Padraig Harrington Misses All 500 Tries at Ace Challenge

Padraig Harrington spent five hours firing 500 balls at a single hole-in-one and came away empty. The three-time major champion took on the DP World Tour's "Chase the Ace" challenge, choosing the 137-yard 8th hole on the K Club's Palmer South Course in Ireland and a 5-iron for the attempt.

How did Harrington's hole-in-one attempt go?

Several shots landed within eight feet of the pin, but the ace never came. Harrington filmed the full attempt for a 28-minute YouTube video, released ahead of his start this week at the Amgen Irish Open, where he is playing his 31st consecutive edition of the event — a DP World Tour record.

"I cannot believe I did not have a hole-in-one," Harrington said. The odds of an ace from that yardage run roughly 2,500 to 1, and Harrington said an early mistake with club selection cost him before he adjusted partway through the session.

What did Harrington learn about hitting 500 balls in one day?

Harrington took mostly a single practice swing per shot and needed a 20-minute break to let two groups play through. He said the toll settles any claim from players who say they hit 1,000 or more balls in one range session — by his estimate, sustaining more than about 100 swings an hour for five straight hours is already exhausting, and his swing speed suffered for three or four days afterward.

Despite the fatigue, Harrington said he would take on the challenge again, floating the idea of trying it at Adare Manor, the 2027 Ryder Cup venue, where he is in the field for this week's Irish Open.

Five hundred golf shots in five hours is a workload, not a highlight reel.