Is There a Golf Score Called the 'Triple Eagle'?
Is "triple eagle" a real score? Yes and no. Yes in that we can define the term, no in the sense that the term is not one golfers actually use in any organic way (outside of articles such as this one).
We'll start by defining the term. "Triple eagle" means 4-under par on a hole. This is just an extrapolation from the very real and everyday golf terms of eagle (which is 2-under par on a hole — scoring 3 on a par-5, for example) and double eagle (3-under par on a hole — e.g., scoring 2 on a par-5).
Do triple eagles exist in golf? In theory, they can. But not on a par-3 hole or a par-4 holes. A triple eagle (4-under on a hole) is impossible on those holes: You can't play a par-3 in negative-1 strokes, after all, nor a par-4 in zero strokes.
But if a golfer scored a hole-in-one on a par-5 hole, that would be 4-under on that hole. Which could be called a triple eagle. But there is already a different term for this almost-unheard of feat: condor. "Condor" is the term for scoring a hole-in-one on a par-5 hole, or for holing out in 2 on uncommon par-6 holes.
Besides, if you ace a par-5, you're not going to run to your buddies and scream about making a triple eagle. You're going to scream about making a hole-in-one! And someone might throw out the fact that another term for that score is "condor."
And this is why "triple eagle" is a golf score that can be defined (4-under on a single hole) but is also a term that golfers almost never actually use. Another reason for that is that there are literally fewer than 10 known instances of any golfer scoring 4-under on a hole in the entire history of golf.
Related terms:
