Only 5 Ever Recorded: Why is a Condor so Rare in Golf?

Do you think you could shoot four under par on a single hole? Chances are you probably couldn’t.

Only five so-called “condors” have ever been recorded.

To score a condor, you really have to be creative in cutting corners or confident enough to hit over trees. The most recent of these rare shots was recorded just a few months ago in Oakland California.

When local resident Kevin Pon went out for a round at Lake Chabot Golf Course on the 10th of December 2020, he probably didn’t think he would make history.

At 54 years old, Pon achieved the near-impossible when he finished the 667-yard par-6 18th in just 2 shots.

“It’s been a dream,” he said in an interview with Golf Channel in response to how he feels about the historical feat “just being within those 5 five people and being the only one that’s done it on a par-6, it’s just mind blowing”.

More from the countdown series: the men who broke one of golf’s coolest records.

It was the first recorded condor on a par-6 hole

Every other four-under shot happened when a player aced a par 5.

The 54-year-old’s strategic 550-yard drive crossed trees and bounced off cart pathways to leave him with the perfect opportunity to hit the ball up to the green using his pitching wedge.

He recalls onlookers cheering and shouting as the ball slowly rolled across the green and into the hole but he didn’t see the historic moment himself due to the low angle from which he shot.

Don’t expect to see any at the Masters anytime soon. Changes to the course in the last 20 years or so have made such creative shots near impossible.

The first condor was recorded all the way back in 1962 by Larry Bruce in Hope Country Club, Arkansas on the 480-yard, par-5 fifth hole.

Before Pon, the second most recent condor was recorded at Royal Wentworth Falls Country Club, NSW, Australia. Jack Bartlett, who was just 16-years-old at the time, scored an ace on the 467 metre par-5 17th hole.

This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.