Can This Be True? Reaching a Par-5 in Two Shots!

[ChetlovesMer]

I was researching something unrelated on the PGA webpage and came across this stat.

"Only a small percentage of golfers, less then 10 percent, ever reach a par 5 in two." 

Ever? ... I was kind of surprised by this. I mean the part the really surprised me was the word "ever". I thought could that possibly be true?

I don't consider myself a great golfer, or a really big hitter. But I have an Eagle this year. (And I haven't really played as much golf as usual.) I've also had a half dozen eagle putts this year. (Yeah, I only made one of them, but never-the-less, I've had chances.)
I looked back and found I didn't make any eagles last year, but in 2020 I made four. There have been years I've made more than a few of them. 

I'm guessing more folks on this forum have made eagles, as if you are on the forum you probably play at least a little more golf than the average person. 

But do you guys think under 10% is right? That "feels" really low to me. 

[mcanadiens]

Yeah. "Ever" is a key word there. Plus, if we are counting the shorter tees, some par-5 holes really aren't that long. 

My home course has a par-5 that's only 450 yards long from the regular tees. It's two solid shots to be sure, but they don't have to be massive.

 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by mcanadiens

[Big Lex]

I said yes, but if you go verbatim from the poll, it's no. I was pin high in 2 about one step off the green left on a par 5 at the Fort Belvoir golf course in northern VA. I chipped in, about a 25 footer. 

I've been on the green in 2 on other par 5's, probably 5-6 times, the last time at Silver Spring Country Club in CT. I was about 20 feet away and left the putt about 2" away. 

Worst eagle putt miss was the 15th at Twin Brooks, downhill par 4, about 310-320. Drove the green and had a 4 foot putt which I missed. 

Best eagle wasn't a putt....holing out from 150 yards, 18th hole, Cypress Tree golf course, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, 1991. I kept the ball for years. 

[dagolfer18]

I’ve only made two eagles, and both were hole outs (one about 60 yards on a par 5 and the other about 140 on a par 4).

I’ve hit a par 5 in two a decent number of times (actually just did it yesterday!), but I’ve never been able to convert the eagle putt. Of those times, I think I’ve three jacked it for par all but twice, which is definitely a bit frustrating.

[billchao]

I have never made an eagle putt. I have plenty of length and the occasional accuracy to reach par 5s in two.

[boogielicious]

I’ve made precisely one eagle. It was reaching a par 5 in two, over water, and making a 30 foot eagle putt.

[Big Lex]

14 minutes ago, dagolfer18 said:

I’ve only made two eagles, and both were hole outs (one about 60 yards on a par 5 and the other about 140 on a par 4).

I’ve hit a par 5 in two a decent number of times (actually just did it yesterday!), but I’ve never been able to convert the eagle putt. Of those times, I think I’ve three jacked it for par all but twice, which is definitely a bit frustrating.

It is truly maddening how this all seems to work out....I've had that same frustration. Luck is supposed to "even out," and I'm sure it does, but it doesn't always seem that way. I've hit lots of shots right at the pin on par 3s over the years, but never had an ace. A guy at a club I played at a few years ago, about a 12-15 handicap, had TWO aces, on the same hole, in back to back rounds. 

I take the positive view that there is some incredibly good luck in my future (although that of course is the gambler's fallacy). 

[saevel25]

Yea, that number sounds low to me. There are 480 yard 5's out there. I think someone going 220, then 160 works out pretty well. I think a decent number of people can "reach" a par 5 in two. 

Average distance for amateur is 220 yards. 

 

 

 

[Shindig]

Hmmm, I don't have an option in the poll.  I would be in the third option if it weren't par-5s plural. 

I have reached a par-5 in two.  Exactly once.  I left the eagle putt short by a foot.  I made the second putt for birdie.  Why yes, it was quite hot the week leading up and I did have a tail breeze.   And the next time I went back to the course, a mere week later, the tees were up and the scorecard said it was now a par-4.  

I am working on length and getting longer.  I know that, all other things being equal, my score is best served on a par-5 by hitting the longest tee shot such that I'll be able to advance it for my second shot, and then getting that second shot the closest to the green that I can safely do so.  So I anticipate being on in two on par-5s, at least periodically, before too long.  I mean, I already have a lot of experience hitting a 4-wood second shot into 435-yard par-4s after good drives, and I have birdied that hole a few times.  If my really good drives start to go 20 yards past my current really good (but not exceptional) drives and I pick up another ten yards with other clubs, a 465 yard par-5 isn't out of the question of being reached in two periodically.  

On the rare occasion I get to play my pseudo-home course from the appropriate tees (in tournaments, and therefore in a lot of casual rounds too, we play from tees that are about 6400 yards;  the next set up is about 6000 yards and is, I think, more fitting for my length because I'm hitting irons into a lot more par-4s), I've come close after a really good drive on a par-5 to getting on in two.  Last summer, I came close on the par-5 finishing hole during one of the rare tournaments in which we were on those tees.  I hit my second shot just shy of the greenside bunker (but still in grass!) and got up and down for a birdie, which was pretty cool (especially since it was for a 79). 

2 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Yea, that number sounds low to me. There are 480 yard 5's out there. I think someone going 220, then 160 works out pretty well. I think a decent number of people can "reach" a par 5 in two. 

220 and then 160 is 380, not 480.  

[billchao]

9 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

There are 480 yard 5's out there. I think someone going 220, then 160 works out pretty well.

Um, Matt...

[KoHo]

I've been playing for about 5 years. In that time I've probably had 10 or so putts for eagle on par 5s. I've only made 3 of them. My first one was from about 15 feet. The other 2 were kick-ins. The ball can roll really far on hard fairways in the desert. The 4 guys I've regularly played with during that time have never reached the green in 2 on a par 5.

[saevel25]

11 minutes ago, Shindig said:

220 and then 160 is 380, not 480.  

and 

4 minutes ago, billchao said:

Um, Matt...

Long past two days. 

[iacas]

This thread… hmmm. I’m a bit surprised.

[ShaftFarmer]

Yes I have, but only on my home course I used to play about every day back in middle/high school. It was 524 yards and had a small creek running though the fairway about 100 yards short of the green so as long as I hit a decent drive I had a solid shot at landing over creek with my second shot and rolling up there. The course was sold for housing shortly after graduating high school. It was really a pretty crappy course but bummed I'll never play it again!

Edited July 26, 2022 by ShaftFarmer
yardage typo

[Carl3]

I have also made several eagles on par 4's, but have never had a hole in one 😔, except on a mulligan

50 minutes ago, billchao said:

Um, Matt...

Isn't he an engineer too? 😄

[dennyjones]

It depends upon the course.    Holes with reachable doglegs make it a little easier.   Holes with water in front of the green are usually  a positional shot for me.   The course near me has one par 5 that should be rated a par 4 and it is reachable in 2.   I've played the gold tees (shorter) at other courses and reached the green in two.     I've eagled 3 par 5s with a putt. 

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, Big Lex said:

It is truly maddening how this all seems to work out....I've had that same frustration. Luck is supposed to "even out," and I'm sure it does, but it doesn't always seem that way. I've hit lots of shots right at the pin on par 3s over the years, but never had an ace. A guy at a club I played at a few years ago, about a 12-15 handicap, had TWO aces, on the same hole, in back to back rounds. 

I take the positive view that there is some incredibly good luck in my future (although that of course is the gambler's fallacy). 

Um... My question is/was can you reach par-5's in two. As the PGA Webpage claims only 10% of golfers have EVER reached a par 5 in two. 10% seems low to me. Aces/holes in one are a different thread. 😁

[The Flush]

I am 1 for 1 in eagle putt attempts. The score card says the hole is 500 yards, but it was winter tees so it was playing shorter. Despite being March, the course was very dry that day and I got a lot of roll out of my driver and 4H. I only had 3-4 feet left for the eagle. I tore the meniscus in my left knee 3 holes later (or at least felt extreme pain from a previously torn meniscus).

I was also over the green in 2 on another par 5 that day. I was also still over the green after my 3rd and 4th shots.

Last year on the same hole as my eagle I would probably been on in 2 if my second shot had not landed in casual water right in front or the green. I think I ended up with a par on that one.

Other than that the only other eagle was a chip in on a par 4 in scramble where a teammate's drive was pin high.