Date Published: 21/11/2024
In golf, a bogey refers to scoring one stroke over par on a hole. For example, if a hole’s par is three and you take four strokes to sink the ball, you’ve scored a bogey.
If someone is referred to as a bogey golfer, it means they consistently average a bogey on every hole. For example, this would amount to a score of nine-over par for nine holes or eighteen-over par for eighteen holes.
A double bogey occurs when a golfer scores two strokes over par on a hole. For instance, scoring a five on a par-three hole is a double bogey. Many players simply call it a “double.”
A triple bogey is when a golfer scores three strokes over par on a hole, such as a seven on a par-four hole. Triple bogeys, often referred to as “triples,” are something most golfers strive to avoid.
A quadruple bogey happens when a golfer scores four strokes over par on a hole.
Beyond quadruple bogeys, golfers may encounter even higher scores, such as a quintuple or sextuple bogey. However, any score more than three over par is often colloquially referred to as a “disaster hole.”
The term “bogey” dates back to 1890 at Great Yarmouth Golf Club in England. During a game, Charles Wellman used the term “bogey man” when describing his effort to match the course’s ground score—the term used at the time for what we now call par.
The phrase caught on, and players began to describe their performance as “chasing the bogey man.” By 1892, the term evolved further with the invention of the character Colonel Bogey, representing the score golfers aimed to beat during a round.
Originally, a bogey represented the number of strokes a good golfer was expected to take on a hole. As the game evolved and scores became standardised, par replaced “ground score,” and the term bogey shifted to mean one-over par.
Interestingly, in its early days, a bogey was considered a good score for an amateur golfer, whereas par was reserved for expert-level performance.
A bogey competition is a format in golf where players compete against the course using stroke play rules. On each hole, the golfer’s goal is to beat the bogey score:
The aim is to win more holes than you lose. Unlike traditional match play, a bogey competition is played through all 18 holes, and the total holes won minus the total holes lost determines the winner.
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