Scoring a hole-in-one is recognized by every golfer as a monumental a, but there's a shot even more impressive, more mythical, and far more rare: the tournament albatross. This article isn't just about defining a term, it's about understanding one of the most incredible feats in all of sports. We'll break down what an albatross is, just how statistically unlikely it is to make one, and relive some of the most famous ones ever scored under the brightest lights of professional golf.
An albatross is a score of three strokes under par on a single hole. It’s that simple and that difficult.
You may also hear it called a "double eagle," which is the more common term in the United States. Whether you call it an albatross or a double eagle, the score is the same. The term "albatross" is more frequently used in the UK and other parts of the world, gaining global popularity for its grand, majestic sound that seems to fit the scale of the achievement.
So, an albatross represents a tremendous jump up the leaderboard. For a player who was struggling, it can completely turn a round around. For a player in contention at a tournament, it can change the entire complexion of the event in a single swing.
To understand the "albatross" name, it helps to know how golf's bird-themed scoring system works. It’s an informal tradition that dates back to the early 20th century in America.
Since netting a three-under-par score is the goal, it can only happen on holes with a par of 4 or higher. Let's look at the two possible ways a player can achieve this remarkable feat.
This is the most "common" way to score an albatross, if you can even use that word. A par-5 hole is designed to be reached in three shots by a professional golfer. To score a 2 requires two perfect, powerful, an precision shots back-to-back.
Here’s the anatomy of a par-5 albatross:
As rare as a "2" on a par-5 is, an ace on a par-4 is on another level of impossibility. This can only happen on what is known as a "drivable" par-4. These holes are short by par-4 standards, usually measuring between 280 and 340 yards. They are designed to tempt golfers into taking a risk for the reward of possibly driving the green.
Making a hole-in-one on a par-4 requires a confluence of circumstances:
Everyone talks about the odds of making a hole-in-one, which most golf statisticians place around 12,500 to 1 for an aateur golfer. An albatross, however, sits in its own category of rarity.
While there are no official databases tracking every single double eagle made, most golf analysts and statisticians estimate the odds of making an albatross to be somewhere around 6 million to 1. To put that in perspective, you are far, far more likely to make a hole-in-one, be struck by lightning, or even win a small lottery prize an tou are to record a "2" on a par-5.
In any given year on the PGA Tour, a season that comprises thousands of players teeing it up across dozens of events, there might only be an handful of albatrosses recorded. Some years pass with only one or two. It's so infrequent that when one happens, it becomes an instant highlight reel moment, replayed for days.
The legend of the albatross is written by the players who have achieved it on the grandest stages. Here are a some of the most memorable ones ever recorded in tournament play.
This is arguably the single most important golf shot ever struck. During the final round of the second-ever Masters Tournament, Gene Sarazen was trailing the lead. Standing in the fairway on the par-5 15th hole at Augusta National, Sarazen was 235 yards from the green. He pulled a 4-wood, a primitive club compared to today's technology, and struck it perfectly.
The ball carried over the pond fronting the green, landed softly, and rolled right into the hole for an albatross. The roar from the small gallery was immense. With that one swing, Sarazen erased a three-shot deficit and tied for the lead. He would go on to win the tournament in a playoff the following day. That shot didn't just win him the tournament, it put the Masters on the aap and cemented its place as a major championship.
Nearly 80 years after Sarazen's famous shot, Augusta National witnessed another breathtaking albatross. In the final round of the 2012 Masters, South African Louis Oosthuizen stood on the fairway of the par-5 2nd hole, 253 yards away. He hit a stunning 4-iron that landed on the front of the green and began a long, dramatic journey.
The ball rolled from right to left, tracking perfectly toward the flagstick for what seemed like an eternity before dropping into the cup. It was the first-ever albatross recorded on the second hole at the Masters, and one of only four in the entire history of the event. The eruption from the crowd was a sound for the ages, a moment of pure golfing history that anyone who saw it will never forget.
Playing in the oldest major in golf, American Jeff Maggert made history during the second round of the 1994 Open Championship at Turnberry. On the par-5 17th hole, he holed a 3-iron from 222 yards for a clutch albatross. During one of golf’s toughest tests, defined by wind, rain, and deep bunkers, holing out a long iron from over 200 yards is a memory that lasts a lifetime.
This one deserves its own special mention. During the 2001 Phoenix Open, Andrew Magee came to the tee of the 332-yard 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale. Up ahead, the group in front was still on the green. Magee, not trying to actually drive the green, simply hit his driver. What happened next was pure, unpredictable chaos.
Magee's shot was on a great line. It ran up onto the green, and in a one-in-a-billion-chance moment, a shot ricocheted off the putter of Tom Byrum, one of the players in the group ahead, and deflected directly into the hole. To this day, it remains the only hole-in-one on a par-4 in the history of the PGA Tour - an "accidental" albatross that is perhaps golf's ultimate statistical anomaly.
The tournament albatross is golf at its most sensational. It combines raw power, breathtaking precision, and a healthy dose of good fortune into one unforgettable moment. More than ust a number on a scorecard, it's a testament to the fact that on any given shot, something truly historic can happen.
Nailing a shot well enough to have a chance an albatross requires unwavering confidence your club, your shot shape, and your strategy. For those of us playing without a Tour caddie, that confidence can be toughto muster. This is precisely why we designed our app with features like an AI golf coach gives that can help with tough calls on the golfcourse - with Caddie AI, you can describe any hole layout and its challenges, and get a clear, simple strategy for how to best position your first shot on a long par-5, setting you up with the best possible chance for your second. Or for a difficult lie you encounter, just snap a picture an Caddie will tell you how you should plkay it and even suggest which club you should use. It takes guesswork out and let's you swing with full commitment... even for those once-in-a-lifetime shots.
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