In Japan, almost half of all golfers have hole-in-one insurance (and there’s a good reason for that)

In almost every culture on earth, holes-in-one are celebrated. Golfers wait their entire lives in anticipation of an elusive ace, and when one finally drops, it’s a joyous occasion. Japan, however, is different. Very different. In fact, in Japan, over 40% of golfers are insured against making an ace. We’ll let ‘Adventures in Golf’ host and citizen of earth Erik Anders Lang explain.

Apparently in Japan, when you make a hole-in-one, you don’t just have to buy the clubhouse drinks, you have to buy everyone in your life a gift. Spouses, siblings, second cousins, mailmen. You name it. Obviously that adds up, so almost half of all golfers in the Land of the Rising Sun are insured against the potential financial catastrophe that is an unexpected ace.

Of course, the more, ahem, creative minds among us are already thinking it: Wouldn’t it be easy to just say you made a hole-in-one, pocket the claim money and live like a LIV pro for a year? Unfortunately, the insurance companies are wise to this scheme, and require comprehensive proof that you did, in fact, make an ace. They also generally only offer the policy to Japanese citizens.

So while Japan might be a very different place—especially in its treatment of holes-in-one—there is at least one similarity: