Zach Holland has resigned from WingHaven Country Club in Missouri after admitting he faked a hole-in-one during a tournament. The college golfer placed a ball in the cup before play, then told his group he had hit the ace. Security footage later showed him near the fourth green before his tee time, exposing the trick. Holland later admitted what he had done during an interview with 101 ESPN St. Louis, saying, “There’s no excuse for what I did, and I was completely in the wrong.” The incident has brought questions about his standing among golfers.
How Zach Holland’s fake hole-in-one was exposed
The incident happened at the par-3 fourth hole during a WingHaven tournament with a hole-in-one prize pot. On the morning of the event, Holland told his playing partners that his grandmother had fallen and was being taken to hospital. He said he might need to take a call and would move ahead.Holland later returned and said he had “thinned” his tee shot and could not see where it landed. His partners found a Titleist in the cup and believed he had made an ace. At 8.20am, Holland posted in a group chat: “Holy s***. He shoots, he scores.”The story changed when players noticed that nobody had clearly seen the ball go into the cup. One golfer also questioned the pitch mark shown in Holland’s video. Club staff were contacted, and cameras near the fourth hole were checked.According to the Daily Mail, the footage showed Holland arriving near the fourth green at about 6.20am, well before his tee time. He got out of his vehicle, walked towards the green, disappeared from view and returned about two minutes later. The cameras did not show him placing the ball in the cup.Holland initially denied wrongdoing. After officials told him about the footage, he resigned his WingHaven membership and his team’s tournament result was removed from the standings.
Zach Holland admits mistake, worries about family backlash
Holland later spoke about the incident on 101 ESPN St. Louis. He said he had made a mistake and accepted the consequences.“You do something as dumb as I did, there are consequences for that,” Holland said. “There’s no excuse for what I did, and I was completely in the wrong.”He also said his family had faced online abuse. “What I am most worried about is my family. … 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 [cheater].”Holland, 34, played college golf at William Carey University. The St. Louis District Golf Association has also listed him as a WingHaven player and recorded tournament success with Adam Tomicich in 2025.WingHaven general manager Nathan Charnes said the club had acted quickly. “We care deeply about the integrity of the game and the experience we provide for our members and guests. Because this situation involved the actions of an individual and has been resolved, we consider it closed and have no further comment.”
