How did the terms irdie and eagle come into golf?
top The term ‘birdie’ originated in the United States in 1899. H.B. Martin’s “Fifty Years of American Golf” contains an account of a foursomes match played at the Atlantic City (N.J.) CC. One of the players, Ab Smith relates: “my ball… came to rest within six inches of the cup. I said ‘That was a bird of a shot… I suggest that when one of us plays a hole in one under par he receives double compensation.’ The other two agreed and we began right away, just as soon as the next one came, to call it a ‘birdie.’ In 19th century American slang, ‘bird’ refereed to anyone or anything excellent or wonderful. By analogy with ‘birdie,’ the term ‘eagle’ soon thereafter became common to refer to a score one better than a ‘bird.’ Also by analogy, the term ‘albatross’ for double eagle – an even bigger eagle!
