Now amateurs can cash in with ace

IT has frustrated weekend golfers the world over in their moment of glory.

A hole in one is rare enough — but all the better when there’s a prize on offer for that once-in-a-lifetime ace.

If only ordinary club golfers were allowed by the R&A to accept the prize on offer — it might even help to defray the cost of buying a drink for everyone in the clubhouse!

Up to now, amateur golfers were unable to claim a prize or reward worth more than £500 if they wanted to remain outside the pro ranks but in a dramatic about-turn the Royal and Ancient have announced that from January 1, all golfers will be allowed to play for unlimited hole-in-one prizes under revisions to the sport’s rules.

The most infamous case of the law being an ass came when English golf writer Derek Lawrenson won a Lamborghini for a hole in one but was unable to accept. The Royal and Ancient Club has now decided that “the special nature of a hole-in-one during a round of golf means that restrictions on the prizes offered have been lifted”.

The new Rules of Amateur Status also include changes for elite amateur golfers aimed at easing the move from amateur to professional life.

It follows a far-reaching four-year review of amateurism in golf, which even questioned the need for a set of rules and has resulted in the first uniform worldwide code for amateur status.

Announcing the changes, effective from New Year’s day, the R&A’s director of rules David Rickman said: “We felt the time was right to carry out a fundamental review of the Rules of Amateur Status. We were conscious that many sports had done away with amateur status rules and we felt that was an appropriate question for us to ask.

“We concluded that it is very important that golf retains its amateur regulations, mainly because of the self-regulating nature of the game both in terms of the playing rules and handicapping. We felt that uncontrolled financial incentives could place too much pressure on these important features.”

Excluding hole-in-one prizes from the general prize limit and allowing high-value prizes, including cash, to be awarded brings the R&A into line with the USGA.

Norway’s world number two Suzann Pettersen, an R&A ambassador like Pádraig Harrington, said: “Most professional tournaments offer hole-in-one prizes and it adds some real interest for players and fans. It is great to think that club golfers can now experience that same excitement.”