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Birdie, eagle, albatross, bogey, par
Every score on a hole has a name, and most of the names have a story that is better than the one you were told. Here is what each one means, what it is worth, and where the word really comes from.
By Morris, by Badgie Golf · Updated
The table
| Name | Score on the hole | Stableford points (net) | On a par 4 it is a… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condor | 4 under | 6 | hole-in-one on a par 5 only |
| Albatross / double eagle | 3 under | 5 | hole-in-one |
| Eagle | 2 under | 4 | 2 |
| Birdie | 1 under | 3 | 3 |
| Par | par | 2 | 4 |
| Bogey | 1 over | 1 | 5 |
| Double bogey | 2 over | 0 | 6 |
| Triple bogey and worse | 3 over + | 0 | 7 or more |
Net means after the strokes you receive on the hole: a 20 handicap with a stroke on a par 4 makes a net par with a 5 and a net birdie with a 4. The Stableford scorer counts it for you.
The stories, in date order
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1870 | A. H. Doleman asks David Strath and James Anderson what would win the Open at Prestwick: 49 for twelve holes. He calls it par. Young Tom Morris wins two over it. |
| 1890 | Hugh Rotherham, Coventry, proposes a 'ground score' per hole. At Great Yarmouth it is named after the 'Bogey man' of a song. |
| 1892 | A bogey tournament is reported in The Field; at Gosport the imaginary opponent becomes Colonel Bogey. |
| c. 1898–1903 | At Atlantic City a shot 'is a bird' and the bet doubles for one under: the birdie. The eagle follows for two under. |
| 1911 | The USGA sets par by yardage: up to 225 yards a par 3, 225–425 a par 4, 426–600 a par 5. |
| 1919–1922 | 'Eagle' reaches Britain; Cecil Leitch calls it an American term. |
| 1929–1931 | 'Albatross' appears in Britain; a 1931 ace at Durban is reported as the first one. |
| mid-1900s | With par as the standard everywhere, bogey slides to mean one over. |
What the names are for
Not for the card: the card takes numbers. The names are for the walk to the next tee, and for the story afterwards. A bogey golfer is one who averages a bogey a hole, which is most golfers; a birdie is a good day; an eagle is a round you remember. The full glossary is on the golf terms page.
Sources
- Scottish Golf History — Bogey to Blow-Up: origin of golf terms — The origins of bogey, par, birdie, eagle and albatross, with the dates and the disagreements between them. Read 9 October 2026.
- The R&A — Rules of Golf, Rule 21 (Stableford) — The points per hole. Read 9 October 2026.
The scoring terms, one by one
Scoring
Par, birdie, bogey and the rest: what a score is called and where the word comes from.
- Ace (hole-in-one)
- The tee shot goes in the hole. On a par 3 it is an eagle; tradition says the player buys the drinks.
- Albatross
- Three under par on a hole: a 2 on a par 5 or a hole-in-one on a par 4. Called a double eagle in the United States. Five points in Stableford.
- Where the word comes from: A British term first found in 1929; a 1931 hole-in-one at Durban Country Club was reported as 'the first albatross'. Source
- Birdie
- One under par on a hole: a 3 on a par 4. Worth 3 points in Stableford.
- Where the word comes from: American slang: 'bird' meant something excellent. A. B. Smith recalled a round at Atlantic City (1898/9; the club says 1903) where a shot 'was a bird' and the bet doubled for one under par. Source
- Bogey
- One over par on a hole. A double bogey is two over, a triple three over.
- Where the word comes from: Originally the whole 'ground score' a good golfer should make, proposed by Hugh Rotherham at Coventry in 1890 and named after the 'Bogey man' of a music-hall song; 'Colonel Bogey' came from a Gosport club in 1892. It came to mean one over par in the mid-20th century. Source
- Condor
- Four under par on one hole: a hole-in-one on a par 5. So rare that most golfers will never see one, let alone make it.
- Eagle
- Two under par on a hole: a 3 on a par 5, or a 2 on a par 4. Four points in Stableford.
- Where the word comes from: Followed the birdie in the same American group in the early 1900s; the term reached Britain by 1919. Source
- Even par (level par)
- A score equal to par for the round or at any point of it. 'Two under' and 'three over' count from here.
- Front nine, back nine
- Holes 1 to 9 and 10 to 18. 'Out' and 'in' on a card come from links courses that went out along the coast and back.
- Gross score
- The strokes you actually took, before any handicap strokes are subtracted.
- Net score
- The gross score minus the handicap strokes you receive. Net competitions compare these.
- Par
- The score a good player is expected to make on a hole: two putts plus the shots to reach the green. Par 3, 4 or 5; the course's par is the sum.
- Where the word comes from: First used in golf in 1870 by the writer A. H. Doleman for the score that would win the Open at Prestwick; the USGA set par by yardage in 1911. Source
- Stableford points
- Points per hole against your net par: 0 for net double bogey or worse, 1 bogey, 2 par, 3 birdie, 4 eagle, 5 albatross. Highest total wins.
Scoring questions
What is the order: birdie, eagle, albatross?
Birdie is one under par on a hole, eagle two under, albatross (double eagle in the United States) three under, condor four under. The birds get bigger as the score gets rarer.
What is a bogey and a double bogey?
One over par and two over par on a hole. A triple bogey is three over. For handicap purposes a hole never counts more than net double bogey.
Where does the word birdie come from?
From American slang around 1900, when 'bird' meant something excellent. A. B. Smith recalled a round at Atlantic City where his shot 'was a bird' and the bet doubled for one under par; the club dates the story to 1903.
Where does bogey come from?
In 1890 Hugh Rotherham of Coventry proposed a 'ground score' per hole for a good golfer; at Great Yarmouth it was named after the 'Bogey man' of a popular song, and a Gosport club gave the imaginary opponent the rank of Colonel. It came to mean one over par in the mid-20th century.
Where does par come from?
From the stock-exchange sense of 'at par'. In 1870 the writer A. H. Doleman asked two professionals what score would win the Open at Prestwick and called their answer par. The USGA set par by yardage in 1911.
Who scored the first albatross?
The word is first found in 1929; a 1931 hole-in-one by E. E. Wooler on the 18th at Durban Country Club was reported in the press as the first albatross. The term is British; Americans had been saying double eagle.
Keep reading
All of Golf TermsGolf slang, explained
Fore, mulligan, sandbagger, the yips, snowman, fried egg, chili dip and the rest, and which miss each word names.
Golf etiquette: the Rules and the habits
Rule 1.2, 5.6 and 6.4b as the Rules state them, then safety, pace, the course, the green and the people in the order that matters, and your first round at a new club.
Golf terms, in player words
The glossary: scoring, the course, shots, clubs, rules, formats and slang, every term an anchor, searchable, with the origins where a source says so.
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