What is an eagle in golf?
An eagle is a score of two strokes under par on a single hole. On a par 4, that means holing out in two. On a par 5, three. It's rarer than a birdie and more achievable than an albatross, and it always gets a reaction.
An eagle sits between a birdie (one under) and an albatross (three under) on the scoring ladder. On a par 3 it means a hole in one. On a par 4 it means holing out in two, which usually means a long approach shot or a holed chip. On a par 5 it means reaching the green in two and sinking the putt - that's the route most golfers will see.
The name follows the bird theme golf borrowed for under-par scores in the 1890s — it's bigger than a birdie, which is why it got the bigger bird. A birdie came first, and the bigger birds followed logically: an eagle is bigger than a birdie, an albatross bigger still.
How rare is it? We have no sourced figure for amateur golf, and any exact number you see quoted should be treated as unverified. What is not in doubt is that it is substantially rarer than a birdie and substantially more common than an albatross. Most club golfers remember every eagle they've made, which tells you something.
The eagle closes the under-par ladder in the game: par is the baseline, a birdie is one under, an eagle is two under, and an albatross is three under.
Written by Craig Fearn, The Golf Gift Co.
From the journal