Tradition of skipping golf balls across 16th hole during Masters practice rounds actually started with this guy

AUGUSTA, Ga. —  The innovator of the 16th hole skip returned Tuesday to Augusta National.

Fifty-two years ago, Gary Cowan was playing a practice round with Ben Crenshaw when the pair reached No. 16 tee. Cowan, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, turned to Gentle Ben and said, “Watch this.”

The Canadian skipped a 3-iron across the water, starting a Masters tradition that has lasted half a century.

On Tuesday, Cowan returned to the 16th hole and, alongside countrymen Mike Weir and Corey Conners, shot a pellet across the pond.

“Ben couldn’t believe what I was doing,” said Cowan, reflecting on 1972.
Many Masters traditions have indisputable timelines, such as the creation of the Champions Dinner in 1952, or Sam Snead being awarded the first green jacket in 1949. Other tales have gained legs over time without a surefire genesis.

One such custom is skipping balls over the pond at No. 16.

Ken Green and Mark Calcavecchia claimed to have started the tradition in 1987, until Lee Trevino and Seve Ballesteros one-upped the pair by saying they did it in the early 1980s. Then came photographs of Tom Kite mastering the feat in 1979.

But Cowan, now 85-years-old, with Crenshaw’s backing, believes he was the first in 1972. The Masters official website also credits with Cowan for being the first.

“I was there. It happened,” Crenshaw said. “Gary used a 3-iron, put the ball back in his stance and bam, skipped it straight across the water.”

With Ben’s urging, Cowan successfully knocked three over before Crenshaw – competing in his first Masters – tried to duplicate the achievement to no avail.

A first try went kerplunk. Then a second.

“Ben was playing it too much like a chip,” Cowan said. “I told him, ‘Hit it hard and low,’ and sure enough his third one skipped right across. The crowd went crazy.”

For Cowan, skipping balls over bodies of water had become a favorite childhood game in Kitchener, Ontario. The member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame said, “I always liked to horse around.” So when he got to the 16th tee box, Cowan didn’t think twice about dropping a ball and skimming it at Augusta National.

“Did I think I’d get in trouble?” Cowan asked. “You know, that never crossed my mind.”

Skipping balls across the water to the 16th green