What is an eagle in golf? An eagle is a score on a hole that is two shots better than par. Keep reading if that doesn’t make sense.
In golf, each hole on the course has a number defined as “par.” Most holes are par 3-5. Occasionally, a brutally long hole will carry a par of 6. This is extremely rare.
The USGA defines “par” as the following:
The score that an expert player would be expected to make for a given hole.
In contrast, “par” for the golf course is the sum of each individual hole’s par score. The most common par ratings for golf courses are 72, 71, and 70. The term “eagle’ only applies to a single hole’s score. For example, nobody would say a player had an “eagle” for finishing the round two shots below par.
It should not be surprising that eagles are extremely rare, even for the professional golfer. Most eagles will come on driveable Par 4s and short Par 5 holes.
Pat yourself on the back if you manage to get an eagle on the golf course. Most golfers don’t get many eagles in their lifetime. As a high single digit handicap who played 70+ rounds last year, I had two eagles and both were kind of lucky.
On the first, I hit a 25 foot putt after driving a short par four. On the second, I chipped in on a par 5 from the greenside rough. Prior to last year, it had been at least two years since my last eagle. They just don’t happen often.
What is an eagle for each of the par ratings?
- Par 3: Get a hole in one.
- Par 4: Hole out in two.
- Par 5: Get a score of 3.
Other Eagle-Related Golf Terms
- Condor: A score of 4 below par
- Albatross: A score of 3 below par
- Double Eagle: Another word for a score of 3 below par. Golfers often argue about whether “albatross” or “double eagle” is the correct term for 3 under. Personally, I think it is “albatross” – otherwise we would call an eagle a “double birdie.”
- Birdie: A hole score of one below par
- Bogey: A hole score of one above par
- Double Bogey: A hole score of two below par
- Triple/Quad: A hole of 3 or 4 above par, respectively
- Snowman: A score of 8 on a hole. Do yourself a favor and pick up when you get here.
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for more beginner content, please continue to follow our Beginner Q&A Series to get answers to the rest of your golf questions.
Have you had an eagle before? If so, post your story in the comments!
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