The Eagle Definition — Hole by Hole
Par is the score an expert golfer is expected to make on a hole. An eagle is two strokes better than par. Because it is defined relative to par, an eagle looks different on each hole — but it always means the same thing: two under.
Most eagles happen on par-5s: reach the green in two big shots, then make the putt. The next most common is a short, drivable par-4 where you drive the green and hole the putt. And on a par-3, a hole-in-one is technically an eagle too — two under par.
Is a hole-in-one an eagle?
It depends on the hole. An ace on a par-3 is an eagle (two under). On a par-4 it is an albatross (three under), and on a par-5 it is a condor (four under). Since almost all aces happen on par-3s, most hole-in-ones are eagles.
Eagle, Albatross & Condor — the Rare-Score Family
The eagle sits near the bottom of golf’s under-par ladder, and everything below it is genuinely rare. Here is the whole family, from the everyday birdie down to the near-mythical condor:
| Term | Strokes vs par | Most common example | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birdie | −1 | 3 on a par-4 | Common under-par score |
| Eagle | −2 | 3 on a par-5 | Rare — a round highlight |
| Albatross (double eagle) | −3 | 2 on a par-5 | Rarer than a hole-in-one |
| Condor | −4 | 1 on a par-5 | A handful ever recorded |
The Albatross (Double Eagle)
An albatross — called a double eagle in the United States — is three strokes under par, usually a 2 on a par-5. It is one of the rarest achievements in golf, statistically less common than a hole-in-one, because it requires two superb long shots in a row rather than a single lucky one.
The most famous albatross in history is Gene Sarazen’s 2 on the par-5 15th at the 1935 Masters — the “shot heard round the world” that erased a three-shot deficit and helped him win. Decades later, it remains the benchmark for the rarest kind of golf magic.
The Condor — Golf’s Rarest Score
A condor is four strokes under par on a single hole — almost always a hole-in-one on a par-5. Only a small handful have ever been verified, all on short or high-altitude par-5s, or on holes with a big dogleg that a player cut the corner on. No professional has recorded a condor in a major, and for practical purposes it lives in the realm of legend.
Where Do the Names Come From?
The bird names are an American invention that build on the birdie. In early-1900s slang a “bird” was something excellent, and one under par became a birdie. The logic followed naturally: if one under is a small bird, a rarer score deserved a bigger one. Two under became an eagle — a powerful national bird — and three under took the name of the albatross, the largest bird of all. The condor, another giant, was later reserved for the almost-impossible four under.
How to Make an Eagle
You cannot force an eagle, but you can put yourself in position for one far more often: