Hole in one - who pays?

[JohnnyDee]

Cards on the table here as I have never had one before.

However (IMO) there are several stupid things in golf which puzzle / really irritate me.

Probably one of the stupidest is not being able to take relief on the fairway after your drive ends up in a divot, either freshly filled-in or just not having been replaced by some numpty who ought not to be allowed out on the course and who probably also doesn't repair pitch marks or rake bunkers.

But surely the daftest of the lot is when you have a hole in one. You have done something very special and yet you're expected to spend a fortune buying drinks for all and sundry? Really?

How on earth did such a ludicrously daft ritual ever become the norm?

 

[Slab]

I think it's the correct way round as it is
You're the one with something to celebrate after all (& you want people to celebrate with you)

Random people don't give you cigars when you have a kid, you don't receive them, you hand them out

The alternative is you get a hole in one, random people buy you a drink but you can only manage a few but there's 20 more on the bar and you end up getting your stomach pumped or offend them by not accepting it

Father of the bride buys guests a drink because he has something to celebrate and wants people to celebrate it too, not the other way round

How wide ranging the group is that you buy for after a hole in one is up to you

 

[Smiffy]

No different to winning the money in your fourball and buying a round of drinks afterwards that leaves you a fiver out of pocket..........................................

And as far as landing in a divot is concerned.... one mans divot is another mans indentation. It would lead to some right old arguments....

 

[Imurg]

The answer to the title question is...

The Insurance company

 

[JohnnyDee]

I think all three points above are pretty fair and it seems I started this thread before the nurse had brought me my anti-grumpy pills

I guess I was really querying the “buy everyone in the world a drink” idea which now seems to be less prevalent these days.

But even so when (if) I have mine, I'll make sure it's on a Monday night in Summer around dusk and I'm playing a practice round on my own

 

[inc0gnito]

It’s a silly rule. A pat on the back and a handshake would suffice.

 

[duncan mackie]

It’s a silly rule. A pat on the back and a handshake would suffice.

It's not a rule, it's a tradition. You do what you you feel comfortable with.

The tradition came from a time when no one would dream of getting themselves a drink without offering everyone else one - to a degree this continues in some environments but is an anathema in others. Back to whatever you are comfortable with.

 

[patricks148]

i suspect the people who complain about it would still be complaining if they had to buy every guy that got one a drink if it were the other way around

 

[Jacko_G]

What most clubs I have been a member of do is put a bottle on the bar and allow you to replace said bottle.

 

[Jacko_G]

i suspect the people who complain about it would still be complaining if they had to buy every guy that got one a drink if it were the other way around

How I'd enjoy my three free drinks too. Tea isn't even expensive either.

 

[jim8flog]

Two things at our club

Non competition - put a bottle on the bar when it is gone it is gone and the only cost to the player is to replace it with the same.

Competition - the club puts two bottles on the bar and when they are gone that's it.

The tradition probably dates to time when the cost of a drink was not a major donation to the government.

 

[IanM]

The tradition probably dates to time when the cost of a drink was not a major donation to the government.

... absolutely!

Bottle of whisky on the bar happens in our club now too...

 

[Sats]

Never had one but i think I'd do the following;

• At my home club in a comp - yeah drinks all round (claimed via insurance later)
• At my home club socially - Those I played with and those I know personally (and like)
• Visiting club - only my playing group.
• Solo play - No one.
• Society day - everyone in the society and again an insurance claim later.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I'm with the OP on this one. If i ever get one then I'd buy one for my group only at best, not sure I'd even do that. I suspect I'd stay in my usual round but I'd just be grinning more. I certainly wouldn't buy them for a room full of strangers in the bar. It's an odd tradition

 

[Old Skier]

At our club we have a voluntary £2 a year hole in one club for home comps. No payout by the end of year, money goes to junior section.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

We just have to put a bottle of whiskey on the bar for the members to have a toast to your hole in one - so only going to cost about £20. Have also had one at Away clubs so just bought the round and claimed on insurance- no big deal. It’s the same as hitting a jug when getting a hat trick or a five for or a ton etc

I'm with the OP on this one. If i ever get one then I'd buy one for my group only at best, not sure I'd even do that. I suspect I'd stay in my usual round but I'd just be grinning more. I certainly wouldn't buy them for a room full of strangers in the bar. It's an odd tradition

Really ?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I'm with the OP on this one. If i ever get one then I'd buy one for my group only at best, not sure I'd even do that. I suspect I'd stay in my usual round but I'd just be grinning more. I certainly wouldn't buy them for a room full of strangers in the bar. It's an odd tradition

Seriously?

 

[JohnnyDee]

Just for clarity. It's the 'Drinks for Everyone' thing I'm referring to.

There are generally around 12-16 of us playing one way or another in our casual group and I’d certainly get them all drink.

If it was a club comp I’d go the *couple of bottles on the bar route.

*One Coke and one Fanta and to hell with the cost. It's a blimmin' hole-in-one!!

 

[Old Skier]

I'm not sure people should feel pressured to pay up but having had one some may change their mind when it happens, especially if it's done at a decent event.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Seriously?

Why not? Of my normal group only 2 of us usually stop for a drink. We alternate who buys, all very correct. If any of the others decide to stay, rare, we pair off as no one stops for more than 2 drinks, be it coffees or soft drinks. Why change that?

A smile and a handshake on the course is all that is needed. I wouldn't expect anyone to buy me a drink if they got a hole in one, it is not necessary.