Does hitting an Ace in Golf is a luck or a skill?

[Olivia Bell]

What do you guys think?

[RetiredBoomer]

Giving yourself lots of chances to get lucky is definitely skill.

[chisag]

... For many MUCH more luck than skill. I play to a + index and don't have one. My cousin has never broken 100 and he has 3 of them. I watched him top a 5 wood from 160yds, bounce off the end of the tee box, roll down a steep hill, bounce over a small creek then roll up on the green and in the hole. On another day into a strong wind he sliced his drive from 175 into a tree, hit hard off a limb and bounce sideways on the green and in the hole. 

... Granted those are extreme examples but I like Ben Hogans description “If you hit it within two feet of the hole, it is a great shot. If it goes in, it’s luck.” 

Edited June 8 by chisag

[Rob Person]

A combination of both I think.  The skill side is knowing how to read the course, the greens, wind, knowing what your clib can do in distance and spin. Knowing where to land a ball, and what the balls tendencies are.

The rest is dumb luck!

Of course there are those out there that may have played for the first time or are very new that are just swinging at the ball and land it in!

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut!

Edited June 8 by Rob Person

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, chisag said:

... Granted those are extreme examples but I like Ben Hogans description “If you hit it within two feet of the hole, it is a great shot. If it goes in, it’s luck.” 

I still remember many years ago I was playing a par 3 and the ball stopped an inch from going in.   I was walking to the next tee box and an older gentleman asked me how close it was and then he basically told me the same thing and quoted Hogan.   The player was former PGA player Chandler Harper.   He invited me to join him for the rest of the round which was a great experience.   

[RickyBobby_PR]

Had a buddy basically skull a pw on a par 3 at local 9 hole course and it bounced and rolled all the way to to hole and went in for an ace. Zero skill involved in that ace

[Goober]

I’ve had 4. And each one was during a bad round of golf. I would say more luck

I witnessed one where guy hit a thin 9 iron that some how slam dunked in the hole

[RetiredBoomer]

I got mine playing executive length courses so to some they don't count.

But I have a double eagle on a regulation course. 
That's like making a hole in one from the deck.

The par fives at our club were obviously designed as the course's four first aid stations to stop the bleeding.  The par threes will not only get you, but then they'll go after your family.

[RetiredBoomer]

4 hours ago, chisag said:

... For many MUCH more luck than skill. I play to a + index and don't have one. My cousin has never broken 100 and he has 3 of them. I watched him top a 5 wood from 160yds, bounce off the end of the tee box, roll down a steep hill, bounce over a small creek then roll up on the green and in the hole. On another day into a strong wind he sliced his drive from 175 into a tree, hit hard off a limb and bounce sideways on the green and in the hole. 

... Granted those are extreme examples but I like Ben Hogans description “If you hit it within two feet of the hole, it is a great shot. If it goes in, it’s luck.” 

The skill to hit it close often

does give one more chances

to get lucky with an ace.

That's the skill part of the equation.

Modestly skilled players still get them from time to time, however.

[chisag]

Just now, RetiredBoomer said:

The skill to hit it close often

does give one more chances

to get lucky with an ace.

That's the skill part of the equation.

Modestly skilled players still get them from time to time, however.

 

... Good point and one would think so right? I have been ever so close far too many times to count. I have slam dunked my tee shot twice on a par 3 doing damage to the cup and both times the ball bounced out of the hole.   I do have two albatross so maybe I just used up all my luck. 

[russtopherb]

100% luck IMHO. My ace came when I was a 20 hdcp and I was convinced the ball had bounced away from the pin. If I could get one at that stage in my career, heck even now, it's luck as far as I'm concerned 

[Hook DeLoft]

At a course I used to play, a guy made a hole in one after his ball bounced off a tree.  Now, that is extraordinary skill.

I've had two of them over the years.  The first was a bad shot that got lucky.  I was trying to hit a draw to a hole set behind a bunker fronting the left of the green.  I came over the top and hit a low fade that barely cleared the bunker and ran into the hole.  My other hole in one was actually a good shot but the fact it went in was still pure luck.  Hitting it close is skill (usually), having it go in is pure luck.

[silver & black]

I have two aces. I think for the vast majority of us it is luck. Yes, you have to aim the ball, hit the correct yardage and hit the green. But.... there are much, much better players than me that can do that consistently that don't have an ace. So..... a lot of luck is involved.

[bens197]

I agree with both being true. It’s lucky skill…

On Thursday I made a 2 from 152 on a decent swing. I had wind in my face and a pretty level lie. It wasn’t solid contact however the ball was on a great line, never left the pin. Ball mark landed 3 feet short and rolled in. 
 

Now that was a near perfect lie in some wetter weather and that ball should have landed and checked up. 
 

Instrad it chased and I was able to negate the double, bogey start on 1&2. 
 

I’ve made 3 HIO in my life and 2 eagles from 125+ in the fairway. All of those shots were decently struck but I’ve hit better, more solid shots that “should” have been aces. 
 

Can I change my answer to luck?

[TJ Hall]

I’d say luck and mainly basing that on observation…

Most recent observation, par three over water with a bunker short…guy blades one, skipped on the water, rode the left edge of the sand trap (played the break perfectly I must say!), rolled onto the green and dropped into the cup.

He never saw it, was pissed at the shot!  And, didn’t believe me when I told him it was in the hole.

[RetiredBoomer]

13 hours ago, chisag said:

 

I do have two albatross so maybe I just used up all my luck. 

 

That's like slamming an ace from the deck.

[Middler]

21 hours ago, RetiredBoomer said:

Giving yourself lots of chances to get lucky is definitely skill.

Exactly. One of my buddies had a HIO on #10 at our regular course last June. A couple weeks ago in May, he aced the same hole again, brings his lifetime HIO count to 3 (he’s better now than he used to be). He hits mo’ better approach shots than most people I know, so he’s going to have more chances. He dunked an approach on a par 4 from about 130 yards a few months ago as well…

While any player can have a HIO, and some less skilled players have had them - the odds are much better for skilled players as a group vs less skilled. Those who claim it’s more luck are engaged in proof by exception.

You can call it luck, I consider it more a matter of probability.

Edited June 9 by Middler

[tony@CIC]

Luck - pure luck. I've had 2 in the past 3 years and would much prefer to have eagles on par 5's. 

[Middler]

My ultimate goal when I play is to score an eagle, I’ve had 2-3 in the past 4 years (none HIOs), most gratifying. If I ever have an albatross, closest I’ve been is about 6-8 feet - I’ll probably pass out…

My second goal is to break 80, my third is to break 40 on either nine.

2 minutes ago, Middler said:

 

Edited June 9 by Middler

[MIGregB]

Many-many years ago, I remember watching a TV segment with Freddie Couples talking about this exact same thing. He had just made a hole-in-one that day during a tournament so they asked him his opinion. He responded by going back to the hole & hitting a bunch of shots to see what it took to do it again. He couldn't. He felt that while you improve your chances the better you are at hitting the green, it's still luck that it goes in the hole.

[tdroma98]

I'm going with luck! 
Irrespective of one's handicap, you have the skill to hit a golf ball, therefore anyone would have the luck to Ace a hole.
I've played golf with a guy who was also a scratch golfer & never had a hole-in-one. The guy could hit the ball. We had a mutual friend who was a 21 handicap, and had two hole-in-ones in 3 years, during the time we all played together.

It's a great feeling to Ace a hole. I'm not kicking the luck factor at all! 

[TSauer]

Skill to get the ball to the green, luck that it goes in. 

[Golf2Much]

I think the answer is "yes". I think of it as a sliding scale with skill on one side and luck on the other.

You have to have enough skill to get the ball in the right direction and distance and enough luck for it to go in.   If you don't have skill, then you need to rely on luck.  If you're not a lucky person, you best have a lot of skill.

[Josh Parker]

On 6/8/2024 at 12:56 PM, chisag said:

 I like Ben Hogans description “If you hit it within two feet of the hole, it is a great shot. If it goes in, it’s luck.” 

This.....

 

I am going to say hitting a hole is typically luck!  I have seen 30+ hdcp players hit them and skull it from the tee box.  The skill to constantly be close is a whole different topic.  

I have hit the cup, have rolled all the way around and just the other day hit the flagstick but have yet to make one.  9.9 times out of 10, I would prefer to have the skill to stick it close and make my birdie and move on.  However, just once, one stinkin time, I would like to have the luck for the dang ball to drop in the hole!  

[MNUte]

Luck, but there's an old saying that luck is often found at the crossroads of preparation and execution. So I'd say developing skill helps give you better chances to put yourself in a position to get lucky.

[Eltrain41]

It's luck unless you're a Pro who plays 5-6 round/week and at that point, you're very good plus you have volume and opportunities. There aren't many pro's so it's luck for all of us. I've tried to estimate how many Par 3's I've played since I started playing 30 yrs ago, and it's likely around 5,000. I've never had an ace. Many of the people I've met who have had one were not great players. Sure you have to be able to hit the green but I think it's luck and like the Hogan quote above, a great shot is within a couple of feet...the rest is just luck. It's not like we're picking a spot to land the ball 6' left, or 10' long, and trying to spin it in the hole...this isn't a video game!! 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

If you see a pro do it on tv they are as excited as we would be. In the hole is luck. Consistently hitting the green is skill.

 

[poprocksncoke]

Well, the first one I ever had I bladed a 7 iron, it rolled under a tree, skirted the bunker and ended up in the hole.

I'd say that was all on luck