Historic Moments in the Game
Great Yarmouth and Caister Golf Club: The term "bogey" is created here.
I thought I would offer up some historical idiosyncrasies, today, on the game called golf.
We all know the sport is deep in history and myth.
I came upon a fine site documenting the origin of terms that we take for granted in the game.
When I chose the name for this golf blog, little did I realize how the terms "eagle", "par" and "birdie" came about (certainly not from any scorecard I'm familiar with…).
Actually, they flow directly from the origin of the word, "bogey", it seems.
In the late 19th century, a musical called "Hush, hush, hush! Here comes the Bogey-Man" was popular in music halls in Great Britain. A Bogey-man was a kind of devil or evil spirit.
At the same time, the Coventry Golf Club decided to standardize the number of strokes for each of its holes. During a subsequent match play competition, one player referred to another as a "regular Bogey-Man", meaning his play was fearsome because it was perfect.
And, so the anecdotal theory goes, "bogey" became the score to beat.
"Par" was a term used to measure the performance of shares on the London Stock Exchange. "Par" signified the normal value for a share; it could be above par – an increase in value – or below par.
One day a sports writer asked a player what score would win The Open at Prestwick in 1870. The player replied that perfect play would result in a score of 49 (they only played 12 holes in those days!).
The reporter then wrote that 49 strokes was Par for Prestwick.
But it didn't become a standardized scoring method until the American Women's Golf Association made it part of a national handicapping system at the end of the century.
In 1911, the United States Golf Association laid down distances for "par" on various types of holes. They even allowed for a par 6!
What I found most interesting was how "bogey" came to mean one over "par".
It seems that the British were reluctant to align their "bogey" scoring system with the American "par" system. They were also not keeping up with improved play. In other words, they were not making their courses longer!
So, in international competition, the Americans would routinely score better than "bogey". They began to refer to the British "bogey" as one stroke over their "par".
"Birdie" was again a term taken from the vernacular at the time. In the United States, something that was excellent was called "bird".
So, a "bird of a shot" would often result in one under par and that became "birdie".
"Eagle" was a natural follow-on to "birdie". An eagle is a big bird. Get the idea?
To complete the scoring lexicon, "Albatross" was used to note a double eagle. The albatross is a very rare bird.
Of course, none of this does anything to improve scoring in my game today.
But now I know that when I am scoring "bogey" and worse, I am walking in the footsteps of golf history as I do so.
Somehow, that's comforting for some reason.