(Editor’s note: this was originally published on September 13, 2013 on “View from the Rough”)

The hole-in-one is the gold standard in golf.  If you’ve ever gotten one, it can be an excellent bragging point.  How far was the hole? What club did you use?  What’d you do with the ball?  But the argument could be made that it isn’t the most impressive feat in the sport.  Oh no?  What could be better?  How about a double eagle?  Yes, what about notching a deuce on a par 5?

Don’t get me wrong, a hole-in-1 is awesome, and something I hope to achieve at some point in my life. But it takes one great (lucky?) shot to get a hole-in-1.  A double eagle requires TWO great (or lucky?) shots.  And if you’re playing from the right tee boxes, that could be two beastly shots.  I’ve heard of many people getting a hole-in-1, but very few (Notah Begay at Stow Acres North and Louis Oosthuizen at the Masters a few years ago – see youtube clip below) who have achieved the double eagle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIW936walpw

So what do you think?  What is the more impressive golf feat – the hole-in-1, or the albatross?

And by hole-in-1, I mean on a par 3.  A hole-in-one on a par 4, well, I’m not ready to go there yet.