[On this weekend of The Masters – an appropriate repeat of September 9, 2012] I have spoken about my near miss of a hole-in-one. And my not-so-secret passion for par 3’s (“Five Feet from Glory”). I’d love to have a hole-in-one. But what sticks in the back of my mind is the rarest of golf shots — an “Albatross.” A double eagle.

A double eagle is 3 under par on any given hole. It is a hole-in-one on a par 4 and a 2 on a par 5. They are a rarity — even on the PGA Tour. The first double eagle on record was scored by Tom Morris, Jr. (1870 British Open – Prestwick). The longest albatross was scored by Andy Bean on a 663 yard par 5 (no. 18; Kapalua) in 1991. The longest double eagle/ace was by Robert Mitera on a 447 yard par 4 (1965).

Double eagles are not child’s play. Yet the youngest golfer to score one was a 10 year old girl. Line Toft Hansen scored one in 2010 in a Danish juniors’ competition (419 yard; par 5). In tournament play, 602 doubles have been scored since the first in 1870. The last one I watched on t.v. — Louis Oosthuizen on April 8th in 2012 on number 5 at the Masters. The only Tour player to have scored two in Major tournaments was Jeff Maggert (’94 Masters and ’01 British Open).

Only one golfer is known to have scored a hole-in-one and a double eagle in one round. Coach John Wooden of UCLA did it in 1939 (Erskine Park G.C. South Bend) (a good trivia question).  

I’ve read that the odds of a double eagle are one million to one (judging by the score of my last round, I should’ve had one. . . .). A hole-in-one is a mere 40,000 to 1.  If you want to watch a few on the PGA Tour, check out  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKNs2jvmUYA  

I’d love that hole-in-one. But I’d love a double eagle even more. Maybe if I play from the ladies’ tees. . . .