Golfer Branded a Cheat After He Used ‘Sick Grandmother’ Story to Set Up Fake Hole-in-One

One of the most bizarre cheating scandals in golf history is going viral, and it’s not just the fake hole-in-one that has people talking. What he used as cover made it so much worse.

The New York Post reported on Tuesday, August 11, that Zach Holland, a 2-handicap amateur golfer, has become “golf’s Public Enemy No. 1” after admitting he faked a hole-in-one during a members-only tournament at WingHaven Country Club in O’Fallon, Missouri, by fabricating a story about an ailing grandmother.

Holland confirmed to The Morning After in St. Louis on August 7 that he told his playing group he needed to step away for a call from his grandmother, then drove ahead to the par-3 fourth hole, planted his ball in the cup, and returned to claim a “surprise” ace.

Skepticism grew because no one had witnessed the shot, though Holland initially denied that course cameras had caught him.

“I made a terrible mistake, a lack of moral character and I can take the banter and the chatter and the heat because I deserve that from a golf perspective,” he said.

“What I am most worried about is my family. Breaking trust with a marriage I have had for what will be five years next month,” he added. “We have two kids under three and it’s not fair to them for me to put them in that situation where when they walk through a room, there is a stigma there that your dad is a [expletive].”

He has admitted the truth to WingHaven’s general manager.

“I told them I wanted to resign my membership, I don’t belong out there doing that,” he said, as reported by Breitbart.

Holland, who has faced intense backlash online, insisted the act carried no real motive. “I’m not a cheater on the golf course,” he said. “I made a bad decision and have to suffer these consequences. I’m trying to move forward the best I can. It’s been rough.”