How Can I Ever Get an Eagle?

[paininthenuts]

I have never had a eagle, and at my course I can never see it happening. On a par 3 it would be a hole in one. Our course is very long, and there is only one par 4 I can reach in two shots, so the chances of a eagle is remote. Likewise with the par 5s. There isn't one I stand a chance of reaching in two, so the best I can hope for is a birdie. In all honesty the only chance is a very long approach shot with a lot of luck.

 

How have you got yours ?

[Marty2019]

There are no forward tees at your course?  

I got my one and only eagle on a 450 yard par 5, dogleg right, with a tee shot that just barely avoided a cluster of pine trees and cut the dogleg, hit a cart path, and would up 200 yards from the green.   Then a beautiful 5-wood that faded right onto the green, and then a 20 foot downhill putt that broke about 2 feet to the right and just snaked in the side of the hole. 

Since then, I've had a couple of eagle putts, but they were pretty long putts, and I didn't make any of them. 

I think the reason I don't make more eagles, (besides the fact that I suck) is that I'm a pretty cautious player on par 5s, usually laying up short of the hazards near the green. 

 

[Hatchman]

1 hour ago, paininthenuts said:

In all honesty the only chance is a very long approach shot with a lot of luck.

How have you got yours ?

2 elements involved as you describe.  Approach shot and a little luck.  Keep trying.

[NJpatbee]

I have no answer since I have not had an eagle in my 25 years of playing.  I have had 2 or 3 make able eagle putts for each of last several seasons on my home course but have missed them all.  I also play the tees that give me a realistic chance of reaching the greens in regulation - you may want to consider moving up a set of tees. 

Edited January 21, 2017 by NJpatbee

[boogielicious]

My only eagle was on a par 5. You have to start with a really good tee shot, then a really good approach shot and get close or on the green. 

[Papa Steve 55]

My first was a par 4 from 125 yards out, that might be the longest I ever holed out from. Had a couple more on 5's that were chip ins and one that was on the green in two after my 2nd shot hit the 100 yard marker and shot straight forward to the green. Ball had the red paint skid mark on so I could not say, "yeah, I crushed that one."

[bkuehn1952]

3 hours ago, paininthenuts said:

I have never had a eagle, and at my course I can never see it happening...How have you got yours ?

If I recall, you have not been playing golf all that long. My assumption would be that you will continue to practice and become better at golf.  That alone should improve your odds.

I have played golf over 50 years.  It took a loooong time for me to get my first eagle.  Since I have never been a big hitter, most of my eagles are chip-ins or holing out shots from the fairway.

My prescription for you is: Keep practicing so you hit more greens in regulation and play a lot.  A shot will find the hole.

[CarlSpackler]

Mostly luck. 

[dennyjones]

I have had two but were so long ago that I don't count them.   One was a dog leg par 4 that I holed from about 174 and the other was a short par 5 where I reached the green in two.   It is a major ego boost until you get to the next tee and hook a drive OB.

[14ledo81]

If you can only reach one of the par 4's in regulation, I think you should move up to order tees.

My only eagle came from holing a long greenside bunker shot on a par 5.

[No Mulligans]

5 hours ago, paininthenuts said:

I have never had a eagle, and at my course I can never see it happening. On a par 3 it would be a hole in one. Our course is very long, and there is only one par 4 I can reach in two shots, so the chances of a eagle is remote. Likewise with the par 5s. There isn't one I stand a chance of reaching in two, so the best I can hope for is a birdie. In all honesty the only chance is a very long approach shot with a lot of luck.

 

How have you got yours ?

With your scenario on that course, an eagle is harder than a hole in one in that you'll need a good shot followed by a miracle shot to get an eagle.  A hole in one only requires the miracle shot.  On most courses I'm in the same situation unless I play the forward tees.

It just takes a lot of luck.

 

[woodzie264]

3 hours ago, Hatchman said:

2 elements involved as you describe.  Approach shot and a little luck.  Keep trying.

This.  I holed an approach on a Par 4 (luck) and aced a short 100yd Par 3 (luck)

[Lihu]

5 hours ago, paininthenuts said:

I have never had a eagle, and at my course I can never see it happening. On a par 3 it would be a hole in one. Our course is very long, and there is only one par 4 I can reach in two shots, so the chances of a eagle is remote. Likewise with the par 5s. There isn't one I stand a chance of reaching in two, so the best I can hope for is a birdie. In all honesty the only chance is a very long approach shot with a lot of luck.

 

How have you got yours ?

I've had numerous times when I possibly could have made one, then missed the 8 to 15 footers. I've had more times when they were off the fringe from 30 to 50 feet. It would be pretty frustrating if I really cared about getting one, I suppose? A couple of my playing partners were more frustrated than me especially when they turned into 4 putt bogeys.

The most realistic way to get close to an eagle is to hit far enough to make the par 5 greens in 2 shots. This means playing at a distance (teeing forward?) where the par 5 are at whatever yardage you need to do this. Doesn't really matter if you are playing a 425 yard par 5 or not, it's still an eagle. Just don't brag about it on the internet, because the official definition of a par 5 is more than 475 yards.

The second realistic way is to hit greens on short par 4 off the tee.

[RandallT]

6 hours ago, paininthenuts said:

there is only one par 4 I can reach in two shots.....

Likewise with the par 5s. There isn't one I stand a chance of reaching in two

Golf isn't as much fun to me when you're faced with this sort of futility off the tee.  

I typically play courses where there are only maybe a couple holes where I need a really solid drive and a really nice long iron to hit the par 4. Most I can get away with a short-ish drive and still recover with a long iron to the green.

i usually have 1 or 2 par 5's where on a perfect day I could think of being up around the green in 2, so at least I "stand a chance" as you say.

For me, that's a sweet spot in course length. Much longer and it feels a bit penal (but I'd certainly be willing to play like that from time to time-just not always).

Much shorter than that and I'd feel like the course is gimmicky and not feel like I earned a good score that compares apples to apples with the rest of what I post.

So yes, you're unlikely to ever get an eagle with those course setups. I'm impressed you slog through round after round with the greens being so far out of reach on those par 4s. Golf is hard enough, but that takes grit day in and day out.

What's the next tee forward look like? Or is that not an option?

 

[Denny Bang Bang]

@paininthenuts, I would agree with @RandallT, your chances are very slim if you only have the chance at one GIR a round.  Chances are slim with 18 chances at GIR, and you have 17 less opportunities a round.  Hopefully your course has shorter tees, or maybe there are other courses around that give you more of a fighting chance.

To that point, I remember my first Eagle.  It was my first year golfing, and I was playing an executive 9 hole course that I enjoyed (and it was perfect for my skill level). It was Hole 2, which is about a 300 yard Par 4, and I pitched in from about 40-50 yards out.  All luck of course.

I would guess I get about one Eagle a year, and typically by hitting a Par 5 in 2 with a reasonable putt.  So, you've got to be able to hit greens from whatever tees you play from.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Denny Bang Bang

[allenc]

Two hole in ones.  One got home in two and made the putt on a par 5 from the forward tees.

[paininthenuts]

6 hours ago, Marty2019 said:

There are no forward tees at your course?  

 

 

In the UK it may be a little different. We have white tees for comps, we have yellow tees for men, and red for women. The type of distances I referred to in the thread are off of the yellows, which are still a hell of a distance on my local course. Men are not permitted to play off of the short tees in any conditions 

[Piz]

Aside from pure luck - distance must be the most important factor.  I've managed one eagle, my entire life, on a full length course.  I had two, last year, on a nearby executive layout: both 260 yard par 4's.