Eagle…Eagle… Double Eagle!!!
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| You did it!!! |
The tournament season has
just begun and I have a feeling 2013 is going to be a great season. The KLGA ladies are shooting birdies, eagles
and double eagle… What?
Let me repeat, The DOUBLE
EAGLE!!!
What is the double eagle???
Connie Wood made a double
eagle on hole #9 (par 5) at the Stonetree Golf Club on Monday, March 4th. The
drive shot left her with
72
yards to the hole and she hole out with a sand wedge. The lucky friends who got to witness the memorable
moment were Jo, Irene, and Laurie.
I have played many rounds of
golf with Connie and witnessed her countless birdies, eagles and even a hole in
one. So I was not terribly surprised by
her double eagle, I thought, until I read the following article about the odds
on a double eagle.
It is impressive, it is cool,
and it is definitely deserves to shout it out to the world. WOW!!!
We all know Connie is a
fabulous golfer. The combination of her
distance and the accuracy is the envy of high handicap amateur golfer like
myself. I like to play golf with her and I wish I could play like her. More importantly, Connie has great respect for
the rules and the integrity of golf.
She, as a retired educator,
continues to share her knowledge with those who ask her for advice whether it
is about golf or anything else in life. It
is joyful to watch Connie’s fabulous shots and I have learned many useful golf tips
from her.
I had the privilege of getting
to know Connie in the last few years on and off the course and I know I can
count on her if I am in need.
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| Irene, Connie, and Laurie |
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| Connie & Jo |
Following is an article by golf writer Eric Cornelison
You can go to the address below to read more on his writings.
http://www.easypars.com/odds-on-a-double-eagle/
If you think the odds of
hitting a hole-in-one are high, the most difficult and rarest of shots is a
double eagle, or albatross. A double eagle is a hole-in-one on a Par 4 or a two
on a Par 5. Compared to a hole-in-one, the odds of a double eagle are like throwing
a marble into a water hose at 50 feet. So what are the odds of making a double
eagle?
No specific statistically
company will give the odds of a double eagle for amateur or professional
golfers. The most common number given on the Internet is 1 in 6 million, but
Dean Knuth, the person that came up with the slope rating for a golf course
that the United States Golf Association (USGA) uses, stated in an interview in
a 2004 Golf World article, says this figure is a little too high.
Knuth estimates that the
odds are more like 1 in 1 million. Since Knuth is a lot smarter than most
people when it comes to golf, you can probably place more importance on his
estimate than anyone else. However, Knuth’s estimate is still a guess.
Since no statistical
organization will give odds for an albatross, you have to look at the facts of
what professional golfers have done. Which means the odds of an amateur golfer
of doing the same thing are dramatically different and even more rare.
For example, according to
Golf World, over the course of 20 years there was 631 aces, or hole-in-ones,
made on the PGA Tour. During that same time, only 56 double eagles were made.
There were never more than six double eagles made in one season.
On the LPGA, the woman’s
PGA, only 24 double eagles were recorded during that same time.
For amateur golfers this
would mean that a double eagle is even more rare. According to the article in
Golf World, each year about 40,000 hole-in-ones are made in the United States ,
while only a couple of hundred double eagles are made.
That means that if the
odds of a hole-in-one for an amateur golfer is 1 in 12,500, which is the agreed
upon odds for a hole-in-one, then the odds of an amateur golfer making a double
eagle would be 1 in 2.5 million.
If you ever happen to
make a double eagle in your golfing lifetime, then you should cherish this more
than you ever would a hole-in-one. This is the rarest of accomplishments in
golf and if you happen to be lucky enough, and luck plays a very big role in
hitting a double eagle, then buy the group of golfers you played with a round
of drinks, take your spouse out for dinner and celebrate the day and, more
importantly, buy yourself a lottery ticket on the way home.
