The Rarest of Birds......

[Jeff_Brauer]

Took off early to play 9 holes with my son at Cowboys.  First hole, 520 yard, par 5....what does he do?  Holes it from about 220 for a 2.  Despite some fatherly advice, counseling him to quit while 3 under, he went on, and ended up 1 under.


I saw the par breaker thread, not qualified to contribute, but was thinking about that.  How many have made the Albatross or even seen one?

[Pete_Pittock]

Think we have a left handed Australian.  I did witness an albatross ruined by a OB tee shot.

[Jim Hoak]

I once had a 2 on the par 5 Second Hole of Pebble Beach.  Thought I had a 230 yard shot, so I took a 3-wood from the cart.  Got to my ball and found it was only 210 yards, but I was too lazy to walk back to the cart.  So I swung easy and it went in.  Is there a lesson there?

[Jon Wiggett]

I have made 4 which I can remember three on par 5s and one on a par 4


Jon

[Niall C]

Jeff

That's a nice story. I suspect seeing your son have an albatross must have been just as good if not even better than having one yourself. Presumably now you'll be bankrolling him for the PGA tour ? 

Niall

[Rob Marshall]

I have made 4 which I can remember three on par 5s and one on a par 4


Jon

4 double Eagles, that's amazing. Hit the pin and left it on the lip. None for me.

[Matthew Mollica]

Jonathan Becker played Royal Melbourne West and Kingston Heath on the same day. Warm summer weather. Perfect day really. He carded an albatross on the par 5 7th at KH. Driver 6 iron, and the second shot never left the flag. I'm not sure I've ever enjoyed a shot quite as much as I did that 6 iron.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have had two. The first came at Fort Meade in Maryland. It was on number mine on the Applewood Course. I hit driver two iron on the 490 yard par five. I was playing alone but the superintendent, Sergeant Jones, was at the green and saw it.
The second was at Frenchman' Creek in Florida. Hit driver driver.

[Brad Tufts]

I've witnessed one, a random playing partner on #7 at the Nicklaus course at Pinehills in Plymouth, MA from about 240 or so.  Ive had a few close calls with second shots on par fives but none for me.

I have had two eagles in a row twice though...once at Falcon Crest in ID, once at Streamsong Blue (12/13?...the 300y par four and uphill par five).

[Ken Fry]

I was doing a pseudo playing lesson with a young man when we reached the course's first par 5.  After a tee shot that ended under a tree, I lined up my second shot only to have the ball move.  Using it as a teaching moment, I showed my student the proper way to replace the ball and take my penalty stroke.  I proceeded to hole out the next shot.  I reminded my student I just made a very good eagle.

Ken

[Steve Lang]

   Once, but then I woke up in a cold sweat!

[Jon Heise]

Yikes.  I have bad dreams. 


Blackstone in Marengo, IL.  First par 5 on the back.  I hit a strong drive and I'm at about 245.  Pull the 3w.  Put it back.  Lay up with a 6i.  Grab the 3w again and roll one right in.  The pin and the horizon met perfectly, and I didnt see it but knew it was in.  LAME!


Also have seen one other.  Young guy and gramps.  Junior drops one in and goes crazy. 

[David Davis]

Moral of this story is while extremely rare it's usually the very good players that have this happen. JB is like a low single figure hcp and Jon is a pro.


The average hack can't hit it that far that straight so the odds of that happening must be astronomical for anyone above say a 10 hcp, though I don't know the stats.


Never come close myself but did just have my first hole in 1 at Dormie Club a couple weeks ago so I'm pacing myself. One step at a time.

[A.G._Crockett]

Jeff, that will be a better memory as the years go by than if you had made one yourself!  Congrats to you both.

I've never had one, never seen one, and only have one friend who even claims to have made one.  I play a LOT of golf with a lot of good golfers, and I've had 5 aces (not counting holing out on a par 3 after a re-tee for a one/net three).  In my mind at least, that speaks to the difficulty of the task.

Someday...

[Thomas Dai]

Except if there's abnormally hard or downhill ground or helpful wind condition unless you can hit it 475 yds minimum in 2 shots you have no chance.
Congratulations to those who've had one though.
Atb

[Adrian_Stiff]

Never had an albatross, never seen a playing partner have, one or even seen one live, though I played in a competition where someone did have one. We get one every couple of years at our club 36 holes and we have 8 par 5 holes. Think it happens about twice a year on tour. About half the pro's I know have had one, David Ray has had 3, Kelvin Aitken has had 2 and Gordon Brand jnr has only had 1. A Somerset Amateur Rodney Hare has had 8 he is a member at Weston, and the 8th and 13th though fives are probably drive and a short irons downwind, so that probably helps his tally.

[Ari Techner]

I have 2 myself one at the course near where I went to college while skipping orientation and one at Franklin Hills CC on 11.  The spot I hit that shot from is now a bunker added by Ron Pritchard during the restoration.

[James Brown]

Closest I ever got was making my first eagle when I was a teenager playing with my dad by holing a 70 yard wedge on a par five. 

[Pat Burke]

I have three.
One on a par five, where I could see the flag and hit a nice shot, very fun.


Two on par fours that were blind, and not only could I not see the green, we couldn't see the flag. 
Had no idea where it went and on both, was looking for my ball before someone looked in the hole....pure luck

[Tim Martin]

This is Harry Nowbilski from New Britain,Connecticut who died in 2002. If some of the info contained below is not astonishing enough the lore goes that he made a bunch of double eagles in addition over a long and distinguished career. It's a great story in that "Harry the Cat" remained a true amateur his entire career.

[Wade Whitehead]

I had one in March 2016.

Last hole of the round, par five.  Hit an aggressive tee shot that carried a corner and ran out, then holed a shot from just over 200 yards.  Greens had just been aerified and were as sandy as any I've ever seen.

Shot was good the entire way, downwind high draw that landed skipped left, and disappeared.  Playing partner said "I would have been more impressed, but I've seen that before."  He made one about fifteen years ago.

Aside from that, I've never seen one, though I haven't seen that many holes in one either.

WW

[John McCarthy]

In the almost category, 3 of my five very close calls for holes in one have been in short par 4s. 

[Mark Chaplin]

Not quite a double eagle but a good friend holed his second this week on the 17th at TOC playing a match against the R&A.

[Noel Freeman]

I had an Albatross at Littlestone in August 2010. 7th hole-- 510 yards or so.  Hook wind, I hit a push draw that just came up short of the ditch.  I think hit a running approach that threaded the needle right into the hole for a 2.  My playing partner called the shot before it went in.


The interesting thing is this.  Flew to NYC the first flight the next morning and then went out to Yale Golf Club where I proceeded to ace the 9th hole (Biarritz) with the assistant pro and two others witnessing.  So in 20 holes I had the albatross and the ace in subsequent days--Curiously the assistant pro also called it in the hole like at Littlestone before it went in)--  I had a mathematician I worked with calculate the odds (given the success of doing this on back to back days and the rarity of them) as something astronomical.


Finally given that run of luck, I played the lottery (I'm not joking) and randomly got 4 numbers. When I saw I hit the first two numbers I cannot explain the feeling I had inside but alas that ticket still was a winner (some cash)..

http://www.linksgolfcourses.com/photos/littlestone-golf-club-7th-hole

[Matthew Rose]

I have seen my brother make one, at Sullivan CC in Missouri, but I have not had one myself.


But I'm still up 2-0 on him on aces.