Ouch! Rules error costs Josh Hogarth an ace and a course record
A rules error robbed South Moor’s Josh Hogarth of a hole-in-one and a course record.
The 15-year-old learned a powerful lesson in the junior championship at the County Durham course.
Hogarth, who has also claimed the Durham County Junior Golf Society Championship this season, took the club title with the help of a seven under second round 65.
His round contained ten birdies and three bogeys – but it should have been one shot better.
The drama happened at the 186-yard par 3 14th.
A perfectly flighted 6-iron ended with the ball coming to rest lodged in the hole against the flagstick.
Three other players have shot 65 at the Dr Alister MacKenzie-designed course but what happened next stopped Hogarth writing his name into the club history books.
“If I had known the rules, it would have been a hole in one,” said Josh, a pupil at North Durham Academy in Stanley.
“I thought you had to pull the flagstick out keeping it directly upright. When I did that, the ball squirted out and ended up an inch from the hole.”
Hogarth only learned days after the tournament ended that the relevant part of R&A rule 17-4 reads: “The player may move or remove the flagstick.”
That allows golfers the option of manoeuvring the flagstick to determine whether the ball falls into the hole.
“I signed for a two on the scorecard instead of one,” said Josh. ”I shall put it down to experience. It’s a lesson learned.”
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
