Ace

An ace in golf is a hole-in-one. The golfer hits the ball from the tee, and it goes directly into the cup in a single stroke. Aces happen most often on par-3 holes.

What is an ace in golf?

An ace means the golfer completed a hole in one stroke. The ball left the tee, traveled to the green, and dropped into the 4.25-inch cup without any additional shots. On the scorecard, it shows up as a “1.”

Par-3 holes are where aces occur most frequently because they are the shortest holes on a course, typically between 100 and 250 yards. Every golfer on a par-3 tee has a realistic chance of reaching the green with their first swing, which is the baseline requirement for an ace to happen.

Aces on par-4 holes are far less common but do occur when long hitters can reach a short par-4 from the tee. Andrew Magee recorded the only par-4 ace in PGA Tour history, at the 2001 Phoenix Open. On par-5 holes, a hole-in-one is called a condor, and as of 2025, only about five have ever been officially documented worldwide. These have required unusual circumstances like thin air at altitude, dogleg-shaped holes, or firm, downhill fairways.

In scoring terms, an ace on a par-3 also counts as an eagle, since it finishes the hole two strokes under par. On a par-4, that same single stroke becomes an albatross (three under par). The condor, four under par on a par-5, sits in a category almost no golfer will ever reach.

Both skill and luck play a role. A golfer needs to hit the ball accurately enough to land on the green, but the ball also has to bounce, roll, and find the cup. Even professional golfers with pinpoint accuracy rely on favorable conditions and a bit of fortune.

How rare is an ace?

The odds shift depending on skill level, but they are steep across the board. According to data from the National Hole in One Registry and insurance actuaries, an average amateur golfer faces odds of about 12,500 to 1 on any given par-3 tee shot. For low-handicap amateurs, the odds improve to roughly 5,000 to 1. Tour professionals see odds around 2,500 to 1.

Across all skill levels, an ace occurs approximately once every 3,500 rounds played. The National Hole in One Registry reports that only 1 to 2 percent of golfers make an ace in any given year, and the average golfer who records one has about 24 years of playing experience.

Most golf courses report between 10 and 15 aces annually from the roughly 25,000 to 30,000 rounds played each year. During a four-day PGA Tour event with 144 professionals, the probability of at least one ace is close to even money, according to the U.S. Hole In One Association.

Some variations are almost impossibly rare. Two aces in the same round carries odds of roughly 67 million to 1. Two players in the same group acing the same hole sits at about 17 million to 1.

Ace vs. hole-in-one

In everyday golf conversation, ace and hole-in-one mean the same thing. Both describe completing a hole in a single stroke from the tee.

The practical difference is linguistic. “Ace” works as both a noun and a verb. A golfer can say, “I aced the seventh hole,” which is a natural, common way to describe it. “Hole-in-one” only works as a noun. Saying “I hole-in-oned the seventh” is not standard usage.

Regionally, “ace” is more common in American English, while “hole-in-one” tends to be the preferred term in British English and much of the rest of the golf world. Golf Monthly, a UK publication, uses “hole in one” as its primary phrasing, for example.

A small number of golf enthusiasts draw a distinction, arguing that an “ace” is any time a ball goes from tee to cup in one stroke, while a “hole-in-one” requires a formal, witnessed round on a regulation course. This view is not widely shared, and most golfers, organizations, and media treat the two terms as interchangeable.

Where does the term come from?

The word “ace” traces back to the Old French “as,” meaning the side of a die marked with a single dot. In card games, the ace represents both the number one and the highest-ranking card. In dominoes, the piece with one dot is an ace. Over time, the word expanded to mean the best in any given field, which is how English picked up phrases like “ace fighter pilot.”

Golf adopted the term in the early 1920s. The Oxford English Dictionary records its earliest use as a golf verb in 1923, in the Glasgow Herald. The connection was a natural fit: a score of one on a hole, and one of the best possible achievements in the sport.

The first recorded hole-in-one in competitive golf predates the term by more than 50 years. Young Tom Morris holed his tee shot on the 166-yard 8th hole at Prestwick Golf Club during the 1869 Open Championship.

Related Golf Terms

• Hole-in-one — A score of 1 on any hole, identical in meaning to ace.
• Eagle — A score of two under par on a hole. An ace on a par-3 is also an eagle.
• Albatross — A score of three under par on a hole. Also called a double eagle. An ace on a par-4 counts as an albatross.
• Condor — A score of four under par on a hole. An ace on a par-5 is a condor.
• Par — The expected number of strokes for a skilled golfer to complete a hole.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Wikipedia. “Hole in one.” Accessed April 2026.
• National Hole in One Registry. “Facts & Feats.” nationalholeinoneregistry.com. Accessed April 2026.
• U.S. Hole In One Association. “What Are the Odds of Making a Hole in One?” holeinoneinsurance.com. Accessed April 2026.
• Oxford English Dictionary. “ace, v.” oed.com. Revised March 2026.
• Kelley, Brent. “What Is an Ace in Golf?” LiveAbout. February 2018.
• National Club Golfer. “What is an ace in golf?” nationalclubgolfer.com. April 2024.
• Parteeof18. “Hole In One / Ace: What is this Holy Grail of Golf?” parteeof18.com. April 2026.