Zach Holland — a 2-handicap amateur golfer, who played collegiately at William Carey University — resigned from his membership at WingHaven Country Club after security footage showed him faking a hole-in-one during the members-only event at the O’Fallon, Mo. course.
During a Friday interview with “The Morning After” show on 101 ESPN St. Louis, Holland said he admitted to club officials that he faked the hole-in-one and said his wife and two young children faced online vitriol.
“You do something as dumb as I did, there are consequences for that,” Holland said.
Holland explained that he placed his golf ball in the cup at the par-3 fourth hole before the start of the event, which includes a hole-in-one prize pot, and then lied to his partners.
“There’s no excuse for what I did, and I was completely in the wrong,” Holland said. “There’s really no motivation. Just complete stupidity, and we were giving two shots back to the field and that’s not an excuse. There’s no excuse for what happened.”
Zach Holland (left) resigned from his membership at WingHaven Country Club in O’Fallon, Mo. after admitting to faking a hole-in-one during a members-only event. X / ForePlayPod
After completing the first three holes with his group, Holland told his playing partners he needed to take a personal phone call, allegedly regarding his ill grandmother — and that he would tee off on the fourth hole ahead of them and meet them later on the green.
Holland eventually returned to the group and explained that he “thinned” his tee shot, but wasn’t sure where the ball landed.
That’s when his group found the ball in the cup and celebrated what they believed was a hole-in-one by Holland.
WingHaven Country Club in O’Fallon, Missouri. Facebook / WingHaven Country Club
Security footage reviewed by WingHaven staff showed Holland driving near the fourth green before his scheduled tee time, resulting in him confessing to the fake hole-in-one and resigning from the club.
“I made a bad decision, and I have to suffer the consequences,” Holland said. I’m trying to move forward as best I can and it’s been rough.”
He added that he’s worried about his family, who’ve been collateral damage due to backlash from his actions.
WingHaven Country Club in O’Fallon, Missouri. Facebook / WingHaven Country Club
“I made a terrible mistake,” Holland said. “The lack of moral character — I can take the banter and the chatter and the heat because I deserve that from a golf perspective.
“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]. So questions that they may get asked or be getting asked down the road, that’s the worst part. The golf is secondary.”
Nathan Charnes, the acting PGA of America president and general manager at WingHaven, said that the club “promptly addressed the matter” and the incident is closed.
“WingHaven Country Club is aware of the recent attention surrounding an incident involving a former member during a Club event,” Charnes told GOLF.com. “The Club promptly addressed the matter.
“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.”
