It’s not a shame to admit when you don’t know something and try to learn it. Golf has never really been our thing, so when we read that Rafael Nadal made a hole-in-one on hole 14, leaving white bars, we knew it was something impressive, but then came the question: What did he actually do?

A hole-in-one (also called an ace) is when a golfer hits the ball from the tee straight into the hole — in just one shot. No bouncing across the fairway, no putting, no second chances. Just one swing, one shot, one glorious plop. It’s a mix of skill, focus, precision and yes, a fair bit of luck. Even professional golfers can go their whole careers without scoring one.

We looked up some general hole-in-one facts, from the National Hole In One Registry.

• There are approximately over 500 million rounds of golf played each year in the United States
• On average each course has about 25,000 – 30,000 rounds played each year
• Each course reports 10-15 hole in ones each year
• A hole in one is scored once every 3,500 golf rounds
• Odds of making a hole in one is 1:3500
• Only 1-2% of golfers score a hole in one during the year
• Average years of playing is 24
• Average handicap of golfers making hole in one is 14
• Age group that makes the most holes in one is 50-59 (25%) and the next highiest is 40-49 (24%)
• Ball used most often is Titleist (45%), Nike (14%), and Top Flite (11%)
• A Hole in One on a par four is called an Albatross

Golf media quickly picked up on Rafa’s impressive shot and he proudly shared the moment on Instagram. A tennis legend scoring an ace on the golf course? Naturally, it went viral.