New to the world of golf? Looking to understand some scoring basic golf terms?
Did you just discovered golf or maybe you went to Topgolf for the first time? Got a new love interest who is really into golf and want to impress them with your knowledge? Looking into playing golf yourself or even just want to know the terms you hear your golf loving people you know are talking about.
Below is a great place to learn the basic golf terms.
What is a par in golf?
In golf, a “par” is the standard number of strokes that a golfer is expected to hit the ball on a golf course, for instance 72 for an 18 hole course or par 4 for a particular hole. It is the score which a golfer’s performance is measured.
A par score for a hole is determined based on its length and difficulty. For instance, a par 3 hole is typically less than 250 yards, while a par 4 hole is between 251-475 yards, a par 5 hole is typically more than 476 yards. But these yardages are just for reference, always some exceptions to these rules.
If a golfer completes a hole in the same number of strokes as its par score, it is referred to as a “par.”
What is a bogey in golf?
A bogey, or sometimes spelled bogy, is one over par. So if a hole is a par 4 and it takes a golfer 5 strokes to get the ball in the hole the golfer got a bogey on the hole.
With that said, a double bogey is 2 more times a golfer has to hit the ball to get it into the hole. A triple bogey is 3 more strokes to hit the ball into the hole. For example, A triple bogey on a par 5 hole would be an 8.
What is a birdie in golf?
A birdie in golf is one stroke less to get the ball in the hole. For example a par 4 hole, if it only takes you 3 strokes to hit the ball into the hole you would call that a birdie. Getting a 4 on a par 5 is also another example of a birdie.
What is an eagle in golf?
An eagle in golf is a really special score. It is getting 2 strokes less that the par on a hole. The most common place to get an eagle is on a par 5. So a golfer only hits the ball 3 times to put the ball into the cup. As mentioned above, par 5’s are typically very long holes so it takes an extremely good golfer to get an eagle.
There is another kind of eagle but is more commonly known as a hole in one. A hole in one is when it only takes one stoke or hit of the ball and it goes in the hole. By the way, in all the years I’ve played golf, I’ve had one hole in one! This is typically done on a par 3, so two under par is an eagle and a hole in one. The have even been some rare instances where a hole in one has happened on a par 4, but that is super rare.
As you can probably guess there is also a thing called a double eagle, it is also know as an albatross. Typically, on a par 5, someone hits the ball into the hole in only 2 strokes. This is something that pretty much never happens. But it obviously has since someone has given it a name.
What is a handicap in golf?
A handicap in golf measures of a player’s ability to be able to compare to there golfers. It is the number of strokes above par that a player will expect to shoot in a typical round of golf, based on their previous scores and the difficulty of the course. There is a lot more too it to come up with the golf handicap but this is a high level description.
The lower a player’s handicap, the better golfer they are. For example, a player with a handicap of 10 can expect to shoot 10 strokes over par in a typical round of golf, while a player with a handicap of 17 can expect to shoot 17 strokes over par. This can change from game to game but it is the average score a golfer can expect.
Handicaps are used in golf competition, including match play and stroke play, to allow players of different abilities to compete an equal playing field. In stroke play, a player’s handicap is subtracted from their total score to determine their net score, which is used to rank players in the competition.
The term net score is the persons actual score on the course for 18 holes less their handicap. So if a person shoots 100 as an actual or gross score but has a handicap of 15, that golfer shoots a net score of 85.
Conclusion
I hope this post gives you a good understanding of golf scoring terms. You should be able to know what someone is talking about if they mention they got a birdie on a hard hole and what they are talking about when referring to their handicap. Golf is a difficult game and all the terms make it even more so.
This is only a subset of terms. If you are looking for some other definitions, please see my other page.
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