How Can I Ever Get an Eagle?

[MacDutch]

My advice is:

1. Shorter tees

2. Other and much shorter course

3. Practice

4. Play a lot

Odds are you will get lucky somewhere in the future.

My first eagle was on a 410y par4, downwind and a fantastic drive that hit the fairway on a slight down slope. Still 155y to the hole and my I6 was like a stinger, rolled the last 5y in the hole. So two good shots, perfect circumstances and a lot of luck did the job.

My first 3 eagles were all full shots from distance. The fourth a one putter on a short par 5. That was I think the 10th opportunity on a par5, allmost all ended in a three putt par.

Edited January 21, 2017 by MacDutch

[Patch]

I remember my first eagle. It was on 545 yard hole, with a very wide fairway. The fairway turf was cut short, also pretty firm, and a little down hill, which in turn gave me lots of roll after the carry. So, the hole's condition was right for me to get maximum distance for my first two shots.

When you are out golfing, watch for a hole with the correct conditions in relation to your game, to help with that eagle try. 

My third shot was about 5 feet off the green, with another 10 feet to the hole. I chipped in for my eagle. So, not all eagles need to be made with a putter. I also have a (lucky) eagle with my 5i on a short par 4. 

When ever you have set yourself up for a decent shot at an eagle, I say go for it with the proper club for the distance required. 

 

 

[WUTiger]

Eagles just happen.

I got my first one after I knocked my 4-wood just over the back edge of the green on a short Par 5. I took an 8 iron, gauged my landing point, and rolled a downhill chip shot into the center of the cup.

I have had other "near eagles." I took a penalty stroke somewhere on a hole, and somehow managed to make a birdie anyway.

And as others have said, play from shorter tees. If you hit a decent (not super) drive and still need a fairway wood into most of the par 4s, you're playing from the wrong tees.

[Shindig]

Consider joining a club that doesn't have this rule:

3 hours ago, paininthenuts said:

Men are not permitted to play off of the short tees in any conditions 

Many years ago, Erik had a bunch of us play a round from the forward tees at nearby courses.  I hit more GIR than I had at any point up to that time and shot an incredibly low score.  It was a lot of fun having a good chance to hit GIR on every hole despite being a 22 or so handicap at the time.  No eagles, but I was sadly of the opinion of the "two full shots if you can't make it in one" view at that time.  A longer hitter would have had a few more looks at eagle that day.

[SavvySwede]

3 hours ago, paininthenuts said:

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 

1. What are the yardages for the tees?

2. What exactly are they going to do if you tee it up from the forward tees? Kick you off the course?

[Lihu]

9 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

1. What are the yardages for the tees?

2. What exactly are they going to do if you tee it up from the forward tees? Kick you off the course?

The only things I can think of are:

1) Laugh hard in the club house, and hand you a longest tee shot award for the ladies (assuming you actually hit farther than all the ladies)

2) Some of the older ladies will object to people hitting into them from the tee box while they are still on the green.

Honestly, restricting men to something like 6500 yard (or longer) tees seems kind of silly.

[sjduffers]

I had 4, 2 on par 5s were chip-ins and 2 on par 4s were hole-outs from 138 and 104 yds. I have been on a par 5 in two shots (and a few times over the green too), but never converted the longish putts.

To maximize your chances, you need distance, at least relative to the overall hole length, so you end up on or near a par 5 in two shots, and/or luck to hole-out from far away (par 3 and par 4).

[sirhacksalot]

I've never made an eagle on my home course that I play every week.  The only time I played savannah harbor I chipped in on my third shot on the 468 part 5 11th.  Good tee shot that left 230 to the middle, great approach with a 4 wood, that carried a bunker and had a good roll out to about 10 or 15 yards short of the green, 9 iron bump and run chippy thing that happened to find the hole.  I barely broke 100 that day, new course that was just after a tournament so rough was long and greens were fast.  My home course I've putted for eagle a few times but so far none have dropped there .

[shanksalot]

I played a long time before making one. There is an old adage, even a blind squirrel will find an occasional acorn. Mine was on a dog leg par 5. It is the closest I have even come to an albatross. I hit a 3 wood from over 200 yards and it landed on the front of the green and rolled up to the pin caught a piece of the hole and ended up behind the pin about a foot away for a tap in birdie. The best way to make an eagle is to play from a reasonable distance yardage for your ability. When I moved up to a shorter set of tees I started making more eagles.   If you can't reach your par 4's in two you are either a short hitter or the course is way too long for you. 

[DrvFrShow]

14 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'm in my 60s. 410 yd par 5. I play from the senior tees. I hit a 230 yd drive and put my second shot on the green. Sank the 18 foot putt.

But last year those 230 yd drives were more like 215 yd drives.

[Gunther]

6 hours ago, WUTiger said:

Eagles just happen.

This is true.  I had 3 in '16 and I'm not very good.  Find your proper tee box and square the club at impact from time to time.  It'll happen.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Gunther

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

I am in total agreement with the idea of playing forward tees.... even if it is only once a week or only on certain par 5's. You will be surprised how much it will sharpen your short game... and make you a better player overall. I only this year at age 67 gave in and decided to play the white tees (vs blue tees) the majority of the time at our course. No longer forcing myself to over swing the driver was a blessing. And a funny thing happened... I won 2 Championships that were played from the blue tees? I had assumed playing from the white tees would weaken my game from the blue tees. It did not. Instead it sharpened my short game and lowered my scores. All handicap systems can be adjusted for blue vs white tee scores. Just be sure to post correctly as many systems are set to default to blue tee scoring. My advice... play more forward tee golf, score some of those elusive birdies and eagles, and enjoy the game more. BTW You will also find a huge improvement in pace of play. I wish more players would play the correct tees!

[dkolo]

Hit your tee shots farther and putt better. If anyone has a better formula, I'm all ears!

[b101]

Get better with the driver. All of mine - I think I've had three now - have come after a seriously good drive (300ish yards) on a short par 5 (say 450-480 yards). It's much easier to make when you have an iron in your hand! Then again, I've also been through the back of a 530 yard par 5 after two 3 woods, so par fives tend to be a very good scoring opportunity, provided I hit an accurate drive. Sadly, they still aren't as accurate as I'd like!

If your home course doesn't offer you those kind of short-ish, scoring holes, why not try gettting away from that course a bit more?

Edited January 22, 2017 by b101

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

I posted 82 rounds this year, had 5 eagles. One was from driving a shortish Par 4. The other 4 were from excellent approach shots on Par 5's. My course only has 3 Par 5's and the eagles were distributed 1-2-1. Interestingly enough none had putts made of more than 15-20 feet. Not one was from a chip which probably is a surprise as I am a strong chipper. And like others, I can very unfondly remember turning at least 3 changes into 3 putt Pars, fortunately no 4 putt bogeys. Before you question my honesty... one was from blue tees, 4 were from the white tees.

[jsgolfer]

I've made eagles on 10 different holes at  my current course, all three Par 5's and 7 of the Par 4's.  And on two of the par 4's I've had two eagles and have three on one other one.

Don't really keep track every year, but I eagled all par 5's this year, as well as have 4 on Par 4's. 

 

[MacDutch]

16 hours ago, dkolo said:

Hit your tee shots farther and putt better. If anyone has a better formula, I'm all ears!

Easy: hit your first shot on a par three, or your second shot on a par 4, or your third shot on a par 5 in the hole. Sadly this advice will not help you to make more Eagles, just as yours doesn't. 

[iacas]

On 1/21/2017 at 4:29 AM, paininthenuts said:

How have you got yours ?

By hitting the ball reasonably far, and making a putt, or holing out a second shot on relatively short par fours.

Not that much to it.

Play enough and have decent skills and you'll get them now and then.