Hot on the heals of the ‘Clicky Ponting’ cricket cheating scandal, a former college golfer has been identified as the figure behind one of the boldest golf cheating scandals in recent memory, after an alleged hole-in-one at WingHaven Country Club in Missouri collapsed under scrutiny.

Zach Holland, an amateur who reportedly plays off a handicap of two, was forced to resign his membership at the club after fellow members and officials uncovered what was described as an extraordinary and clumsy attempt to pass off a fake ace as real.

The episode drew condemnation around the golf world, with podcaster Dan Rapaport saying it “should be jail time”.

“This is a golfing felony,” he said on the Dan on Golf Show.

“There should be like a 90-day prison sentence for this … this is the worst cheating scandal that I’ve ever heard of.”

According to the account of what happened, Holland learned the club was offering a prize pot to any player who made a hole in one during a member tournament. Before play began, he allegedly drove to the par-three fourth hole, made a pitch mark and placed a ball in the cup.

Later, after teeing off, he told his playing partners on the third hole that he needed to take a call from his supposedly sick grandmother. He said he would move ahead to the fourth and play his shot there so the group would not be delayed.

When the others reached the green, Holland said he had “thinned” his tee shot and did not know where it had finished, though he pointed out the divot on the green. A teammate then found the ball in the hole, prompting celebrations.

That excitement did not last. Other members quickly became suspicious because nobody had actually seen the shot, and a superintendent was called in to investigate, an added complication Holland had not anticipated.

The plan unravelled when CCTV footage, while not showing the green itself, did show Holland parking near the fourth green earlier that day. A social media video about the incident soon spread widely, and Holland was identified and heavily criticised.

He later resigned his membership and went on 101 ESPN St. Louis radio program “The Morning After” to apologise.

“I made a terrible mistake, a lack of moral character,” Holland said.

He said the fallout had extended beyond him, with abusive messages being sent to him and his family, and asked that his wife and two young children not be drawn into the backlash.

“I can take the banter and the chatter and the heat because I deserve that from a golf perspective,” he said.

“What I am most worried about is my family, breaking trust with a marriage that I have had for five years next month.

“We have two kids that are under three, it’s not fair for me to put them in that situation.

“I know people say “he’s only sorry because he got caught”. That may be true at first, but the messages that are going to me – people that I’ve never met in my life, people that don’t know me, they have no clue who I am, they just want to attack.

“And I get it. I opened up the door to that. That’s fine. I can take that. But my family doesn’t deserve that.

Holland said he would “suffer the consequences” of what he had done.

“I’m not a cheater on the golf course. I made a bad decision,” he added.

“I’m just not in a great place. I’m trying to move forward and do what’s right for my family.

“I don’t need sympathy from anybody. I don’t want sympathy, I don’t deserve sympathy. I just wish people would tread lightly on my family.”

Asked what had driven him to try it, Holland pointed to the fact he was a two-shot handicap, though he acknowledged that was “not an excuse”.

“There really is no motivation – just complete stupidity,” he said.

“We were giving two shots back to the field, and that’s not an excuse. There’s no excuse for what happened.

“I went about it just completely and utterly the wrong way.”

WingHaven Country Club said the matter is over from its perspective. Nathan Charnes, acting president of the PGA of America and the club’s general manager, also commented on the case.

“We care deeply about the integrity of the game and the experience we provide for our members and guests,” Charnes told GOLF.com.

“Because this situation involved the actions of an individual and has been resolved, we consider it closed and have no further comment.”