If you watched the BMW PGA Championship last weekend, you were treated to two amazing feats of golf during Saturday's round. The first was a hole-in-one by Miguel Angel Jimenez on the par 3 2nd hole and the second was an albatross (double eagle) by Tommy Fleetwood on the par 5 4th hole. While these two feats are rare in their own rights, it's even rarer that both of them occur in the same tournament, let alone the same round.
This got me thinking about which of the two was better: an albatross or an ace? For those who do not know, a hole-in-one is ... well ... hitting your golf ball into the hole (in this case on a par 3) in just one shot, resulting in a 2-under score for the hole. An albatross on the other hand, is when you score a 3-under on a hole, in this case making a 2 on a par 5. Now I have two golf buddies of mine, one who scored an ace and one who scored an albatross and they're always comparing and going back and for about who's shot was better (of course they are biased though). So to get to the bottom of it, I asked a few golf personalities on Twitter what their thoughts on it were. The question was: "Ace VS Albatross: Which shot carries more prestige in the golf world and why?". Here's what they had to say:
Matthew "Coach" Lockey
Club Pro/PGA Instructor - East Devon Golf Club in Devon, UK
Golf Personality featured in Mark Crossfield's YouTube videos
James Pickard
Club Pro/PGA Instructor - Honiton Golf Club in Honiton, UK
Golf Personality featured in Mark Crossfield's YouTube videos
Recently shot a hole in one
Rick Young
Past President - Golf Journalists Association of Canada
Equipment & Business Analyst - SCOREGolf
Steven Buzza
Performance Coach - University of Exeter Golf
TPI certified Golf Professional and Sport Scientist
Golf Personality featured in Mark Crossfield's YouTube videos
Some very interesting responses. Like we said above the albatross results in a lower score, as Coach Lockey said, which is always a better thing. Buzza and Pickard mention that the albatross is rarer, which is most certainly the case. To shoot an albatross, you pretty much have to make a hole-in-one as your second shot on a par 5. But, distance-wise you're probably farther away than your average par 3, you're not hitting from a tee box i.e. you can't choose your lie or tee it up, and statistically most golfers are less accurate with longer clubs (which you are most likely going to be hitting for your 2nd shot on a par 5) than with shorter clubs (which you most likely use for par 3's).
So it seems like the albatross carries the most prestige right? Well consider what Young and Buzza said for a minute. The ace is the shot that everyone knows and it's the shot that's more respected by a broader audience. You can ask pretty much any non-golfer what a hole-in-one is and they'll know what it entitles. The same thing cannot be said for an albatross. In a social context, the ace is the defining achievement for golf, just as the triple play is for baseball or the hat-trick is for soccer. Plus, there's just something about standing on the tee box, hitting one shot, and watching it drop in that every golfer wants to experience.
Also, I think that the fact that the hole-in-one is easier to hit than the albatross makes it more desired. The ace is the shot that professionals as well as amateurs can hit maybe more so than the albatross. And I'm pretty sure when most golfers look at a par 3, they're secretly thinking in the back of their minds "an ace would nice here".
So in the end, yes, technically speaking the albatross is the better shot with the better results and the one that requires more skill, but I think we would all be lying if we said that we didn't think of scoring an ace more often than an albatross.
What are your thoughts on it? Leave a comment below and let us know...
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
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