"Golfers have said that when they play well, the hole looks as big as a bucket or basketball hoop," said Jessica Witt, a psychologist at Purdue University in Indiana. "When they do not play well, they've been quoted as saying the hole looks like a dime or the inside of a donut."

Witt's team asked 46 golfers to estimate the size of the hole after playing a round of golf. From a poster, they selected one of nine black holes, ranging in size from 3.5 to 5 inches (9 to 13 cm).

In reality, the diameter of a golf hole is 4.3 inches (10.8 cm).

Those who selected larger holes had better scores on the course that day.

To clarify the results, the researchers had golfers putt on a traditional putting mat in a lab. The golfers either judged the hole size from memory after putting or did so while viewing the hole.