What Is A Bogey In Golf? – Birdie In Golf – Golfer Cloud

Golf is a game where the golfers use many standard terms while playing on the golf course or discussing it. The first three terms related to the golf green scoring are Par, Bogey, and Birdie. As a beginner of golf, you will not have proper knowledge of these mostly-used golf terms. But do not be anxious about it because every professional golfer was a learner once, and after passing a long time of training and learning, they become proficient about it. If you can acquire enough knowledge about these three terms, Par, Bogey, and Birdie, you can easily understand the golf scoring system.

We make this guide with the terms used for golfing only for the players who are just starting their training period to learn. So when you complete this article’s reading based on golf phrases, you can also understand the meaning of most of all words related to golf.

Par

Par is an encoded number of strokes that a proficient golfer needs to complete a hole, a golf round, or a tournament. Each golf course hole has specific par values between three and five, including a guideline for the number of strokes to reach the green. And this number is assigned to it according to the length from teeing ground to putting green. Generally, a standard 18-hole golf course is also a Par-72 golf course. The USAG (United States Golf Association) determines a unique distance from tee to green, different for men and women. In below, we state the length for determining the Par of a golf hole.

USGA Standard Par Distance Chart

For men –

For women –

Besides, except for the distance, other factors like altitude, terrain, and obstacles that create difficulty for playing are considered to determine the number of a tee shot or Par for an individual golf hole. Comparison of the cumulative score of the course with the par score takes place, and the tournament’s score determines by totaling the par score in each round.

For example, if the Par of a course is 72, and the golfer creates 75 strokes to complete it, the stated score will be “+3″ or” three-over-par.” And when they take 70 strokes, then their score will be “-2” or “two-under-par.” Similarly, if each of the four rounds has a par of 72, the tournament’s Par will be 288. Thus when any golfer records 72, 73, 70, and 69, the reported score will be 284 or four-under-par.

Bogey

When a golfer gets a score of one stroke more than Par (+1) for the individual hole, it is called a bogey. If any golfer takes four strokes to finish a par-3 hole or six for par-5 holes, it will term as he obtains bogey scores. In the early golf time, the bogey was the number of golf ball strokes a golfer should take at each hole to complete it. But with the time and standardization of golf in The United States, the par scoring constricts, and bogey changes into one-over-par. At the Great Yarmouth golf club, the word “Bogey” first use in 1890 and is derived from the phrase “bogey man” and the famous music hall song “Here comes the Bogey man.”

Types of Bogey

Generally, Golfers score four types of a bogey for completing a golf round. But among the kinds of bogey, three are seen frequently. These categories of the scoring term bogey are –

1. Bogey or single-bogey

When the golfers take one golf shot or stroke, more than a par means the player scores a single bogey. It is an everyday experience for a scratch golfer.

2. Double bogey

If the golfer takes two strokes more than the Par for the individual hole, it is called a double bogey. It is quite natural for a leaner golfer, but the pro golfer tries to avoid making a double bogey.

3. Triple bogey

Taking three more strokes than Par for reaching the targeted hole means the player score triple bogey. Perhaps it is rare, but most amateur golfers make a triple bogey while swinging their clubs for the first time to complete the round.

4. Quadruple bogey

Taking four more strokes than Par for an individual golf hole is not an expected issue, but it happens. The scoring is a quadruple bogey when the golfers take four more strokes than Par for completing a hole. The expert never makes a quadruple bogey, but beginners or intermediate or recreational golfers sometimes make this bogey type.

Birdie

Birdie means an individual golf hole score of one stroke less than Par or one-under-par, or “-1.” For example, birdie scoring is when a golfer takes two to complete a par-3 hole or four in a par-5 hole. Usually, a perfect round-like score of 54 on a par-72 course is a scoring a birdie on 18 holes. The term “birdie’ first use in Atlantic City Country Club, Northfield, New Jersey, in 1899.

There is a story of lay claim to the term Birdie. In 1899, three golfers, George Crump, William Poultney Smith, and his brother Ab, Smith, played golf in the Atlantic City Country Club. In that session, Crump made his second shot only inches from the cup on a par-4 hole, where his first shot stuck a bird in flight. Ab. Smith exclaimed that shot as a “Bird,” and Crump’s shortest putt left him one-under-par for the individual golf hole. After that day, these golfers referred to that scoring as “a birdie.” And within a short time, all club members started to use this word while playing golf when the Atlantic City Country Club turned into a resort. This expression spread and caught by the Atlantic City amateur golfers and the entire American golfers.

Types of Birdie

Like a bogey, there are three types of Birdie in the scores of the skilled golfers. These are –

1. Birdie

Birdie is the regular scoring of a scratch golfer when they take one stroke fewer than Par. And Birdie. This term becomes familiar to golfers because most golf players love to create birdies.

2. Eagle

Eagle means when a golfer makes a score two under Par for a single hole. It is quite a good score than a birdie. As golfers love birdies and eagles, this score is the National symbol of The United States. An Eagle happens when an expert golfer through the golf ball far enough to reach the targeted green with fewer strokes than expected. Generally, it occurs on a par-5 hole, also can take place on a short par-4 hole.

3. Albatross

An Albatross in golf indicates an individual hole score of three strokes fewer than Par. Double Eagle is another name for an albatross in the United States. Although double Eagle is incredibly unexceptional, it frequently happens on the par-5 hole with a strong driver and a holed targeted shot. In 1935, Gene Sarazen made the first Albatross on the 15th hole at Augusta National Golf Club during the Master tournament’s final round. Between 1970 to 2003, 84 Albatross shots were made on The PGA Tournaments by the PGA golfers.

The most important shot in golf for the Bogey golfer!

Final Words

Par the number of strokes that pro golfers expect to create while staying on the course, and each hole on the golf course has an assigned par. The basic golf terms Bogey and Birdie are the golf ball hitting scores that determine based on the specific hole’s Par number. However, these two golf terms arise while golfers are playing golf at the Atlantic City Country Club. But now, these golf scoring words are familiar to golf skills. When you complete the reading of this article, we make sure that you can make a clear conceptional of these scoring terms for golf. The stated information about Bogey and Birdie will help you aim your target for the final score.

Let’s enjoy your golf on the course.