Following story cut and pasted from Thursday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Other than being an interesting story, I think it bolsters an argument I made around Masters time.. that the 16th green at ANGC is a bit, well, rinky.
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Rob Adamson made a hole-in-one --- at Augusta National, yet --- it just took a while to realize it.
Adamson, of Buckhead, was playing No. 16 at Augusta National on May 21. He hit an 8-iron at the front left pin and his ball stopped on the slope of the green to the right of the hole.
He marked his ball and waited for his playing partners to putt out. He then replaced his ball, which was at rest, and took a step back to line up the putt. On its own, the ball started to roll --- down the slope and right into the hole.
But is that a hole-in-one?
"The caddies were yelling 'That's a one! That's a one!' " Adamson said.
"I figured it wasn't because I had taken the ball out of play."
After the round, the group went to the pro shop and was told it was not an ace.
However, a deeper investigation into the rules of golf proved the caddies correct. The Georgia State Golf Association also verified his ace.
Because Adamson had not addressed his ball and it did not move because of an outside agency, the rules of golf dictate he must play the ball where it lies after it moved. Since it came to rest in the hole, he had his first hole-in-one.
The exact rule in the Decisions of Golf is 18-2b/8:
Q. On the putting green, a player addressed the ball. He stepped away from the ball, marked its position and lifted it. He then replaced the ball and, before he addressed it, the ball moved. Since the ball was lifted and out of play after it was addressed, was the player subject to penalty under Rule 18-2b when it moved after it was put back into play?
A: No. The ball must be played as it lies. Once the ball has been lifted the presumption inherent in the Rule that the act of addressing the ball caused the ball to move is no longer valid.
"It's a hole-in-one," said Layne Williams, Senior Director of Rules and Competition for the GSGA. "If he had addressed the ball, he would have been deemed to cause the ball to move and must replace it with a one-stroke penalty."
Williams also noted that Adamson was not penalized because the ball did not move because of an outside agency, such as an animal. Wind or water are not considered outside agencies.
It could have been much worse had Adamson's ball not stopped in the hole. Had it rolled into the lake next to No. 16, the same rule would have been in effect, meaning his shot was in the water hazard and he must take the appropriate penalty.
"I have a hard time calling it an ace," Adamson said.
"It's still kind of cool. It was bizarre, there was no euphoric feeling. We just stood around saying 'What do we do?' But I'll have a plaque and a card with a one on it."
Adamson, 41 and a member of Cherokee Town and Country Club, shot a 75 on the day. His brother-in-law is an Augusta National member and his group included his father-in-law and another brother-in-law.