History of Golf Scoring: Par, Bogey and Birdie
Par came into golf from the language of finance, where it means "equal value". Bogey began in 1890s Britain as the name for a standard score, inspired by a popular song, and only later came to mean one over par. Birdie grew out of American slang around 1900, where "bird" meant something excellent. Here's how those words arrived and why their meanings shifted.
Golf's scoring words at a glance
| Term | Means today | Where it came from |
|---|---|---|
| Par | The expected score on a hole | Finance and Latin: "par" means equal |
| Bogey | One over par | A standard score named after the "Bogey Man" in an 1890s song |
| Birdie | One under par | American slang: a "bird" was something great |
| Eagle | Two under par | A bigger bird, following on from birdie |
| Albatross | Three under par | A rarer bird still (called a double eagle in the US) |
For what each score means on the course today, see golf scoring explained: birdie, par, bogey.
Before par: counting strokes and holes
Early golf was mostly match play: you won or lost each hole against your opponent, so a target score wasn't needed. Courses also varied in length. The Old Course at St Andrews once had 22 holes; in 1764 it was cut to 18, and over time 18 became the standard round across the game.
The word "par"
"Par" is Latin for equal, and in English it was long used for shares and currency trading "at par", meaning at their face value. Golfers borrowed it to describe the score a good player ought to make.
A story often repeated by golf historians links it to the 1870 Open at Prestwick, then a 12-hole course. A golf writer asked two leading professionals what a perfect round there would take, and they settled on 49, which he called "par". Whether or not that was the first use, the word became common in golf over the following decades.
How "bogey" was born
In Britain in the 1890s, clubs began setting a standard score for each hole, so members could play against the course rather than just against each other. Hugh Rotherham of Coventry is usually credited with the idea of this "ground score".
At Great Yarmouth, members nicknamed this imaginary opponent the Bogey Man, after the figure in a popular music hall song of the time. The name spread, and at military clubs the phantom golfer was given a rank: Colonel Bogey. Playing "against bogey" became a popular competition format, and many British clubs still run bogey or par competitions today.
Why bogey now means one over
At first, bogey and par both meant a target score for each hole. Then they drifted apart.
- The bogey score was usually set at what a good club golfer could manage, so it was fairly generous.
- In America, par became the standard, and it was set at what an expert would make, so it was tougher.
- As equipment improved and par took over everywhere, a club golfer's "bogey" on a hole was usually one more than par.
- Over the first half of the 20th century, bogey settled into its modern meaning: one over par. Double and triple bogey followed.
Read more in what is a bogey in golf?
Where "birdie" came from
In American slang around 1900, anything excellent was "a bird". The best-known story comes from the Atlantic City Country Club in New Jersey, where, around the turn of the century, a player hit a fine shot that set up a score one under the standard on the hole and his group called it "a bird of a shot". The club has long claimed the word as its own.
Eagles and albatrosses
Two under needed a bigger bird: the eagle, also an American term. British golfers named three under after the rare albatross, while Americans often say double eagle. Four under, almost unheard of, is a condor.
Try it in Mashy
Mashy keeps these words alive: its scorecard colours each hole against par, so a birdie, par or bogey shows at a glance, and when you share a result, the line of emoji follows the same colours. Birdies and eagles even earn coins in stroke play and the daily round.
More on the words themselves: what is par in golf? and what is a birdie in golf?
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called par in golf?
Par is Latin for equal, and in English it was used in finance for shares or money trading at their face value. Golfers borrowed it in the late 1800s for the score a skilled player should make on a hole or course.
Why does bogey mean one over par?
Bogey started in 1890s Britain as a standard score set for club golfers, so it was usually a little easier than par, which reflected expert play. As par became the main standard, the club golfer's bogey score tended to be one more than par, and the word settled into that meaning.
Who was Colonel Bogey?
Colonel Bogey was an imaginary golfer, the opponent you played against in a bogey competition. The name came from the Bogey Man of a popular 1890s song, and military golf clubs gave him the rank of colonel. He also lent his name to a famous marching tune.
Where was the word birdie first used in golf?
The best-known story places it at the Atlantic City Country Club in New Jersey around 1900, when a player's excellent shot was called "a bird of a shot" after American slang of the day. The hole was then scored one under the standard, and the name birdie stuck.
Is an albatross the same as a double eagle?
Yes. Both mean three under par on a single hole, such as a 2 on a par 5. Albatross is the usual term in Britain and much of the world, while double eagle is common in the United States. It is one of the rarest scores in golf.