Greatest par ever?

[Tommy Williamsen]

“A true “Tin Cup” happened on Thursday at the 3M Open, where South Korea’s Sangmoon Bae almost went full Roy McAvoy at the par-5 ninth hole at TPC Twin Cities. At four over on his round, things appeared to get even uglier for Bae as he rinsed his tee shot in the water down the right side. Then Bae took a drop in the fairway, 250 yards from the green, and deposited another ball. Woof.
Now, Bae was hitting his fifth from the exact same spot, 250 yards away. This time, instead of finding the drink again, his ball found the bottom of the cup for what may very well be the greatest par in the history of professional golf.”

Sangmoon Bae sets ShotLink-era record by holing out for par from 250 yards. Previous longest hole-out for par was Steven Bowditch/2011 RBC Heritage, Rd.1, hole #4, 176 yards.

[Mike_Clayton]

Not as good - but another holed 3 wood for a par.


11th hole 1991 Scottish Open at Gleneagles I was playing with Michael Allan. Par 3 about 230 yards


His first tee shot went straight right into a gorse bush. He re-teed it and holed the 3 wood.


The funniest thing were the people running to find the ball and him running to them imploring them not to look for it.

[Matthew Rose]

My first thought was Couples' hole-in-three at the TPC, but I think that wins.

[Adrian_Stiff]

I made a similar 5 at the 1st at Lansdown. Tee shot out of bounds right. Then the next went left in some trees, chipped it out. Holed it.
We had a chap hit his tee shot out of bounds on our 8th which is 353 yards from the yellows. His retake ended up in the hole.

[JMEvensky]

Not as good - but another holed 3 wood for a par.


11th hole 1991 Scottish Open at Gleneagles I was playing with Michael Allan. Par 3 about 230 yards


His first tee shot went straight right into a gorse bush. He re-teed it and holed the 3 wood.


The funniest thing were the people running to find the ball and him running to them imploring them not to look for it.

Same experience with a twist.


Playing in a US Mid Am qualifier at Southern Hills about 30 years ago. Long par 3 on the back with OB on the left, a guy I'm playing with hits a big snap hook and almost in mid-air his caddie tosses him another ball. Re-tees and 1 hops it in the hole.


He was thrilled until I got up near the green and saw his 1st ball wedged between the roots of an oak tree, about a foot in bounds.


He made 6, missed a playoff by a shot, and I'm 100% certain he's still pissed I just happened to look in the direction I did.

[Tom_Doak]

Could he not have declared the first ball "lost" on the tee (certainly before his second swing, but also after, if he didn't declare the second ball "provisional")?

[Jeff Schley]

Could he not have declared the first ball "lost" on the tee (certainly before his second swing, but also after, if he didn't declare the second ball "provisional")?

That is what I was thinking as I have caddied in a few mini tour events/qualifiers and my players did that with a rules official summoned after a fellow competitor started looking for my player's ball.  The drive was into a dried up water culvert area and my player said, "that ball is lost, I'm hitting 3." We played the practice round the day before and joked that he didn't want to end up there.
When we were walking down the fairway one of the competitors started to go over and look for his ball where my player said to him, don't look I declared it lost so not a provisional. He claims to have found his ball, but my player didn't go over and a rules official came over and asked, "did you declare it lost, or a provisional from the tee?" He said lost and rules official said play on. The competitor who looked for it said, you can't declare a ball lost until you look for it unless there is evidence the ball went into an OB area.
I honestly don't know if that is true, but we played onward.

[Ronald Montesano]

Can't declare it lost without searching, but could declare "Unplayable and ReTee" with the same result. For anyone who argues that, I can drive the ball in the middle of the fairway, within view from the tee, say "that ball is unplayable" and re-tee, hitting three.


Sang Moon Bare: https://www.pgatour.com/news/2020/07/23/best-par-save-ever-after-two-in-water-sangmoon-bae-holes-out-from-250-yards-round-one-3m-open-tpc-twin-cities.html

[Thomas Dai]

In the 1950 Open Roberto De Vincenzo hit his tee shot on the par-3 8th at Troon into a vile plugged lie a bunker. He declared it unplayable, went back to the tee, hit his next shot to a few inches and tapped in for a par-3. This was okay back then as the stroke and distance element of the RoG wasn’t in place.
Atb

[David_Tepper]

Speaking of Sang Moon Bae, I sure hope he is able to regain his level of play before his time in military service in South Korea. He was a rising star with a real good-looking swing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it8GxGqbTIY

[Mark Smolens]

Can't declare it lost without searching, but could declare "Unplayable and ReTee" with the same result. For anyone who argues that, I can drive the ball in the middle of the fairway, within view from the tee, say "that ball is unplayable" and re-tee, hitting three.

I don't believe that the RoG require a player to search for a ball before it is deemed to have been "lost." If the snap hooker described above hits another ball, without declaring it to have been a provisional ball, then that ball is in play. The only way it would not be in play, would be if the ball had struck a tree, then bounced (unseen) back toward the green and into the hole. Once holed, the player's subsequent actions would no longer matter. . .


Sang Moon Bare: https://www.pgatour.com/news/2020/07/23/best-par-save-ever-after-two-in-water-sangmoon-bae-holes-out-from-250-yards-round-one-3m-open-tpc-twin-cities.html

[jeffwarne]

Could he not have declared the first ball "lost" on the tee (certainly before his second swing, but also after, if he didn't declare the second ball "provisional")?

That is what I was thinking as I have caddied in a few mini tour events/qualifiers and my players did that with a rules official summoned after a fellow competitor started looking for my player's ball.  The drive was into a dried up water culvert area and my player said, "that ball is lost, I'm hitting 3." We played the practice round the day before and joked that he didn't want to end up there.
When we were walking down the fairway one of the competitors started to go over and look for his ball where my player said to him, don't look I declared it lost so not a provisional. He claims to have found his ball, but my player didn't go over and a rules official came over and asked, "did you declare it lost, or a provisional from the tee?" He said lost and rules official said play on. The competitor who looked for it said, you can't declare a ball lost until you look for it unless there is evidence the ball went into an OB area.
I honestly don't know if that is true, but we played onward.

If you declare it "lost" or if you say nothing(in reference to it being a provisional), and hit another, it is lost.


As far as someone else looking for the ball after you've holed a provisional...if you remove the ball from the hole before they find it, it counts--https://www.randa.org/Rog/2019/Rules/Interpretations/Rule-18-Interpretations#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20at%20a%20short,look%20for%20the%20original%20ball.

so[size=78%] it would make an interesting footrace if an opponent or fellow competitor decided to look for your ball after you holed out.[/size]

[Ronald Montesano]

Jeff, not according to the R & A. You have to search for it for 3 minutes, before declaring it lost. However, sight-unseen unplayable lie should provide the same end.

[Kalen Braley]

Not to be anal, but the 9th hole at TPC Twin Cities is a par 4.  Unless he teed off on 10 and playing 18 as the 9th hole of the day...

[Tom Bacsanyi]

Wait, so if I hit a ball straight into a bunch of impenetrable bushes I have to look for it for 3 minutes? F that, it's not even safe and I don't carry a machete in my golf bag generally.


The thing that kills me about a provisional ball is that if you locate the first one and it's in an unplayable with no options for dropping two clublengths or inline behind, the provisional is not an option. You have to go back to the tee and hit yet another shot. Dumb. The provisional should be an option. No one gains any kind of advantage hitting 3 from the tee, and the player has suffered enough in this case.

[Kalen Braley]

No one gains any kind of advantage hitting 3 from the tee, and the player has suffered enough in this case.

Hmm, I think you must have missed reply #1 and #4.

[JMEvensky]

The only thing he declared was "I just hit it f*cking OB". A rules official just happened to be standing there and she walked up to the green with us. Before he could even ask,she told him the first ball was in play.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Not to be anal, but the 9th hole at TPC Twin Cities is a par 4.  Unless he teed off on 10 and playing 18 as the 9th hole of the day...

I think the article goofed. It was 18.

[JohnVDB]

In the 1950 Open Roberto De Vincenzo hit his tee shot on the par-3 8th at Troon into a vile plugged lie a bunker. He declared it unplayable, went back to the tee, hit his next shot to a few inches and tapped in for a par-3. This was okay back then as the stroke and distance element of the RoG wasn’t in place.
Atb

And that was the reason the Rule for unplayable was changed back to stroke and distance raher than distance only which was tried for one rules cycle.  I believe it was more like 1960 rather than 1950 though.

[JohnVDB]

Can't declare it lost without searching, but could declare "Unplayable and ReTee" with the same result. For anyone who argues that, I can drive the ball in the middle of the fairway, within view from the tee, say "that ball is unplayable" and re-tee, hitting three.


Sang Moon Bare: https://www.pgatour.com/news/2020/07/23/best-par-save-ever-after-two-in-water-sangmoon-bae-holes-out-from-250-yards-round-one-3m-open-tpc-twin-cities.html

You can’t declare it lost, but you just not say provisional.  Once you say the magic word, you can’t ignore it if it is found before you play the provisional from a spot nearer he hole than where it is likely to be.


See the Phil Mickelson example from the playoff in San Diego back in the 90s where a helpful marshal found his first ball after he had asked them not to look for it.

[Kalen Braley]

So John,

If I understand this rule right, its the one rule where a player can screw his opponent by not complying with his wishes? In matchplay, its 1 vs 1, but how would the above par 3 scenario square up in a normal PGA Stroke play event?  As his playing partner wouldn't you be compelled to look for the ball to protect the field?

Seems a fair bit of ambiguity here..

[Michael Felton]

Wait, so if I hit a ball straight into a bunch of impenetrable bushes I have to look for it for 3 minutes? F that, it's not even safe and I don't carry a machete in my golf bag generally.


The thing that kills me about a provisional ball is that if you locate the first one and it's in an unplayable with no options for dropping two clublengths or inline behind, the provisional is not an option. You have to go back to the tee and hit yet another shot. Dumb. The provisional should be an option. No one gains any kind of advantage hitting 3 from the tee, and the player has suffered enough in this case.

No - you don't have to look for it. You can look for it, but nothing compels you to. The reason you can't hit the provisional in this case is the rules really don't like you having the choice between two balls to play. If you'd stuffed that provisional into the same bush, found the first, but not the second, you'd be very happy that you have the option to go back to the tee again.


As to the original question, I got to play at my home club (Effingham) with Mark Roe (of scorecard mix-up at the Open fame). On the 8th hole - par 5, he hit his tee shot into the right trees. He said if he found it he'd make par. He found it and had a line through the trees. Hit his 3 wood, but clipped a branch on his downswing that nudged it offline and he skewered it into the next set of trees down the right. He said "if I find it I'll still make par". He found it. He had to hit it backwards to the fairway and ended up in the left hand semi rough about 170 yards out. He said "I'll still make par". Downhill shot with the green running away from him in the semi rough. He didn't even need to putt. Hit it to about 6 inches.

[archie_struthers]

 


Not as good but funnier!


Pine Valley #14  par three     circa 1980


Golfer launches first shot way right into parts unknown ,  competitor playing partner uber competitive jerk secretly happy.... player reloads and aces it for three.


As we are walking down stairs toward green player B (jerk) reminds us we never lose balls at PV etc etc etc , we say oh that's a bit of a wives tale. Member good dude laughing a little as he listens. He knows!


We get to area where ball likely landed, swampy awful spot and give it a quick glance before moving on, player B not happy proving he qualifies as (jerk)   


All parties otherwise loved that par!

[Jeff_Brauer]

Once made a similar, but birdie at the 4th at Kemper Lakes.  505 yard par 5, lateral water right.  Ponded it, dropped, hit green, made putt for 4.

[JMEvensky]

Not as good but funnier!


Pine Valley #14  par three     circa 1980


Golfer launches first shot way right into parts unknown ,  competitor playing partner uber competitive jerk secretly happy.... player reloads and aces it for three.


As we are walking down stairs toward green player B (jerk) reminds us we never lose balls at PV etc etc etc , we say oh that's a bit of a wives tale. Member good dude laughing a little as he listens. He knows!


We get to area where ball likely landed, swampy awful spot and give it a quick glance before moving on, player B not happy proving he qualifies as (jerk)   


All parties otherwise loved that par!

Archie, I'm guessing Member Good Dude tipped accordingly?