Good winning scores may be an indication of wrong handicaps

Sam Ngugi tees off during the Standard Group Golf Tournament at the Eldoret Golf Club. 16-02-2019. [PHOTO BY KEVIN TUNOI]

In the 1890s, the concept of playing a golf match against an imaginary golfer who scored four on long par three’s and five on long par four’s was started. The imaginary opponent who was referred to as a ‘regular bogey man, not easily caught’ led to the now widely used term, ‘bogey’.

In 1892, in a military golfing facility in the United States, Mr Bogey was granted the honorary rank of Colonel and this led to the term, Colonel Bogey. This was during a time when The R&A and the USGA were formulating ways of measuring courses that are commonly used today.