The aim of golf is simple: get the ball in the hole in as few attempts as possible.
So what would happen if a golfer decided to employ the exact opposite tactic, and take as many attempts as possible on each hole? Well that was the dilemma that the PGA Tour faced in 1957.
Four players decided to shoot as high a score as possible at the Kentucky Derby Open.
What happened next was an accusation of “brainwashing”, a score of 17 on one hole and four suspensions. Here’s the story.
Why four PGA Tour players were suspended for deliberately shooting high scores
The four golfers in question were Don January, George Bayer, Ernie Vossler, and Doug Higgins, who were all rooming together for the 1957 Kentucky Derby Open.
All four golfers made the cut through 36 holes, but the trouble was that none of them particularly wanted to be there. The four players didn’t stand a realistic chance of winning through two rounds, and wanted to drive down to Texas for their next event.
They asked for permission to pull out of the event, but the PGA Tour, understandably, said no. Outside of injury, illness, or extenuating circumstances, if you make the cut, you finish the event. Wanting to hit the road a couple of days earlier didn’t fall into those categories.
So what did these players do? Did they knuckle down, get to work and attempt to climb the leaderboard? Not exactly.
How long should an 18 hole round of golf take?
January and Higgins both scored 10s on a hole, showing such little effort that it was deemed deliberate. Vossler shot 46 on the back nine, the least obvious of the four but still clearly deliberate.
And Bayer played so badly that he was accused of “brainwashing” the other three by the chairman of the tournament committee, Bob Toski. On the par-four 17th hole, Bayer chipped the ball down the entire length of the fairway and ended up with a 17 on the hole.
Hilariously, their plan worked. The players were removed from the tournament, and they headed to Texas.
However, the next day, the tour handed out 30-day suspensions for each player. After the quartet’s fervent apologies, the punishment was changed to a $250 fine and 90 days of probation.
Highest score on a single hole in PGA Tour history
Amazingly, even by chipping his ball down the fairway, Bayer failed to break the record for the highest score on a single hole in PGA Tour history. That accomplishment is shared by three players: Dale Douglass, Hans Merrell, and Ray Ainsley.
Ainsley was the first to do the honours at the 1938 US Open. he hit the ball into a creek, and not knowing the rules, he thought he had to play the ball as it lies. He kept trying to hit the ball out of the water, but the flow of the stream continued to take the ball further from the hole!
Merrell’s was arguably more impressive because his occurred on a par three at Cypress Point. During the now-called Pebble Beach Pro-Am, his tee shot didn’t make it to the ocean on the famous 16th hole.
Instead, it fell down to the beach, and Merrell tried to chip the ball onto the green from there, making it the world’s tallest bunker shot. Predictably, he failed, and he ended up in thick vegetation. From there, he’d score a 19.
Pebble Beach claimed another victim in 1963. This time, it was the 10th hole that brought a 19 out of Douglass. His tee shot went into a nook on the cliffside, and hitting it out saw the ball roll onto the beach.
By the time he’d put the ball back onto the fairway, he was taking his 15th stroke, and he hit the bunker, chipped it on, and two-putted for 19.