If you are starting to play golf, there is a good chance you will come across some of these golf course scoring terms on your first round at the golf course.
Golf has been played for centuries now, and it has its own set of terminology, which can be confusing for new golfers, par-3 holes, par-4 hole and par-5 golf holes what do they actually mean. You may hear about scoring terms while on the course or from someone who knows how to play the game. But what do they mean? In this article, we will focus on those scores terms you need to become more familiar with as a beginner golfer.
Golf Course Scoring Terms
Par
To better understand the other golf scoring terms, let’s tackle what par in golf means first. This is the most common term used in golf, and it refers to how many strokes good golfers need to finish that hole in. You may have heard of par related to other sports such as basketball or baseball, where they also have their definition for what a “par” is.
Ace
Managing to get a hole in one shot.
Birdie
A term you will hear quite often on the golf course is Birdie. Finishing the hole with one less stroke than what was required for par. You can also use this term as an adjective if someone had just made an outstanding and well-played shot in which they said: “nice birdie” instead of “good.
Eagle
If a player completes a hole in two strokes under par, it is called an eagle.
Albatross
For hole completions, three strokes under par in golf is an Albatross. Also known as “double eagles” concerning the “birdie” and “eagle” theme. The name reasons that Albatross is a scarce bird and so is scoring three under par any golfers managing that are on top of their game.
Bogey
“Bogie” means the number of strokes that are necessary for an expert golfer to hit their ball in such a way that it finishes with one shot more than the hole required. As a player who wants to challenge others, you aim to complete each round right on par or under therefor a bogey.
Double Bogey
This is the most common golfing score for players who don’t keep up with their game and neglect to maintain a high standard. It happens in novice levels when they hit two shots over par in one hole.
Triple Bogey
Well obviously you will know by now that means the recreational golfer has hit a 3 over par score on that individual golf hole, not the best. So for instance if that was a par 5 hole then it would have taken 8 shots.
Now you understand what the golf course scoring terms are you may want to check out other golfing terminology