A Pelican in golf is one of the game's most obscure and rarest terms, representing a score of a whopping five-under par on a single hole. While golfers are familiar with birdies, eagles, and even the ultra-rare albatross, the Pelican exists in an almost mythical realm. This guide will walk you through exactly what a Pelican is, the kinds of monumental holes where it could theoretically happen, and how this score stacks up against other legendary golf achievements.
To put it simply, a Pelican is an unofficial term for scoring 5-under par on an individual golf hole. It's an extension of the aviary-themed scoring names that celebrate going under par:
Just like its feathered friends in the scoring hierarchy, the Pelican represents a massive achievement - so massive, in fact, that it’s more of a golfer’s tall tale than something you'll ever see on a PGA Tour leaderboard. For a Pelican to occur, two things need to align: an extraordinary hole and an absolutely miraculous shot.
Unlike a birdie or eagle that can happen on various holes, a Pelican is only mathematically possible on holes with a par of 6 or higher. The conditions are straightforward but unbelievably demanding:
The astronomical odds of either of these events are why no officially verified Pelican has ever been recorded in professional or amateur golf. It sits on the edge of possibility, a term reserved for the ultimate "what if" scenario on a golf course.
For most golfers, a par-5 is the longest hole they will ever encounter, typically measuring between 450 and 600 yards. The idea of a par-6 or par-7 seems like something from a video game. But these leviathans do exist at a handful of courses around the globe, created specifically to test a player's power, strategy, and endurance to the absolute limit.
The USGA doesn't have official guidelines for a par-6, but the generally accepted standard suggests a hole must be over 670 yards for men and over 570 for women. These holes are designed to be reached in four shots by a scratch golfer, with two putts for a par. Hitting the green in three shots is an excellent accomplishment, but a hole-in-one? That falls into the "once-in-a-billion-lifetimes" category.
Examples of real par-6 holes include:
Par-7 holes are even rarer, pushing the boundaries of course design and player capability. A recognized par-7 in the world is the 3rd hole at the Jeongeup Course at Gunsan Country Club in South Korea. Measuring an astounding 1,097 yards (1,004 meters), this hole is a journey. To score a 2 on this hole - thereby carding a Pelican - a player would need to hit two consecutive shots of over 500 yards each, with the second one finding the cup. It's safe to say this feat belongs purely in the realm of theory.
To appreciate the sheer improbability of a Pelican, it’s helpful to see it on a scale of other rare golf achievements. Think of it as a pyramid, with the most common scores at the bottom and the rarest at the top.
Let's climb the ladder of golf's big-time scores:
This is an achievable thrill for many skilled amateur golfers and is relatively common on the professional tours. It typically happens by making a 2 on a short par-4 or holing out a second shot on a par-5.
Now we're getting into something special. An albatross is most often a hole-in-one on a par-4 or, far more commonly, a 2 on a par-5. A professional golfer could have an entire career without making one. The odds are estimated to be somewhere around 6 million to 1. Notable albatrosses, like Gene Sarazen's "shot heard 'round the world" at the 1935 Masters, are etched into golf history forever.
This is where we leave verified reality behind and enter the land of legend. A Condor is a hole-in-one on a par-5. Because no par-5 hole is straight or short enough to be driven, a Condor requires a shot that breaks all known rules of physics and luck. Imagine a tee shot on a dramatic dogleg, cutting over trees, landing on a cart path, rocketing toward the green downhill, and finding its way into the hole. Only a handful of these have ever been claimed, and none in a professional, sanctioned event. Its existence is largely unsubstantiated folklore.
If a Condor is folk legend, a Pelican is pure mythology. Requiring a hole-in-one on a par-6 or a 2 on a par-7, it's a score that has never been documented. The sheer distance and logistics involved push it beyond the capabilities of even long-drive champions combined with the luck of a lottery winner.
As a coach, my job is to help golfers think smarter and execute better shots. So let’s have some fun and treat the quest for a Pelican as a coaching problem. What would it actually take?
Let's use an example: a 700-yard, relatively straight par-6. Here’s what would need to happen.
From a coaching standpoint, you can't strategize for this. There is no actionable tip. It's a miraculous sequence of events that defies any game plan.
Let's take our 1,097-yard par-7 in Korea. A player must get a 2 on this hole to card a Pelican.
Hitting two perfect, record-breaking shots back-to-back on the same hole is an order of magnitude more difficult than making a single hole-in-one. You're asking for lightning to strike twice in the same spot, while you're holding a golf club and winning the lottery.
The Pelican in golf is a 5-under par score on a single hole, an achievement so rare it has never been officially recorded. It exists as a fun piece of golf trivia, a testament to how far a player can dream even beyond the extremely rare albatross and condor.
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