[Kim Maengnyeong's Golf English Conversation] "Overpar Scoring in Golf"

A bogey is when a player completes a hole with one stroke over the par.

In golf, "par" refers to the standard number of strokes set for a hole.

If you finish a hole with one stroke (+1) more than par, it is called a bogey. For example, on a Par 3 hole, finishing in 4 strokes; on a Par 4 hole, finishing in 5 strokes; and on a Par 5 hole, finishing in 6 strokes. For amateur golfers, this is not a bad score, but for professional golfers, it is disappointing. A so-called Bogey Player is a golfer whose average score per hole is a bogey, finishing a round around 90 strokes. The term Average Player has the same meaning.

The United States Golf Association (USGA) defines a bogey player as having a Handicap Index of approximately 20.0 for men and approximately 24.0 for women. Among the 30 million golfers in the U.S., single-digit handicappers make up about 8-10%, while bogey players account for about 40%. When a player records bogeys consecutively, it is called a bogey train, because a train pulls several identical passenger and freight cars.

If someone asks, "What's your handicap?" and your handicap is around 18-20, you can respond, "I am the bogey man." A Double Bogey is a score two strokes (+2) over par. Following that are Triple Bogey, Quadruple Bogey, Quintuple Bogey, Sextuple Bogey, and Septuple Bogey in order.

A: You look pretty busy on that hole. What did you shoot?

B: Yes, I bogeyed the 9th hole.

A: Oh did you? I thought you'd made the putt.

B: I got two bogeys in a row.

A: Hopefully we can do better next hole.

Written and photographed by Kim Maengnyeong, Golf Columnist