Vermont Golfer Makes Hole-in-One, Two Albatrosses in 2 Weeks
By Staff Writer
2 min read
Tyler Darling, a 45-year-old Vermonter with a 5.8 handicap index, made a hole-in-one and two albatrosses in a span of two weeks this fall at Orleans Country Club, a run so statistically improbable that a friend calculated the combined odds at roughly 1 in 14.5 quadrillion.
How did the streak happen?
Darling, who has been a member at Orleans for 25 years, opened his run on Aug. 25 with an 8-iron ace on the 157-yard, par-3 third hole — only the second hole-in-one of his life. He covered the resulting $387 bar tab.
A few days later, on Sept. 1, Darling drove roughly 300 yards on the 485-yard, par-5 11th hole and holed his approach with a 7-iron for his first career albatross. One week after that, on Sept. 8, he holed a gap wedge from 120 yards on the 450-yard, par-5 fourth hole for a second albatross.
How rare is the feat?
Using a binomial probability formula applied to an estimated 24 par-3 and 24 par-5 opportunities over six rounds in two weeks, Darling's friend Peter Laferriere calculated the odds of at least one hole-in-one and two albatrosses in that window at approximately 1 in 14.5 quadrillion — a figure GOLF.com said it did not independently verify. Even using a scratch player's more favorable albatross odds, the calculation still lands near 410 billion to 1.
A hole-in-one and two albatrosses in two weeks is the kind of streak a scratch player might never see in a lifetime, let alone a 5-handicap.
Darling's club posted the feat on its Facebook page, where commenters urged him to buy lottery tickets. "I'm pretty sure I used it all up," he said.
Frequently asked questions
What is a golf albatross?
An albatross, also called a double eagle, is a score of three strokes under par on a single hole — most commonly a 2 on a par 5.
What are the typical odds of a hole-in-one for an amateur?
Recreational golfers are commonly cited as having roughly a 1-in-12,500 chance of making a hole-in-one on any given par-3 attempt.
How rare is it to make two albatrosses in the same season?
Individually, an amateur's odds of an albatross are estimated at around 1 in 6 million per par-5 attempt, making two within a two-week span an extreme statistical outlier.
Key takeaways
- Tyler Darling, a 5.8-handicap golfer from Vermont, made a hole-in-one and two albatrosses within two weeks at Orleans Country Club.
- His ace came Aug. 25 on the par-3 third hole; his albatrosses followed on Sept. 1 and Sept. 8 on separate par-5 holes.
- A friend calculated the combined odds of the streak at roughly 1 in 14.5 quadrillion.
- It was only the second hole-in-one and the first albatrosses of Darling's golfing life.
- tyler darling
- hole in one
- albatross
- orleans country club
- amateur golf
- vermont golf
