Have You Ever Made An Eagle? Find Out If You're In The Minority Or Majority Of Amateur Golfers

Joel Tadman hitting a tee shot with driver on a short par-4 hole, trying to make an eagle, with an inset image of Joel's putt falling agonisingly short as he cradles his head in his hands with his putter over his head in despair.

Consider how many rounds of golf you have played in your life... have you ever made an eagle?

Making an eagle in golf is up there with the sport's top achievements and sadly not one that every golfer experiences in their lifetime.

Some amateurs defy astronomical odds with incredible on-course achievements, like multiple holes-in-one, but most of us would dine out on the incredible story of a heroic eagle for the rest of our lives.

If you are one of the privileged few who have experienced the pure elation of an eagle on the card, I want to hear the story. Drop me a line in the comments box below and let's make the world's first collection of hyperbolic stories about our eagle experiences!

Anyway, let's get into the data. Thanks to the latest Shot Scope data, curated through rounds from registered Shot Scope users, we can now reveal what percentage of amateur golfers have made an eagle in their lifetime...

What Percentage Of Amateur Golfers Have Made An Eagle?

Let's start with the cold, hard truth. I've never made an eagle.

I came closest to joining the club earlier this year, when an inspired driving performance helped me to drive the famous 10th green at The Belfry earlier this year, only to slide the eagle putt a few feet past and settle for a birdie.

To further evidence how difficult making an eagle actually is, our deputy editor Joel Tadman conducted an experiment. With 24 hours to make an eagle, on the par-4 fourth hole at Sunningdale Heath, he finally made a two on his 37th attempt.

For context, Joel is a low-single-figure golfer and I'd have to say that if I tried that same test I might need 370 attempts to even get close.

But, it turns out, I am not in the minority here. According to the Shot Scope data, just 11.6% of Shot Scope registered amateur golfers have made an eagle in their lifetime.

While that number is bleak for most of us, I wouldn't say it's one of the most surprising golf stats of all time.

It's based on a pretty sizeable dataset, so I am inclined to believe that's a pretty accurate reflection of the general experience, but just to make ourselves feel a little worse... let's look at the tour data.

Rico Hoey ranked 3rd for SG: Off The Tee in 2025 - helping to put him in a great position to attack holes and make eagles (Image credit: Getty Images)

The PGA Tour average for total eagles in 2025 was two per player, in one season, but some players way outperformed that benchmark.

Rico Hoey led the way with a staggering 19 eagles in 2025, while Ryan Gerard, Steven Fisk, Michael Thorbjornsen, Kevin Yu, Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Kurt Kitayama and Jesper Svensson all posted north of 15 eagles.

On the LPGA Tour, Julia Lopez Ramirez led the way in 2025 with an impressive 15, while Mi Hyang Lee, Stephanie Kyriacou and Ina Yoon all made 14 each in that single season.

Julia Lopez Ramirez ranked 1st for driving distance and 4th for SG: Off The Tee in 2025 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Both Julia Lopez Ramirez and Rico Hoey excelled off the tee in 2025, perhaps highlighting the path to more eagle chances.

While it probably doesn't help my chances of making an eagle to reflect on the incredible achievements of these elite players, it does help to provide perspective on just how good the top golfers are at this infuriating game.

I'll keep trying. You never know, the fitness exercises that have already made me a better golfer as part of my winter golf rebuild could just give me the boosted clubhead speed to reach a few short par-4s with the driver. Then, it's go time!