What is an Albatross in golf? How did the name come about and what's the difference between net & gross albatross.
What is an Albatross in golf?
As rare as the species itself, arguably harder to achieve than a hole in one is an albatross.
One better than an eagle, an albatross is when you score three strokes less than the declared par of the hole. So that means if playing a par-5 hole you must complete the hole in two shots to achieve an albatross.
If playing a par-4 hole and you complete the hole in one shot, that's also an albatross but is more popularly known as a 'hole in one'.
Where does the word 'albatross' come from?
The words origin is unknown but it's first known reference was back in 1929. However even then it's widely believed it was used for some time before then.
If we were to speculate it was likely keeping with the bird theme with terms 'birdie' & 'eagle' and they chose albatross because they're rare in golf and in nature.
What is the difference between Net & Gross?
Net albatross
Gross albatross
A gross albatross is the opposite of a net albatross. Gross is the score you get before any handicap strokes are deducted.
So if you're playing a par 5, you will need to finish the hole in 2 shots to get a gross albatross.
