"Toilet" was by etymology a euphemism, but is no longer understood as such. As old euphemisms have become the standard term, they have been progressively replaced by newer ones, an example of the euphemism treadmill at work.
"Practically anyone famous for his knowledge can be offered up as the virtuoso in this tale... Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, George Washington, the electrical genius Charles Proteus Steinmetz... How long this story has been around is a mystery."
Well, perhaps a hole in one is a bigger deal for amateurs, so they are more likely to honour the tradition. The article give the odds of getting a hole in one as 7,500 to 1 for a pro and 12,500 for an amateur, which doesn't seem like a huge difference, but presumably pros will play so much more they'll get many more holes in one.
I would guess the main reason is that it would be too gruesome for anyone watching the execution. Also, decapitation seems almost like desecrating the condemned person's corpse, which might be considered a cruel and unusual punishment even for someone considered to be deserving of the death penalty.
This just isn't true. In today's game it's very common for a player with the ball, in the area, to go down after the slightest contact from an opposing player, rather than stay on their feet and shoot.