an ace and an eagle

Since a ace is two under par as is a eagle, isn't an eagle on a par 4 or par 5 just as valuable as an ace on a par 3?

Or better yet, how about an albatross on a 341 yd. par four? Yes it happened - see video

Cool.

Wouldn't he be in Guiness book of world records?

There are two ways of looking at it.  There are usually only 4 chances in a round to make an ace on a par 3, but on a "typical" par 72 course there are 10 chances to eagle a par 4.  A lot depends on the length of those par 4 holes.  If several of them are drivable, or just wedge shots to the green, then the odds go up.  If they are longer where the player is using a 7-8-9 iron or longer, sometimes from uphill, downhill, or sidehill lies, then the odds go way down.

For the par 3 holes, the player always gets a perfect lie, usually a very accurate distance.  So I think it's really a bit of a wash between the ideal lie versus the additional opportunities.

I have 2 aces, but only one eagle on a par 4, holed out from 110 yards on a 400 yard, slightly uphill par 4.  The aces were in 1989 and 1990, and eagle was in 1993.  From my point of view the ace is the easier one to get, even though a player has many more opportunities on par 4 holes.  I think that is because I never played regularly on any course with a drivable par 4 hole.  Most of the time, if I was in pitching wedge range, it was because I'd hit a career drive.  Even on that one eagle above, it was uphill into the breeze, so I played a full 9 iron from 110.

I think either of them are astronomically hard. I just spend an entire bucket trying to hit a 1 yard wide metal disk from only around 120-125 yards and got it once out of 120 balls. I can imagine how much harder to get an ace.

One course which I play regularly has a 268 yd. par 4, but the front of the green is surrounded by a moat.

My place has 27 holes and surprisingly there are 7 par-4s that can be driven!

I've driven 3 of them.   I was 5 yards short of a third this week,  and it was wet (but the ball hit a down slope so it released).

However the way the course is designed, each has a big risk associated with going for it.   1 of them really requires you to carry the ball further than I can.   But people have.

A couple of them require you hit the right spot in the fairway and it naturally funnels, but if you are off you could bounce in the water or an ugly trap.   One requires a big draw around trees.   The one I almost hit this week was from the shorter set of men's tees (we have back, two sets of men's and then senior), but there was no wind.   Moving back 20 yards and a little tail wind or it's drier and it would be the same result.   Most people who hit driver are within 70 yards of the center and it's a huge green.

Maybe some day you will have "Legendary Golf Instructor" under your name too @iacas .... Hank is legendary alright....

Tough carry.

Definitely - the safe shot is a lay up.

What is the yardage on those 7 holes?

Do you have to putt through a wind mill too?

Not since they took it down last month

Playing the executive 9 at my former facility about 15 years ago, I hit the flagstick on one hop with my tee shot on a 340 yard slightly downhill par 4.  The ricochet left me a wicked 8 foot breaking putt for eagle which I missed - made the birdie though.

A double eagle on like a par-5 to me is far more impressive than a par-3 hole in one. And that's not to diminish an ace, just that a double eagle generally has a baseline of requiring two great shots in addition to luck, while a par 3 ace is one shot that may or may not be great, plus some luck.