
What's better than an eagle in golf?
What’s Better Than An Eagle In Golf? That would be double-eagle or albatross – a continuation of birdie and eagle in golf. So albatross or double-eagle is 3-under par. And it’s supposed to be an even more infrequent or rarer occurrence in the game of golf, hence even more celebratory.
What are the odds on getting an eagle in golf?
The hierarchy of avian terms for golf holes is this:
- Birdie: 1-under on a hole
- Eagle: 2-under on a hole
- Double eagle (or albatross): 3-under on a hole
What percentage of golfers have made an eagle?
Ridiculously hard. A hole in one on a par three is the most common eagle made by average recreational golfers…which is about 1–2% of all golfers in any particular year. The most common type of eagle among championship quality golfers is making a three on a par 5.
How do you score an eagle in golf?
Wyatt Buckholdt led the Eagles with a score of 43 and his teammate Kaiden Rodenburg shot a 46 to finish runner-up. Underwood's Danny Stein shot a 48, Walter Ausdemore finished with a 48, Will Tiarks carded a 59 and Owen Larsen tallied a 59.

What does eagle mean in golf terms?
2-under parAn eagle in golf is a score that is achieved when you are 2-under par. For example, you need to do it in one stroke to score an “eagle” on a par-3 hole and two strokes on a par-4 hole. An eagle is a good indicator of advanced gameplay and is typically not achieved until the professional level.
What is eagle and birdie in golf?
A birdie is a score of 1-under par on a hole (for example, scoring 4 on a par-5). A bogey is 1-over par on a hole. An eagle is 2-under par on a hole. A double bogey is 2-over par on a hole. A double eagle (very rare) is 3-under par (also called an "albatross").
Is an eagle the highest in golf?
An eagle in golf represents a score of two under par for a hole. Par for each hole can range from 3 to 5, so for a par 3, you would need to hit a hole-in-one. An eagle is challenging but attainable for advanced golfers.
How rare is a eagle in golf?
Eagles Are Very Rare, Even For Professional Golfers He made 18 eagles over 2,124 holes (0.85% of holes). While Sungjae Im had the most eagles in 2019, Martin Laird made the most eaglesper holes played.
What is a falcon in golf?
"Five under"/"falcon"/"quadruple eagle" - five strokes under par. "Four under"/"condor"/"triple eagle" - four strokes under par. "Three under"/"albatross"/"double eagle" - three strokes under par. "Eagle" - two strokes under par. "Birdie" - one stroke under par.
What is the first shot in golf called?
The first stroke, usually a pitch, a bunker shot or a chip, gets the ball 'up' onto the green, and the subsequent putt gets the ball 'down' into the hole. A variation is called “up and in”.
Is an eagle a hole-in-one?
Eagles on par-4 holes are much rarer because they require either driving the green and 1-putting, or holing out an approach shot from the fairway. Note that an eagle on a par-3 hole is a hole-in-one. And you can call a par-3 ace either an "eagle" or a "hole-in-one;" both terms are correct.
What is an ostrich in golf?
Supposedly, this is the name assigned to completing a hole having struck the ball five fewer times than par. In other words, this is what happens when you hole-out a Par 7 with two strokes or shoot a Hole-In-One on a Par Six. Frankly, this is a case of folklore.
What is the difference between an eagle and a hole-in-one?
Definition of an Eagle If you holed your ball in three shots on a par-5, that's considered an eagle. Another eagle would be if you holed your ball in two shots on a par-4. A hole-in-one on a par-3 is also considered an eagle, but is almost always referred to as a hole-in-one.
Is an eagle hard in golf?
An eagle can be either a score of 1 on a par 3 (also known as a hole in one), a 2 on a par 4, or a 3 on a par 5. Eagles are extremely rare and are a cause for celebration. Par is the number that represents the number of strokes on a golf hole it should take a golfer to get the ball in the hole from start to finish.
How many eagles Does Tiger Woods have?
Tiger Woods has 29 eagles in his career.NAMEEVENTSEAGLESTiger Woods14529
Why are golf shots named after birds?
Used to score one under par. It began to be used in 1899 in New Jersey. It turns out that on one game day, three golfers were playing when one of them, on his second stroke, hit a bird in flight with the ball and it landed very, very close to the hole. The teammates said it was a stroke of luck for a 'birdie'.
What is 4 birdies in a row called?
1 = Strike. 2 = Double. 3 = Turkey or Gobbler. 4 = Hambone. 5 = Recently heard referred to as yatzee or five bagger.
What is 4 under par in golf called?
Condor is an unofficial name for a hole score of four strokes fewer than par (four under par, −4). A condor is also known as a double albatross, or a triple eagle. This is the lowest individual hole score ever made, relative to par.
What is 3 shots under par called?
Albatross. An albatross is—you guessed it—a term for three under par. Like the bird itself, achieving an albatross in golf is rare indeed.
What is albatross in golf?
Albatross: This term means three under par, but the "double eagle" synonym is simply a continuation of the aviary theme of good scores. The albatross is rare, as is a three under par.
Why Is It Called Eagle In Golf?
According to the H.B. Martin book Fifty Years of American Golf, the eagle golf term traces its roots back to Atlantic City in the early 1900s.
How Do You Mark an Eagle on a Golf Scorecard?
When you card an eagle, you mark the score down and add two circles around it. Below I go into more detail on scoring an eagle on a par 3, 4, and 5.
How Rare Is An Eagle In Golf?
In golf, eagles are not especially common, as the best chance you have at making one is on a short par 5, where the green is reachable in two shots. That chance may only come around once in 18 holes for the longer hitters, as not all par 5s are short enough to reach in two.
What Is Better Than An Eagle In Golf?
If you card an albatross, it works out to 3 under par. In the more than two decades that I have played golf, I have only had the pleasure of witnessing an albatross once.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the meaning of an eagle in golf is a score of 2 under the par on a specific hole. That means on a par 3, you need to bag a hole-in-one, and on a par 4, you need to sink your second shot.
What does it mean to be an eagle in golf?
Definition. Eagle, as defined in golf, is a score of two strokes under par on a hole. As a verb, to eagle is to shoot 2-under par on any given hole.
What is a hole in one?
Hole-in-One. Often, when a hole-in-one is recorded, that shot doubles as an eagle. That is because most holes-in-one take place on par-3 holes. Should a golfer hole in on the tee shot, that golfer would record a 1, recording 2-under par on the hole.
What is the meaning of the word "eagle" in golf?
According to Scottish golf lore, the term eagle was coined as an extension of the term birdie. It was coined as a way of saying big birdie, since an eagle is such a large bird.
Can you record an eagle on a par 4?
This is because, should a golfer hit two long shots to start the hole, that player then can be faced with a long putt or chip on his third shot. Should the golfer hole that shot, he records an eagle. To do so on a par-4 is quite difficult as it requires holing in on the second shot.
Can you hit a hole in one on par 4?
This is only possible on par-4 or longer holes. On par-4s, it requires a golfer to hit a hole-in-one, which almost never happens. On par-5s, it requires a golfer to hole her second shot, which, again, is an extremely rare occurrence.
What Does Eagle Mean In Golf?
How many shots is an eagle? Eagle means that you have scored 2 shots less than the set par for the hole. This relates to a 3 on a par 5, a 2 on a par 4, and an ace (hole-in-one) on a par 3.
An Eagle In Golf Good or Bad?
Eagle in golf scoring is much rarer than scoring birdies and affects the number of shots related to par. If under par, the score will get further while a score of over par will reduce closer to par.
How Rare Is An Eagle In Golf?
Scoring an eagle on the various par holes differ with an eagle on a par 3 being the least common as it requires one shot to get the ball into the hole.
What's Better Than An Eagle In Golf?
Eagle is not the best that you can score on a hole though, staying with the avian theme, you can score a three-under-par double eagle (also known as an Albatross in Europe) while a rare 4-under par score on a hole is known as a Condor.
Eagle Name Origin In Golf
According to the USGA, the term Eagle is, as the term birdie, American in origin, and retains the avian theme for scores below par.
What Is an Eagle in Golf?
Before you learn what an Eagle is, let’s discuss the par. It is important to note that a hole’s par is the number of strokes it is standard for putting that particular hole. For example, for a par 3 hole, it means that it should take 3 shots for professional golfers to get the golf ball inside such a hole.
Why Is It Called an Eagle?
The golfing terminology Eagle comes from another term, ‘birdie,’ which comes from American golfers. In the book “Fifty Years of American Golf,” H. B. Martin provided an account of a golf match played in the Country Club of Atlantic City, New Jersey.
How to Score an Eagle in Golf
If a golfer gets a hole in one (as in, putting the hole with just one stroke) for a par 3 hole, then it is an eagle too. This is because for a par 3 hole, getting a hole in one means the score is two below the par.
Strategies and Skills Required
You have to increase your skill level by practicing your strokes to get eagles. If you are an amateur golfer, start by practicing birdie and using maximum power in your strokes. Also, hone your maneuvering skills with a golf club you’re comfortable with.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, it does not. But you can call it descriptive names, such as two strokes under par on a hole.
What Does An Eagle Mean In Golf: Conclusion
I hope by now you have a very clear answer to ‘ What is an eagle in golf ?’ Throughout this article, we have covered a range of examples where you can make eagles during your golf rounds.
What was the game of golf called?
A game similar to golf was played by the Romans as early as 100 BC. It was called paganica and used bent sticks to hit around a leather ball. Of course, the Chinese had another version of golf called chuíw án. It was popular in the Song Dynasty from 960-1279.
What is a bogey in golf?
You might even blame your poor performance on the “Bogey man” who is indeed out to get you! So not surprisingly, a bogey is when you score one shot more than par (+1). So, for example, on a 3-par hole, you finished by hitting the ball four times.
What is the meaning of the bird name "Albatross"?
image source: Pexels. The bird theme continues with the golf term albatross which has been used to refer to a score three under par (-3). Another term with the same meaning is the double eagle. Whichever bird name you use, three under par is a difficult score to obtain and frankly impossible on a 3-par hole.
What is par in golf?
Par is derived from the stock exchange term that a stock may be above or below its normal or 'par' figure. In 1870, Mr AH Doleman, a golf writer, asked the golf professionals David Strath and James Anderson, what score would win 'The Belt', then the winning trophy for 'The Open', at Prestwick, where it was first held annually from 1861 to 1870. Strath and Anderson said that perfect play should produce a score of 49 for Prestwick's twelve holes. Mr Doleman called this 'par' for Prestwick and subsequently Young Tom Morris won with a score of two strokes 'over par' for the three rounds of 36 holes.
What are the three terms used in golf?
There is quite a history behind the golfing terms bogey, par, birdie, eagle and albatross. Bogey and par were central to the development of handicapping, pioneered by the LGU. The modern meaning of three of the terms - bogey, birdie and eagle - comes from their use in USA. Bogey Par Birdie Eagle Albatross.
What is the bogey score?
Here Comes the Bogey Man", which was popular at that time. So at Yarmouth and elsewhere the ground score became known as the bogey score. A 'bogle' was a Scottish goblin as far back as the 16th Century and a Bogey-man was a widely used term for a goblin or devil.
What is the meaning of the eagle in golf?
Eagle. "Eagle", a score of two under par for a given hole, was clearly the extension of the theme of birds for good scores from a " birdie " . It would be natural for American golfers to think of the eagle, which is their national symbol and the term seems to have developed only shortly after the 'birdie'.
What is the term for three under par?
Albatross is the term for three under par and is a continuation of the birdie and eagle theme, but is in fact a British term. Ab Smith said his group used the phrase 'double eagle' for three under ( see Birdie above ), which is still the term most Americans and the name for their Double Eagle Club (membership by invitation only).
When was the par standard first used?
Although the first noted use of the word "par" in golf was in Britain and predates the bogey, today's rating system does not and the par standard was not further developed until later. It was the Ladies Golf Association, who, from 1893, began to develop a national handicapping system for women.
When was the first birdie hole?
The Atlantic City Club date the event to 1903. The First Birdie Hole, Courtesy of Atlantic City County Club. By 1913, the term had crossed the Atlantic and Bernard Darwin writing in the September 1913 issue of Country Life of a visit to the USA said.

The Scores Needed to Make An Eagle
Why Is It called An 'Eagle'?
- Now we know what an eagle is ... but why is it called "eagle"? Where does that specific term come from? "Eagle" is used because it followed "birdie" in the golf lexicon. Birdie, meaning 1-under par on a hole, came first. Once birdie was established, golfers simply stuck with the avian theme and added "eagle" for 2-under on a hole. The bigger question is where that bird theme came from in t…
Other Forms of 'Eagle' Used by Golfers
- Golfers also use the term "eagle" as part of a couple other related expressions. For example, an "eagle putt" is any putt that, if the golfer makes it, results in a score of eagle. So if you are on the green in two strokes on a par-5, your first putt attempt is an "eagle putt" because if you make it, you'll have an eagle. And there's "double eagle"...