An amateur golfer says he has “completely made a fool” of himself after admitting he faked making a hole-in-one at a tournament in the United States.

Zach Holland was due to play in a two-person team competition at WingHaven Country Club in Missouri when he fraudulently placed the ball in the cup at the fourth hole earlier in the morning, before his round.

Holland, who is a plus-two handicap, had completed the first three holes when he told his group he was going to have to take a phone call as his grandmother was ill, so he would run ahead to the next tee and hit his shot first to keep up with the pace of play.

When the rest of the group arrived at the par-three fourth, Holland said he had taken his shot, but claimed not to know where the ball had ended up.

When they found it in the cup, the group celebrated what they thought was a hole-in-one.

Speaking to radio station 101 ESPN, external in St Louis, Holland, who has now resigned his membership, said: “You do something as dumb as I did, there are consequences for that.”

The member-member tournament – where both players must be official members of the same golf club or organisation – includes a hole-in-one prize pot.

When asked what the motivation was, Holland replied: “I don’t really know. I’ve talked to people and there really is no motivation, just complete stupidity.

“We were giving two shots back to the field – and that’s not an excuse, there is no excuse for what happened. But to answer your question, we were giving two shots back to the field, and I went about it just completely and utterly the wrong way.”

Nathan Charnes, the acting PGA of America president and general manager at WingHaven, said in a statement to Golf.com, external the club had “promptly addressed the matter”, adding they “care deeply about the integrity of the game and the experience we provide for our members and guests”.

Holland’s achievement drew scepticism in the clubhouse, as there were no witnesses who saw him do it. He finally admitted to what he had done when confronted by staff, who had security footage of him driving a car near the fourth hole before his tee time.

He did confirm, however, there was no footage of him actually placing the ball in the cup.

Holland, who is a former college golfer, continued: “I made a terrible mistake, the lack of moral character. I can take the banter and the chatter because I deserve that from a golf perspective.

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

“We have two kids that are under three and you know, it’s not fair to them for me to put them in that situation where they walk in a room, there is a stigma there that your dad [is a cheater].”

Holland was also asked had he ever done anything like this before. “No, not to this extent,” he said.

When pushed to explain what he meant, he replied: “I’m not a cheater on the golf course. I made a bad decision and I have to suffer the consequences”, before adding he was trying to move forward and protect his family.