I realize that neither is particularly common. I also realize that a hole-in-one on a par-4 (exceedingly rare, IIRC) would also be a double eagle.
So how often (roughly) do each occur on the PGA and LPGA tours? At least a few annually? My impression is that a hole-in-one is quite rare, but that a double eagle on a par-5 is truly a hand-of-God moment for a golfer.
I don’t have any statistics for you, but I agree with your impression that holes-in-one are far more common than double eagles. Just from watching PGA tournaments, I can recall several holes-in-one, but I don’t remember ever seeing a double eagle.
A typical 2nd shot on a par 5 is a 4-iron to 3-wood shot off an unlevel lie even in the fairway. That is much harder than you typical par 3 which might be simply a 9-iron off a perfect (teed-up) lie on a level tee box. But a better comparison might be an eagle on a par 4 with a hole-in-one (ie, an eagle) on a par 3. Neither of those are that uncomon and you might see one or two in the same tournament. Double eagles are quite rare.
It occurred to me that perhaps double eagles would happen on par-6 holes … but I’m not sure PGA courses have very many holes (if any) greater than par-5.
All I have is anecdotal evidence, but I am a very poor golfer. I shoot over 100 every time out save one.
And I have a hole-in-one. And I don’t think I’ve ever reached a par 5 in 2 shots.
However, I have played with someone who scored a double eagle. We thought his ball was lost until we found it in the cup.
One way to look at it is that you are bound to have more opportunities for a hole-in-one than a double eagle. Every time you tee up on a par three, you have an opportunity for a hole-in-one. On the other hand, to have a chance to hit a double eagle, you have to first hit an excellent tee shot on a par 5. So if there are roughly the same number of par 3 and par 5 holes, the hole in one would have to be more common than the double eagle. In fact, I think that there are more par 3’s than 5’s (because some courses are par 71 or 70), so that would make the double eagle even rarer.
A few years ago UK bookmakers got stung because they did not have the Straight Dope on the frequency of hole-in-ones.
From here: http://www.ildado.com/article14.html
You might find some statistics on pga.com, but here’s my take on the which you’d expect to see more of (in order):
But keep in mind that a typical golf course has 4 par 5s, 4 par 3s, and 10 par 4s. And with drives typically going 300+ yds these days, it’s pretty common for the 2nd shot on a par 4 to be a short iron or wedge. So, if you don’t compensate for the greater number of par 4s in a round, it might be that you’d see more par 4 eagles than par 3 eagles.
Interestingly enough, after a little Googling, I’ve learned that double eagles and triple eagles have their own names, much like “birdie” and “eagle”. A double eagle can be called an “albatross”; a triple eagle a “condor”.
I believe that is a British term, rarely used in the US.
I had always wondered if there was a word for a triple eagle. A condor. Cool. I hope one day to be able to use that in a pub quiz or something. Are they ever possible?
A triple eagle would be four under par. So you could either hole out your tee shot on a Par 5 or get a 2 on one of the very few Par 6 holes that exist in the world.
The 6th at Bay Hill is a par 5, and I seem to remember that someone (Hank Kuehne?) had driven the green there. It’s set up as a big dogleg left, and the straight line distance tee to green is maybe 350 or so, all over water. It’s at least conceivable that one of those long drive guys could ace that hole.
The Bay Hill site linked above has a course diagram which shows the layout of that hole.
I’ve driven that green on my computer! But it’s really big and I think I ended up with a birdie after all was said and done.
It’s also very easy to put the ball in the water.
I had a look. I can see that it would be an ambitious golfer who took that on! What do you think the etiquette would be if you aced it? Drinks on me would not cover it!
Heh. Two people have scored condors on a par 5:
That is an exclusive club. From this site: http://www.anyonefortee.com/Scoring/Birds.html