A double bogey in golf means you took two more strokes to finish a hole than the designated par score for that hole. The simplest way to think about it is par plus two. This article will break down exactly how scoring a double bogey works, identify the common mistakes that lead to them, and provide you with a a clear, coach-approved game plan to start turning those doubles into bogeys, or even better, pars.
In golf, every hole on the course is assigned a "par," which is the expert-level target score, or the expected number of strokes a highly skilled golfer should take to complete it. The term "double bogey" is part of the language used to describe your score in relation to that par. Quite simply, a bogey is one stroke over par, and a double bogey is two strokes over par.
Since par can be different from hole to hole (most commonly par-3, par-4, and par-5), what constitutes a double bogey changes as well. Here’s a simple breakdown:
On a physical scorecard, you might see a player who made a double bogey mark their score in a specific way. It’s common for clubs to have a convention where they draw a double square around the number of strokes (e.g., a square around a '6' on a par-4). However, most people just write down the raw number of strokes they took, and the math to figure out if it was a birdie, par, bogey, or double bogey happens later when you total the score.
But a double bogey isn't just about the numbers. It represents a a series of errors or one really big one. More importantly for improving golfers, it’s a bright, flashing signal that something went wrong in your process or decision-making on that hole. Understanding why they happen is the first step to making them a rare occurrence on your scorecard.
No golfer wants a double bogey on their card,但 they happen to everyone - from beginners seeing them regularly to tour pros grinding to avoid them. While discouraging, double bogeys are incredible learning opportunities because they usually stem one of a few common, high-impact mistakes. If you can understand them, you can start building a strategy to avoid them.
The single fastest way to a double bogey is a mistake right out of the gate. A poor tee shot puts you in a disastrous position from which it’s nearly impossible to recover for a par or bogey.
This is probably the biggest cause of double bogeys for recreational golfers. This downward spiral starts with a single bad shot, followed by a risky decision born from frustration.
Picture this scenario on a par-4: You hit your drive into the trees on the right side. You walk up to your ball and see a small gap between two trees. The "hero" thought enters your mind: “I can totally thread this through to the green!”
What often happens next? You clip a tree, the ball shoots sideways deeper into the trouble (or doesn't move more than a few feet forward), and now you’re in an even worse spot. You've turned a relatively simple situation - pitching the ball sideways back to the fairway - into a score-wrecking catastrophe. That hero shot attempting to save par almost certainly guarantees a double bogey or worse. Bogeys won't ruin your round, but doubles and triples certainly will.
Let's say you did everything right on a par-4. You hit a good drive into the fairway and your approach shot finds the green. You’re in great position for a par. But your approach leaves you 50 feet from the hole.
Here’s how a good hole can quickly turn bad:
What started as a par opportunity just became a three-putt, or even four-putt double bogey. In golf, the tee ball gets the glory, but a shaky short game is often quietly adding strokes and turning good holes into disappointing ones.
Okay, we know what a double is and why it happens. Now for the good a part - let's create a practical game plan to help you start scratching them off your card for good. This isn't about perfectly overhauling your swing, it just requires smarter, more disciplined golf.
The number one rule to avoiding doubles is letting go of the need to be a hero on every shot. When you find yourself in trouble, your only objective should be to get back into a good position to hit your next shot. Don't think about saving par, just focus on minimizing the damage.
This is your "get out of jail" shot. When you're in the trees or heavy rough:
Taking your medicine with a simple punch out sideways might feel like a defeat in the moment, making a double bogey far far more unlikely. That bogey you just “settled for” will feel like a victory when you add up your scores at the end of the round.
On tight holes with lots of trouble (trees, water, out of bounds), hitting driver is often a high-risk gamble. One of the smartest things a golfer can do is have another club - a "fairway finder" - that they trust to put them in play, even if it leaves them a longer shot into the green.
Go to the driving range with a purpose. Grab your 3-wood, 5-wood, a hybrid, or even a 4 or 5-iron. Your goal is to find the club that you can hit straight most a consistently. Its okay sacrificing 30 or 40 yards off the tee if you'll it'll save you from hitting it out of bounds, so you can save 2 strkes, which would've led to a bogey (or worse!!). Playing your second shot safely from the fairway, is always a better option than re-teeing or hitting from the deep woods. Knowing your fairway-finder and committing to it on difficult holes is a key course management skill that separates lower-scoring golfers from high-handicappers
Very few amateur golfers are good enough to consistently make putts from outside of 20 feet. This means that your primary goal on a long putt isn't to get it in the hole - it’s getting the ball close enough to the hole to make your second putt stress-free. This concept is called "lag putting."
On the putting green, pick a hole and place three or four tees in a circle around it, about 3 feet away from the cup. Now, take three balls and go to a spot 30-40 feet away from the hole. Your challenge isn't to make any of the putts. Your ONLY goal is for all three of your putts stop somewhere inside that safe haven circle of tees. This drill completely reframes your a goal, changing it from the high-pressure situation od "making it" to thinking about making it super-duper simple to execute. The less that you three-putt, the fewer and fewer double bogeys you'll have on your scorecard.
Scoring two over par on a hole, or making a double bogey, is a rite of passage for every person who picks up a golf club. Understanding the what, why, and how of double bogeys is a huge step in your development as a golfer. If you shift your focus from attempting impossible hero shots, prioritize conservative plays, and learn how to reduce three-putts, those ugly double-squares on your scorecard will be gone and you'll find your personal-best-round right around the corner.
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