More than 70% of golf tournaments offer a Hole-in-One contest – golfers expect to have a chance to take their shot at an ‘ace’. So what are the odds of getting the ball in the hole in a single shot? How hard is it to make a hole-in-one?
Obviously insurance companies that sell “hole-in-one insurance” to tournaments know the odds – but they are not sharing. Golf Digest, the authoritative source for all that is golf-related, published some interesting statistics in 2005. They hired Francis Scheid, Ph.D., the retired chairman of the math department at Boston University, to calculate the odds using the latest and best information available at that time.
Here are a few of the interesting findings, breaking down the odds by the quality of golfer and frequency of play:
- Tour player making an ace: 3,000 to 1
- Low-handicapper making an ace: 5,000 to 1
- Average player making an ace (average distance of 165 yards): 12,000 to 1
- Average player acing a 200-yard hole: 150,000 to 1
- Low-handicapper who plays 1,000 rounds in a lifetime: 20 % chance of recording an ace
- Two players from the same foursome acing the same hole: 17 million to 1
- One player making two holes-in-one in the same round: 67 million to 1
Our all time favorite stats? How about Harold Stilson, who ranks as the oldest man to hit a hole-in-one at 101 years of age. At 102 years old, Elsie McLean is the oldest
woman to hit a hole-in-one. The longest hole-in-one was recorded in 2007 by Bret Melson who sank his first shot from 448 yards out on the 18th hole at Ko’olau Golf Club in Hawaii.
But how can you make your Hole-in-One contest stand out and make money for your golf tournament? Stay tuned to this blog and in the meantime to get hole-in-one prize coverage call us at 281-701-5596 or contact us by email with:
1. The number of players in your event.
2. The length of the par 3.
3. The prize value you want covered.