A hole-in-one is quite possibly the most rare and sought after accomplishment in all of sports, so when you get one on video, the moment is made that much more special.
Footage of hole-in-ones are usually reserved for PGA Tour (and LIV Golf) professionals, since each and every one of their shots are usually being covered for whatever tournament is happening that week. So when a non-professional gets their once-in-a-lifetime golf shot on camera, it’s a truly special video, but is also naturally met with some skepticism from viewers.
That brings us to social media influencer and amateur golfer Paige Spiranac’s latest video, who recently participated in a “hole-in-one challenge” and posted the results of event to her YouTube channel.
In the video, Spiranac had 50 shots from the same tee box to the same green to see if she could make a hole-in-one, and after 14 minutes, she made it in on her 48th attempt.
Take a look at the video of it below:
Pretty impressive right?
The only problem was that the way the video was put together wasn’t all that convincing, with the footage switching back and forth between Paige and the ball on the green as it rolls towards the hole. There was no consistent camera shot that took all doubt out of the equation.
So naturally, people on social media flooded the video with comments questioning the validity of Spiranac’s hole-in-one:
The power of editing
— Edward F French IV (@FrenchThisTwice) December 14, 2023
Its the green side camera angle makes it look sus. If the camera was on the backside and people could see you swinging and see the ball from tee to hole 100% with no camera cuts, it’d be no question.
— Steven Kannon (@aKannon47) December 14, 2023
So you had a camera on the tee AND on the green positioned just right to catch that ball rolling right into the hole , at the exact moment your “hole in one”happened? Fascinating
— Just Mike (@JD24hours) December 14, 2023
There was enough chatter about it on social media and in the comments of the full YouTube video that Paige decided to put out a statement. Spiranac took to her X (formerly Twitter) account to say:
“A bunch of comments calling my hole in one fake. It’s real and spectacular. But jokes aside, anyone in the golf industry knows our careers would be over if we ever faked a hole in one video.
No one would ever be dumb enough to risk that. We take pride in showing genuine reactions. The good and bad.”
Do you think it’s real or fake? Honestly, I think I’d have to agree with one of the social media comments above. If there was one camera angle that showed both her swinging and the ball landing on the green and rolling its way into the hole, there would be no argument against the hole-in-one’s authenticity.
You can view the full YouTube video of the hole-in-one challenge below, that way you can figure out if you are on “team real” or “team fake” (the golf shot, that is):
