Albatross Golf: Meaning, Odds, and Why It’s Rarer Than a Hole-in-One

In albatross golf terminology, an albatross—also known in the United States as a double eagle—is a score of three strokes under par (-3) on a single hole. Golfers achieve an albatross in one of two ways: by holing their second shot on a par-5 (scoring a 2) or by making a hole-in-one on a par-4 (scoring a 1). With estimated odds of 6 million to 1, it is the rarest realistic shot in golf.

Pretty much every casual weekend player has either made a hole-in-one themselves or rides with someone that has one proudly displayed in their office. Aces are recorded on a weekly basis across every municipal course, since any golfer that can hit a 6-iron 150 yards has a puncher’s chance on a par-3.

The albatross, on the other hand, is a whole new animal. It is not something you can just luck into by having one lucky ricochet off a sprinkler head; it requires two consecutive shots of the Tour level, usually a drive of 280 yards and then a fairway wood of 220 yards towards a 4.25-inch cup. Most PGA Tour Hall of Famers never record an albatross golf in their career.

Golf’s Bird Scoring Hierarchy: Where the Albatross Golf Fits

If you are newer to the game, golf’s obsession with naming under-par scores after birds can sound like an ornithology exam. As the score gets lower and harder to pull off, the bird gets larger and rarer:

Golf Term	Score Relative to Par	How You Make It on a Par-3	How You Make It on a Par-4	How You Make It on a Par-5	Estimated Amateur Odds
Par	Even (E)	3 strokes	4 strokes	5 strokes	Standard benchmark
Birdie	1 Under Par (-1)	2 strokes	3 strokes	4 strokes	Common
Eagle	2 Under Par (-2)	1 stroke (Hole-in-One)	2 strokes	3 strokes	~1 in 500 to 1,000 rounds
Albatross (Double Eagle)	3 Under Par (-3)	Impossible	1 stroke (Hole-in-One)	2 strokes	~1 in 6,000,000
Condor	4 Under Par (-4)	Impossible	Impossible	1 stroke (Hole-in-One)	Virtually impossible (5–6 ever recorded)

How Do You Actually Score an Albatross Golf?

As it is not possible to get out of the hole in zero shots, mathematically speaking, it is not possible to achieve an albatross on a par-3 hole. A hole-in-one on a par-3 is nothing but an eagle, which means two under par. It leaves us only with two options for getting a score of 3 under par in one go (and the third rare one being):

1. Scoring a “2” on a Par-5 (The Classic Albatross)

More than 95% of the total albatrosses in golf take place on par-5 holes. Firstly, one needs to get a long drive and keep himself at a distance where he can reach to the green. Secondly, he should have a good shot using long iron, hybrid, or fairway wood from around 195-260 yards and sink it in the hole for a score of 2.

2. Making a Hole-in-One on a Par-4

The second way to make an albatross is by stepping onto a short, drivable par-4 (usually measuring between 260 and 330 yards) and knocking your tee shot straight into the hole for a 1. It goes down on the scorecard as both a hole-in-one and an albatross. In the entire history of the PGA Tour, a par-4 ace has only happened once—when Andrew Magee holed his driver on the 332-yard 17th hole at the 2001 Phoenix Open (after his ball famously ricocheted off Tom Byrum’s putter on the green).

3. Scoring a “3” on a Par-6

While less than 1% of golf courses feature a par-6 hole (usually stretching over 650+ yards), holing your third shot on a legitimate par-6 also counts as an official albatross (-3).

Albatross vs. Double Eagle: Why Are There Two Names for the Same Shot?

If you watch a golf broadcast in the United States, you will almost always hear American commentators call a 3-under-par a “double eagle.” Tune into The Open Championship or the DP World Tour, and commentators exclusively call it an “albatross.”

Both terms mean the exact same thing, and the split comes down to early 20th-century golf history:

• Where “Birdie” and “Eagle” Started (1903): At Atlantic City Country Club in New Jersey in 1903, Ab Smith hit a knockdown approach shot to six inches and called it a “bird of a shot” (1900s American slang for anything cool or excellent). His group started calling a 1-under-par a “birdie.” Naturally, when someone went two under par, they named it after America’s national symbol: the “eagle.”
• The American “Double Eagle” (1910s–1935): Before standardized terms existed, American sportswriters briefly tried calling a 3-under-par a “dodo” or an “airplane.” By 1920, The American Golfer magazine was calling it a “double eagle,” and when Gene Sarazen holed out on the 15th hole to win the 1935 Masters, American newspapers plastered “Double Eagle!” across every front page in the country, locking the phrase into US golf culture forever.
• The British & Commonwealth “Albatross” (1929): Across the Atlantic, Scottish and British golfers pointed out a flaw in the American math: since an eagle is -2, shouldn’t a “double eagle” technically be -4 (2 × -2)? First appearing in British newspapers in 1929, UK and Commonwealth golfers chose the albatross—the oceanic seabird boasting the largest wingspan on earth, capable of gliding thousands of miles without flapping its wings.

How Rare Is an Albatross Compared to a Hole-in-One?

Ask a non-golfer what the hardest shot in golf is, and they will say a hole-in-one. Ask an experienced golfer, and they will tell you an albatross isn’t even in the same stratosphere.

According to the National Hole-in-One Registry and the Double Eagle Club, the statistical probability breaks down like this:

Golf Feat	Odds for an Amateur Golfer	Odds for a Tour Pro	Average Number Recorded Per Year (Worldwide)
Hole-in-One (Par-3 Ace)	1 in 12,500	1 in 2,500	~150,000+ per year
Albatross (3 Under Par)	1 in 6,000,000	~1 in 100,000	Fewer than 200–300 verified per year
Par-4 Hole-in-One	1 in 10,000,000+	1 in 1,000,000+	Handful per decade

Why Are the Odds 480 Times Longer Than an Ace?

1. Distance Gatekeeping: At least 70% of recreational golfers simply do not hit the ball far enough to reach a 510-yard par-5 in two shots, eliminating them before they even swing.
2. Compound Probability: On a par-3, your ball sits on a wooden peg at a known yardage. You only have to execute one good swing. For a par-5 albatross, you must execute two consecutive elite shots—first a 270+ yard drive into the fairway, and then a long approach shot off the turf from 210+ yards away.
3. Fewer Opportunities per Round: A standard 18-hole par-72 course has four par-3s where every single player in your foursome has a realistic chance at an ace. Even long hitters usually only get one or two reachable par-5s per round where going for the green in two makes sense.

The 4 Most Famous Albatross Shots in Golf History

Because an albatross immediately drops a player’s score by three full strokes in a single swing, making one on a Sunday afternoon can flip an entire major championship upside down.

1. Gene Sarazen – 1935 Masters (“The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”)

Trailing Craig Wood by three strokes on the final day of the second-ever Masters Tournament at Augusta National, Gene Sarazen stood in the 15th fairway 235 yards from the pin, with water guarding the front of the green. He pulled a 4-wood and drilled a low runner that cleared the pond, hopped onto the green, and disappeared into the cup for an albatross 2. It tied the tournament on the spot, forced a 36-hole playoff the next day, and essentially put the Masters on the map.

2. Louis Oosthuizen – 2012 Masters (Augusta’s First Televised Albatross)

In the final round of the 2012 Masters on the par-5 2nd hole (Pink Dogwood), South African Louis Oosthuizen hit a 4-iron from 253 yards out. The ball landed at the front edge of the green and trickled 60 feet across the slope right into the hole—catapulting him into the lead before he eventually lost a playoff to Bubba Watson.

3. Joey Sindelar – 2006 PGA Championship

At Medinah Country Club, Joey Sindelar recorded only the third albatross in PGA Championship history when he holed a 3-wood from 241 yards on the par-5 5th hole. Even more remarkably, Sindelar had spent the previous week interviewing Gene Sarazen’s peers about the 1935 Masters double eagle.

4. Ha Na Jang – 2016 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic

Making history on the LPGA Tour, South Korea’s Ha Na Jang stepped up to the 218-yard par-4 8th hole at Ocean Club and knocked a 3-wood directly into the cup for the first par-4 hole-in-one (albatross) in LPGA Tour history.

What Can You Do to Give Yourself a Shot at an Albatross?

Let’s be honest: nobody walks onto the first tee expecting to make a 6-million-to-1 shot. However, if you want to give yourself a mathematical ticket to the lottery—and pick up way more eagles and tap-in birdies along the way—focus on three adjustments:

• Play the Right Tee Boxes: If you average 220 yards off the tee and play from the 6,700-yard back tees, you will never reach a par-5 in two. Move up to the tee box that aligns with your driving distance (typically around 5,800 to 6,100 yards for mid-handicappers) so par-5s are actually reachable in two shots.
• Swap Your Long Irons for a 5-Wood or 7-Wood: Most amateurs struggle to elevate a 3-iron or 4-iron off the turf. Carrying a high-launching 5-wood, 7-wood, or 3-hybrid gives you the ball speed and rollout needed to reach par-5 greens from 200+ yards out.
• Aim for the Front-Opening Apron: Almost no albatross flies 225 yards in the air and slams into the pin on the fly. Nearly every albatross in history lands 15 to 25 yards short of the pin and feeds along the contours of the green like a long putt. Pick holes without front water hazards or bunkers so your second shot can bounce onto the putting surface.

Frequently Asked Questions (People Also Ask): Albatross Golf

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