Golf demystified: Common terms you probably had difficulties understanding

Par

The score an accomplished player is expected to make on a hole, either a three, four or five. (The 2nd hole at Karen Country Club is a short par 3 where there will be a 14 club competition featuring Ho-sung Choi from South Korea).

Scoring In Relation to Par

When you hear a golf score given as “2-under par” or “4-over,” it’s an example of scoring in relation to par or relative to par.

“Par” is the number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need to play a hole or to play the golf course as a whole. Every hole on the course has a par rating. If Hole No. 1 has a par of 4, and you score 6, then you are 2-over par (six is two more than four). If Hole No. 2 is a par-5, and you score 4, you are 1-under par. If you make 4 on a hole that is a par-4, you are “even par” or “level par.”

The same applies to a golfer’s total score for the full round of golf. If the golf course’s par is 72 and you shoot 98, you are 26-over par for the round.

Birdie, Eagle, and Albatross

Birdie, eagle, and albatross are all terms used when a golfer completes a hole in fewer shots than par.

Birdie

A birdie is when a golfer scores 1 under par on a hole (4 shots on a par 5, for example)

Eagle

An eagle is when the golfer scores 2 under par (3 shots on a par 5)

An albatross

An albatross is an extremely rare occasion when a golfer scores 3 under par (2 shots on a par 5 or a hole in one on a par 4).

Bogey

The term “bogey” is used when a golfer finishes a hole above par. Finishing 1 shot over par is simply a bogey, 2 over par is a double-bogey, 3 over par is a triple-bogey, and so on.

Simply put bogey describes when a player didn’t meet par (par being the score an accomplished player is expected to make on a hole).

Bunker

You may refer to them as sand traps, but the technical term for the pits of sand found throughout a golf course is actually bunkers. Although bunkers at courses today are planned and built by course designers in an attempt to make the holes more challenging and penalize errant shots.