Grass roots effort in changing who buys with a hole in one.

[Muckinfiddle 139]

I often hear how stupid and messed up it is to have the person who gets a hole in one, has to buy everyone a round when it should be the opposite. I for one agree on this. I am not sure if this has been covered before (and I sure it has) but what is it going to take to change this. A USGA rule announcement? If everyone can get on board maybe, we get this push through.

[JFish350 651]

I wouldn't seeing it changed or at least modified. I shouldn't have to spend a Nickle if I ever get one. That said, I'll buy my group some good drinks, but I am in no way buying some dude who has no idea why he's getting a free  drink go top shelf, F that. I'm more than happy to buy them what they just had which is a jack & coke or bloody mary. 

[PMookie 17,329]

Idiotic that the player who hit the hole-in-one has to pay. Makes zero sense!!!

[Muckinfiddle 139]

10 hours ago, JFish350 said:

I wouldn't seeing it changed or at least modified. I shouldn't have to spend a Nickle if I ever get one. That said, I'll buy my group some good drinks, but I am in no way buying some dude who has no idea why he's getting a free  drink go top shelf, F that. I'm more than happy to buy them what they just had which is a jack & coke or bloody mary. 

That is a choice I should have put in there, "only the buddies in his 4 some." That was all I had to do fortunately.

[BNewton51 545]

I had my first two HIO's this year.  The first one was EXPENSIVE!!  The second, not as much since I was playing by myself and was lucky enough to have someone else see it on the course.  

That said, I have a problem with it in a sense.  There's a celebration component to it because let's face it we don't get one every day.  BUT, like many have said when you go in there and people are top shelfing it like crazy, that's pisses me off.  The first one, we had a group of 8 people playing.  The 4 in front of my group already started the celebration before I even got to the clubhouse.  Needless to say, I don't think ANYONE in that group of guys will ever do that again because I refused to pay for all their top shelf drinks that they consumed before I ever even got in the door.  Ridiculous.  

In my humble opinion, I think the only group of people you should have to pay for are the ones you were playing with.  And that should be one drink.  The rest of the drinks from them and anyone else in the clubhouse that wishes to participate should be bought for the person who got the HIO.  Just seems fair to do it that way and realistic.  And if you must buy, it should be a couple pitchers of the beer of your choice and that's that.  Not top shelf Goose, Dickel or whatever else the idiots think they are now due! 

[Muckinfiddle 139]

1 hour ago, BNewton51 said:

I had my first two HIO's this year.  The first one was EXPENSIVE!!  The second, not as much since I was playing by myself and was lucky enough to have someone else see it on the course.  

That said, I have a problem with it in a sense.  There's a celebration component to it because let's face it we don't get one every day.  BUT, like many have said when you go in there and people are top shelfing it like crazy, that's pisses me off.  The first one, we had a group of 8 people playing.  The 4 in front of my group already started the celebration before I even got to the clubhouse.  Needless to say, I don't think ANYONE in that group of guys will ever do that again because I refused to pay for all their top shelf drinks that they consumed before I ever even got in the door.  Ridiculous.  

In my humble opinion, I think the only group of people you should have to pay for are the ones you were playing with.  And that should be one drink.  The rest of the drinks from them and anyone else in the clubhouse that wishes to participate should be bought for the person who got the HIO.  Just seems fair to do it that way and realistic.  And if you must buy, it should be a couple pitchers of the beer of your choice and that's that.  Not top shelf Goose, Dickel or whatever else the idiots think they are now due! 

I agree with you. One drink unless you want more. I had mine on a rainy day. Most of our group didn't play and there wasn't anyone in the club house when we got there. I bought a round on the course (the cart girl pulled up as I was getting the ball out) and 2 more per person as well as a plate of appetizers in the club. Fortunately, I purchased the insurance (for the first time ever (there was a reason why)) and had nearly 4 bills to work with. Had my group showed that day, it would have been 12-16 guys plus all the other possible coat tailers in the club.... In the end, I ended up with just about enough to cover 3 new vokeys. 

[the great spinks 65]

18 hours ago, Riverboat said:

Never going to change. Golf is a game of traditions, and this one is firmly entrenched and OLD. I would think making a hole in one would make you happy enough that you would want to share the feeling, which I'm sure is the reason for the tradition. 

Disclaimer: Having said what I just said, I see no problem with placing restrictions on what you will pay for. I can't stand the jerks who can't wait to take advantage of this type of situation to order a $40 drink. I don't even like the beer snobs who ignore the pitchers everyone else is drinking from to order their craft crap, then want to split the bill evenly at the end of the night. Pay for your own chocolate milk with a touch of raspberry stout you hipster doofus.

The warden at home doesn't care what I shot.  Me buying a round for strangers because I did something well on the course would not go over well and I'm more afraid of Latina Rage than I am of people not liking me for not buying them a drink.

In reality, I play with a core group of guys that don't go higher than Jack or Crown and will drink whatever beer is cold so it's not an issue.  It's also not a concern because I've accepted that I will never hit the shot we're discussing.  But I couldn't care less about a tradition that says I should buy a round for anyone not in my group.  

[Middler 3,588]

You don't HAVE to buy anyone a drink. It's not a rule, it's a tradition - the USGA doesn't have anything to do with it.

And you certainly don't have to buy for everyone on site that day. It could be your foursome (you want witnesses), our foursomes, or league if that's the case.

We have a couple every year in league (60+ friends & acquaintances) or regulars (20 friends). Worst one was $400+, lowest was about $60. It’s only good for one beer per person, and everyone knows that - some people don’t even order but most do. No one I play with would be an asshat and order more than a $5 beer much less a $40 drink. If someone did, we would all spread the word and that bozo would be excluded thereafter from HIO if not play altogether.

And you guys must have a lot of hole in ones to worry about it. If I ever get my second HIO, it‘ll be with guys I know, and I won’t mind paying. I’ve had four free HIO beers in the past 2 years.

This is like the tipping servers in restaurants. Some people are fine with it, while some people who don't want to tip want the rules changed to suit their choice. First world problems...

[RickyBobby_PR 9,634]

It’s a pretty rare occurrence in golf. Buying a round for the group or even those in the clubhouse as a way to celebrate it works for me. I have no issue with it not changing.

Guys buy cigars or whatever for their buddies to announce the birth of their child.

But to each their own

[den748 169]

So a quick google search gives some insight into the tradition.

1. To thank the golf gods

This is what I always thought the reason was.  It's more of a "thanks golf gods for this wonderful gift, I will now pay it forward to my fellow warriors (golfers)".   

2. to keep people honest

Thinking here is that if you have to buy people drinks you're less likely to lie about getting a hole in one. Logically, this one makes a ton of sense.

Even with the above "reasons", I understand feeling jaded in having to buy drinks.  I've frequently thought about this and what I would do is just give $50 to the clubhouse and say drinks on me until that is out. That pays for about 6 pitchers with my member discount which is plenty as far as I'm concerned.  I have the advantage that at my home club we don't have a liquor license so it's beer only.  And I'll echo everyone else in saying if someone ordered some top shelf drink they can go straight to hell, and if they tried to pull that on me (assuming they are some rando) I'd laugh at them and tell them to make sure to tip the bartender when they pay for their own drink.

[RickyBobby_PR 9,634]

For those against it, are you going to decline a free drink from someone who made a hole in one and came in while you were in the clubhouse or were part of the group when it happened?

[Muckinfiddle 139]

21 hours ago, Riverboat said:

Sounds like you play with a good group of guys. If everyone were that considerate, the world would be a much better place. Unfortunately, the asshats of the world are lurking everywhere, just waiting to get their jollies making someone else's life miserable. Too many people find it really funny sticking it to their "friends" and sticking them with a huge bill on a day that should be nothing but fun for them. 

This somewhat from a few in our group. A couple of guys (who also can't take a joke on themselves but want to dish it out) want to "put it to you" because you busted their balls at some point for something that was probably well deserved. We have one guy who likes to order food for the table that no one asks for and then makes everyone chip in when the bill comes. This is how I learned the fine art of the "Irish goodbye."

Edited January 19 by Muckinfiddle

[Hickory4ever 29]

As stated before, it is a tradition, not a rule and you can interpret it however you want. Depending on the circumstances and how large your group is you decide whether to just buy for your buddies that witnessed it or the extended group you play with, your choice.

I speak from experience in that I have had five myself. I did not buy for anyone I did not know. In my case no one tried to be a jerk and if they were, they can pay for their own drink. I have also enjoyed the hospitality of others that have had their aces.

[DaveP043 5,610]

I've had three aces myself, over 50 years of playing golf.  When you amortize it that way, the cost per decade will never be too high.  The first, I was playing with my soon-to-be father in law, at his club, and he covered the tab.  The second was at my home club, and we have insurance, and specific rules about what can be ordered, so no big deal.  The last was at an inter-club match, playing away.  That one could have been expensive, except that a lot of that crowd doesn't drink at their home club, they go to a bar about a mile away.  Since this club and the bar are both close to my home, and my wife is both a golfer and an angel, I drove home, and she drove me to the bar.  We stayed for something over an hour, picked up the tab for their team.  Well, she did, I had my share too.

None of that goes to the issue, though.  At a private club, most will have some kind of insurance scheme, and some kind of limits, it shouldn't be that big a deal.  Playing away from home, or at public courses, I'd happily buy a couple of rounds for my group, no matter how big "my group" is, but I would make it clear its not to cover top-shelf stuff.  I don't feel required to buy for everyone at the golf course that day.  But I do like the idea of the lucky ace guy buying drinks, with some reasonable limits.  I would hate to see that custom get reversed.

[bens197 12,388]

For my first one my friends bought for me because they thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen.  

On my second one, the members I was playing with in a play-with-the-pro were so amazed, THEY picked up the tab.

And for my third one, The guy who brought us out (Adios GC, IYKYK) told me there was no way I could afford the tab so we went to a pub back north where we lived and I bought.  

I suppose it has more to do with who you're playing with than anything. 

[CarlH 8,310]

I believe a lot of the way this is handled is dependent on where one is playing.  I play at a private club, where only members (and guests) play.  We have the option to purchase into the "hole in one pool" where you pay a small fee every time someone gets a HIO and that person gets the pool.  The pool money goes toward paying the bar bill and there's typically money left over after that.  So the sting of the tradition isn't felt in the back pocket.    If I were to get a HIO at a muni or other public course, where I didn't even know 95% of the people there, I would not be opening a tab at the bar for them!  I would gladly buy my group a round, but that would be the extent of it.  Where it might get sticky would be at a league event where you're playing with the same group of guys/gals on a weekly basis.  Again, I don't think I would open the bar under those circumstances.  Whether I could afford the $200-500 bar tab is irrelevant. It's just plain silly.  When I first started playing, I seem to remember that the tradition only applied to one's group.  How it grew to anyone and everyone in the bar is beyond me.

I've had one HIO.  It was at a private club during a tournament.  Word was out as soon as it happened.  People not even playing in the event jumped into their carts/cars and made their way to the bar to reap the benefits.  Fortunately, I was in the HIO pot and the $250 bar bill was covered by the $450 pot.  It does amaze me that there are some really inconsiderate idiots that feel that need to order an expensive drink that they wouldn't order if they had to pay for it themselves.  I'm not a big drinker and typically drink Diet Pepsi or a root beer after my round.  If someone gets a HIO, that's typically what I order on their tab.  No biggie and I certainly don't take advantage of the situation and order a shot of Patron Silver just because someone else is paying!

Since it's not a rule, there's nothing binding you to buy a round.  You certainly won't be the first to not do so, nor the last.

[Pandaman 278]

At my club the bar staff put an open bottle of scotch on the bar, with glasses and a note saying who did it at which hole.

The lucky player then replaces the bottle 'like for like' from a local supermarket rather than pay bar priced for it.

[Middler 3,588]

2 hours ago, Pandaman said:

At my club the bar staff put an open bottle of scotch on the bar, with glasses and a note saying who did it at which hole.

The lucky player then replaces the bottle 'like for like' from a local supermarket rather than pay bar priced for it.

I’ve never heard of this, but it sounds like a great solution.

[bens197 12,388]

12 hours ago, Riverboat said:

I hope you at least told them how it was supposed to work. I'd feel very guilty letting them pay otherwise. 

They're all private club golfers, they understand.  

 

[pakman92 464]

In Korea, insurance firm offer hole-in-one insurance for golfers as it is quite an expensive affair to have a hole in one.    Celebration, tips for caddie, gifts for the foursome, etc. where generally the lucky golfer is expected to spend thousands of dollars.