and it’s in the hole!”

@linklow

“Funniest one I’ve ever seen….short fella with knee braces on both legs hits driver on a 180 yard par 3. This golf ball has a peak trajectory of about 30 inches, and skids along the fairway into the “no cart” sign, which was apparently angled perfectly to accept such a shot and ricochets it onto the green and rolls straight into the hole.

“Meanwhile, I’m a +2 handicap and I’ve still never had one. I love golf.”

@DivinDave

“About 30 years ago, playing a public course with my friend Mike on a Monday. Hole No. 5, par 4, about 340 yards, and it’s a hard dog leg right with lots of trees along the right side. Typical is to use a 3 wood off the tee and cut the corner of the dog leg over the trees. If done well, it will leave you with an easy 20 or 30 yard pitch onto the green.

“My friend pulls out a driver and his intention is to go for the green. That’s how he plays, it’s all or nothing. He hits it high and pushes it well right. We can hear his ball bouncing off trees right of the green We get up by the green and we are looking in the woods for Mikes ball. We can’t find it. I walk back to the green and low and behold, there is a ball in the hole. A dirty dinged up Titleist XXX. Its my buddies ball, Hole in One on a Par 4 that ricocheted off a tree or two and somehow miraculously rolled onto the green and into the hole.”

Incredible tales! The thread is only a few months old, so we’d certainly advise bookmarking it and returning often as more stories make their way into this compedium of improbable aces. And of course, if you have a wild hole-in-one story of your own, add it to the thread!

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”