How Can I Ever Get an Eagle?

[GeorgeHiggins]

I had my only two eagles in the same round during a tournament at a course that was very short. It was nine holes and it would be 5900 yards from the back both nines. I played the tips and second farthest tees. The first hole was a par four about 250-270 yards. I drove to the right side of the green and chipped in. Three holes later I had a par 5 of about 530 yards. I put my ball short left of the green in two and luckily chipped in again. If you want an eagle, I recommend playing a short course, get good at long shots and get good at longer putts and chips. Play a lot of golf and let good old Lady Luck do the rest.

[Casualgolfer]

Luckily I'm long off the tee and can be a wedge in sometimes on shorter par 5's. Have had a few eagles with plenty of 3 putt pars too lol. 

[rehmwa]

On 1/21/2017 at 3:29 AM, paininthenuts said:

How have you got yours ?

Keep trying, eventually your skill will come up, and your luck will come by and it'll happen.

1 - Par 5 - Driver, 3w over the green - chip in.  500 yards or so.

2 - very short Par 5 at a dinky course - I don't really count this one.  Driver 6i, 4 foot putt.

3 - Very long Par 5 on the best round of my life - hole 18.  Driver perfect.  2H to just the apron. 15 foot putt that barely got to the hole.

4 - 285 yard par 4 in Bangkok.  Lots of junk around the green, no 'reward' for the risk.  I showed the caddie the 6i and the driver on the tee and asked "smart club?  or fun club?"  she smiled and pointed at the driver.  I had a 4 foot putt coming back to the hole.

5 - VERY uncomfortable par 5 I've barely ever got par on.  Good driver, nice fading 3w to the green, and about a 50 foot putt.

Never holed out for eagle from the fairway though.  The only hole out like that was after a chip out from under a tree - so that was a birdie

so lots of luck and skill and they come around once in a while.  It was a dry spell for me for decades.  now I get opportunities quite frequently.

 

 

 

[Patch]

Course conditions can help with eagles. Firm fairways, and 2nd shot,  down hill runs to green can get you on a par 5 green in 2. That, or at least close to the green. 

[HeribertoMaya]

I have been lucky enough to be fairly long and have gotten my fair share of eagles during the years (10+).  My most recent attempt was on Sunday at a 560 yard par 5,  made it to the green in 2,  around 11 feet and of course, I missed by a few inches of over-reading the putt.........hate those 2 putt birdies (worse than 3 putt bogeys even).  But life goes on.

[ChetlovesMer]

On 1/21/2017 at 4:29 AM, 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.

As others have said, if there is only one par 4 you can reach in 2, you may be playing the wrong tees. 

[gbogey]

At least here in the States, there are occasions when you're 2nd shot into a par 5 can hit the paved cart path dead on and gain 40 yards to put you 15 feet from the hole.  Not saying that's how one of my three eagles happened, but maybe.

[saevel25]

46 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

As others have said, if there is only one par 4 you can reach in 2, you may be playing the wrong tees. 

I agree... PGA Tour players average mid-irons into greens. IF that is good enough for them it should be good enough for amateurs. So play a course length that fits that.

 

 

[Groucho Valentine]

For eagles you can control, being able to comfortably get on par fives in two strokes is the easiest way. Ive gotten 99% of my eagles from 1 putt 3's on par fives.  Other than that, my eagles have just been dumb luck. A hole-out from an approach shot or chip in. I can count on my hands the amount of times ive done that in the tens of thousands of holes ive played over the past 20+ years. 

[GolfLug]

Four eagles on short par 5s (450ish yards) and one on short par 4 (240 yards). Only one of the putts was what I would consider makable - inside of 10 ft.

So yeah, almost all of them had one recurring theme - start with short and end with luck. 

Edited September 18, 2019 by GolfLug

[Yukari]

On shorter par 4's (#2 on Fossil Trace 330 yd downhill), I hit my 3 wood to an inch from the cup.  Gotta love those tap in eagles.

Others, I've gotten by getting on 2 and 1 putting on par 5s.

I've had only two fairway hole-out eagles on par 4's so far.  One was a PW from about 130 yds to a slightly uphill green.  I didn't see it go in as the green was higher than the fairway.  When I got to the green, I didn't see my ball on the green and thought it had rolled through to the back of the green.  But my brother-in-law looked in the hole and said "nice eagle".  

The other was a thinned 9 iron from 155 yds.  It rolled onto the green and disappeared into the cup.  That was just pure luck.

Bottom line: play lots of golf.  If you are lucky enough, it will happen.  Also, work on your long game so you can get on in 2 on par 5's.  The latter has a lot better chance for eagle.

[Jeremie Boop]

I think I'm about 1/2 and 1/2 on eagles that were chip ins vs putts. 

[mcanadiens]

I hear you can get all sorts of things on the dark web.

[ChetlovesMer]

I have to say I immediately thought of this thread yesterday. I played 9 holes after work. Hole number 4 is a short (489 yards) par 5. I hit a great drive, drew it down the fairway. left me 208 to the flag. (BTW - the tees were up a bit from normal. The drive was only like 250-260) I hit hybrid to seven feet, and made the uphill putt. = Eagle 3. 

So, I looked back through my stats and I've made 7 eagles over the past 2-1/2 seasons. All of them on par 5's. In the rest of my golf life I can only remember a half dozen Eagles on non-par 5's. I've made two holes in one. Obviously I remember those. And I remember my very first eagle back in 1993, my first year playing golf, I was playing with the owner of the company I worked for (yeah, talk about pressure.) I holed out on a par 4 from 110 yards. At that time I think I hit a 9 iron, but it was my first year playing so, hell it could have been almost anything. Strangely, I remember that shot like it was yesterday. 

Eagles will come. Work on your length off the tee and develop a reliable either hybrid or fairway wood. Something that you can hit long off the deck. I averaged just under 260 off the tee this year and the longest eagle I made the last 2-1/2 years was on a 526 yard par 5. Driver - 3wood - putt. It was wind assisted as I recall. 

Anyway, hang in there. It will happen. And when it does save the ball and the scorecard. Frame them and hang them in your office. I have my hole in one balls and scorecards hanging in mine. They are great conversation pieces. 

[NM Golf]

As others have said, playing a course from the correct tees makes golf a lot more fun. And it makes for more birdie and eagle opportunities. Heck playing from tees even a bit shorter than you need can be fun. I had two eagles in my last round. I played with some guys who like to play a yardage between the back tees and the middle tees. That made it easier to hit par the par 5s in two, and I did just that. Screw the ego, golf is supposed to be fun.

[djake]

Echoing @NM Golf stated as well as others, play the tees that best fit your game.

For me to have a chance and get an Eagle I spend a lot of range time working on the upper part of my bag, Driver, 5 Wood, Utility Iron, 5 Iron.  Get to really know your carry distance with these clubs.  To many times we concentrate to much on overall distance and really know what our carry distance is.  The better you are in tune to that then the easier it is to know which club(s) are best for attacking a green from long range.

While you are focusing on carry distance make note as to the decent angle of these clubs, are they low flying long run out?  Do they get up and come down?  This will further help you in understanding how to attack the greens, carry and run up or hit them on the fly and the shot will hold.

Ok - and while working on these items at the range focus on target hitting with these clubs as well.  I want to be as accurate with my 5 Wood off the deck as my Wedge.  Doesn't mean I will be, but still it is my goal.  To be as accurate from 220 yards as I am from 90 yards.  

I have been fortunate to have at least 1 Eagle a season since my Senior year in High School and it is from practicing this way, plus short Par 5's also help out. 

You can do it @paininthenuts and with a screen name like yours, you just have too! 🙂 

[Lihu]

On 1/21/2017 at 1:29 AM, 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 ?

Sheer luck! Mine was on a shorter 276 yard par 4 that I drove less than 8 feet from the pin. The putt was super lucky. 😁

[billchao]

I just want to point out, for the people who have been tagging and quoting @paininthenuts, that member is banned and will not be able to respond. 

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I had an eagle putt today that I left 5' short. Still waiting on my first eagle.