Equipment
These are the five best hole-outs of the 2015-'16 season
The key shot to Billy Hurley III’s win last week at the Quicken Loans National was a 35-yard hole-out on the 15th hole that provided some breathing room. Impressive as the shot was, however, there have been 152 hole-outs on tour this season that have been longer.
Here’s a look at the top five -- all being jarred from more than 200 yards -- and the clubs used to produce them.
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Gore’s double eagle on the par-5 18th hole during the third round of the Farmer’s Insurance Open was worth a few dollars to the veteran pro, but the club he used to hit the shot was of little value seeing that it dates back to 2004. The club Gore used was his trusty Callaway Big Bertha 3+ with a Fujikura Pro 95 shaft. Of course, had Gore not listened to his caddy he likely would not have recorded the first double eagle of his life. “I had 2-iron and Scotty [caddie Scott Gardiner] talked me into hitting 3-wood,” said Gore. “He said, ‘Just hit a nice, big cut 3-wood.’ And he was right.”
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It’s routine to see birdies and eagles on par 5s on the PGA Tour, but like Gore, Finau scored the rare albatross on the 13th hole at TPC Summerlin during the second round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. Finau holed his second shot from the rough from 236 yards using a Callaway MB1 5-iron, a muscle-back blade style iron. “I didn’t have a great lie in the rough, so I couldn’t really dictate how it was going to come out,” Finau said. “I caught a little bit of a flyer and knew it was going to be a little long, if anything, but the hole got in the way. It took one hop and disappeared, from what I heard. It was pretty cool.”
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The 18th hole at Quail Hollow Club is one of the most difficult finishing holes on the PGA Tour, but Castro made it look easy during the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship. Using his 18-degree TaylorMade M1 5-wood, Castro hit his approach shot and watched as it landed on the front of the green, rolled some 40 feet and then dropped like a gentle center-cut putt into the hole for an eagle-2.
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Luck is always needed in Las Vegas. Cejka, a 44-year-old veteran, received some on the 17th hole at TPC Summerlin during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open. Using a Callaway X-Forged 7-iron, Cejka hit his shot from the elevated tee on the par 3 and watched as the ball rolled into the hole for the longest hole-in-one on the PGA Tour this season at 212 yards. Interestingly, Cejka would make another ace later in the season, also on the 17th hole, in the first round of the Honda Classic at PGA National.
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It certainly didn’t look as if Every was set up to make eagle after his tee shot on the par-4 second hole of TPC Scottsdale in the third round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. In fact, Every couldn’t even see the green when his ball went left into the desert scrub. Yet Every grabbed his Callaway Apex Pro 5-iron and proceeded to hit a roping hook that landed and bounced just right and made its way into the hole for an improbable eagle.
Editor's Note: This story first appeared in the June 29 issue of Golf Digest Stix.