When an ace becomes a birdie

[LobWedge]

I'm surprised there haven't been any comments here about junior Connor Klein being assesed a one stroke penalty for slow play after holing out in one at the US Junior Amateur.

If there's ever a PSA for slow play, this would be it.

[AAA]

He had been warned and was on the clock.

[LobWedge]

He had been warned and was on the clock.

Absolutely, the official made the right call.

[jvincent]

I'm curious, how can he be slow after holing out?

I assume he was on the clock and then holed out. Did he take too long to play his tee shot?

[spackler]

I'm curious, how can he be slow after holing out?

I assume he was on the clock and then holed out. Did he take too long to play his tee shot?

The hole he had an ace on was a 'check point' hole. His group was out of position and had been warned earlier. On the hole previous to the hole he aced, he'd used his 5 minutes to search for a tee ball, so he was deemed to be at fault on the check point hole. He got the penalty and his FCs did not.

[jvincent]

Ahh, I see.

Since he had spent 5 minutes on the previous hole, I think it's probably fair that he get the penalty.

If I were to change the policy though, each player should be timed once the group is on the clock. When the check point is reached whoever is "over time" gets the stroke. This would avoid a player being stuck with some slow pokes and then having one bad hole result in a penalty for just him.

[LobWedge]

The hole he had an ace on was a 'check point' hole. His group was out of position and had been warned earlier. On the hole previous to the hole he aced, he'd used his 5 minutes to search for a tee ball, so he was deemed to be at fault on the check point hole. He got the penalty and his FCs did not.

Those reporting the story do not have all the facts. There's a lot of supposition because the USGA official said that it was a one stroke penalty, and didn't elaborate further. Being 5 minutes out of position because of a rule that allows you 5 minutes to search is not a punishable offence. You either have to be more than a hole behind for at least one hole after being warned, or be 14-15 minutes out of position at a checkpoint. He was most likely consistently not ready to play when it was his turn (over 40 seconds) after being warned, or he was out of position through two checkpoints. It depends whether they were using Group Pace of Play or not, but my guess is it was the first scenario. Originally, all 3 players were penalized, but the other two appealed to the committee and their penalties were rescinded.

[Swerve]

As far as I am concerned, he is still buying the rounds in the clubhouse, for his "hole-in-one"

[stevek]

As far as I am concerned, he is still buying the rounds in the clubhouse, for his "hole-in-one"

So would a FC after losing his first and holing his second (for Par) have to buy rounds? It almost happened to my FC last week.