The artful language of golf scoring

The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) is conducting its tour and the summer hits the high point of the season. All throughout the games you hear many familiar words such as birdies, bogeys, par and others. What is this golf jargon? Here we attempt to explain few of the common golf scoring expressions for you.

Par: It is the standard number of shots allowed for each hole from tee to the cup. Par is Latin for “equal.” If a golfer uses four shots to reach a hole when only four is the allowed number of shots, it is called par.

Birdie: Scoring one shot or stroke below the par (standard number of shots) for the hole that is playing results in a birdie. An example is score of three on a par four hole. In American slangs birdie refers to an impressive achievement.

Eagle: Scoring two under par results in an eagle.

Bogey:
A one score over (above) par for the hole is called bogey. An example is a score of five on a par four hole.

Double bogey:
A score of two over par on a hole. Example is a score of six of a par four hole.

Hole-in-one:
Golf’s most cherished accomplishment. As indicated it is a score of one on any hole.