I just got my second hole in one yesterday (first one was 7 years ago). I thought I would look on the internet to see if there was advice on how to increase your chances of getting a hole in one.
I read Keith Stewart's article: How to (Actually) MAKE a Hole in One from 2022. And it’s a great article!
About 10 years ago I was golfing with our 10 year old son at a little pitch and putt course near our house. My short game (ie. less than 70 yards) is not very good and I was muttering that it didn’t even feel like golf, so I might as well try to get a hole in one. And ever since that day, when I’m playing a par 3, I announce to everyone: “Okay, hole in one hole! Let’s get a hole in one!” It’s caught on and like you said in your article: I love planting that thought in a player’s mind. Instantly, I see their faces brighten up and their focus intensify.
It really does work! My son (who is now 20 and a pretty good golfer) and I were playing the 16th hole at the Royal Regina GC yesterday (the same hole I got my first ace in 2017) and before we shot we actually talked about how we would celebrate…what we would do… I had to laugh about the number one step: Get a Celebration Read. This was a new thing for us.
And never wing a Part 3 tee. I love that. I used to curl competitively and used visualization techniques all the time – so this has always been something I have been able to do. But man oh man, even yesterday was different. I think I spent an extra 15-20 seconds REALLY thinking about the shot and specifically thinking – I’m going to aim here, land it here and take a full aggressive swing (the first two things I do all the time, but the full aggressive swing was new). My focus is getting better every time.
It’s become a bit of an obsession. It doesn’t matter how I’m playing or how I’m scoring, when I get to a par 3, I am dialing it in.