The term for a score of 1 over par on a single golf hole is a bogey. Getting to the bottom of what a bogey is, why it happens, and - most importantly - how to make fewer of them is a fundamental step in your golf journey. This guide will walk you through the world of the bogey, explaining not just what it is, but offering practical, on-course strategies to help you turn those bogeys into pars.
In golf, every hole on the course has a designated number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to take to complete it. This number is called "par." A bogey is simply a score of one stroke more than par.
Let's break it down by the different types of holes you'll encounter:
So, if you tee off on a 420-yard par-4 and it takes you five strokes to get the ball in the hole, you've made a bogey. While elite professional golfers try to avoid them, for the vast majority of people who play the game, the bogey is a very familiar score.
You might hear the term "bogey golfer" used on the course or on TV. It doesn't mean a golfer who makes only bogeys, it refers to a player whose average score is a bogey an every hole. On a standard par-72 course (where the pars of all 18 holes add up to 72), a bogey golfer would shoot a score of 90 (72 + 18).
Here’s something important to remember: becoming a bogey golfer is a significant achievement. It typically corresponds to a handicap of around 18 and means you break 90 consistently. For new golfers, shooting a 90 is a major milestone that requires solid ball-striking, a decent short game, and smart decision-making. Thinking of a bogey as a "bad" score is the a perspective of a pro. For amateurs, managing to make ‘just’ a bogey after a poor shot is often the sign of a smart, resilient player.
While a bogey is one stroke over par, golf has terms for scores that are even higher. These are the scores that can really inflate your final number and are what most improving players should focus on eliminating.
Anything higher is usually just referred to by the number of strokes (e.g., an 8 on a par-4 is just called "an 8"). These high scores are often nicknamed "others" because they balloon a score so quickly. The real secret to lowering your handicap isn't eliminating every single bogey - it’s eliminating the double bogeys and worse. Turning a potential triple bogey into a "good bogey" is a skill in itself.
Making a bogey isn't random, it follows a predictable pattern. Understanding how a bogey unfolds will help you see where you can intervene to save a stroke. Let’s look at two common scenarios.
This is the classic story for millions of golfers every weekend.
This sequence demonstrates that a bogey often happens not because of one terrible shot, but a series of slightly off-target or poorly planned ones.
Par-3s seem simple because they're short, but bogeys are just as common.
In this case, one slightly off-line shot put you in a tough spot, and escaping it cleanly proved difficult.
Saving one stroke per hole feels like a huge mountain to climb, but you don't do it with a dramatic swing overhaul. You do it by making smarter, smaller decisions that prevent mistakes from compounding. Here’s where to start.
Most bogeys begin the moment you have to stand over your second shot from the rough, from behind a tree, or an awkward lie. The mission for your tee shot is simple: get your ball in play. The fairway is the goal. For many players, that means leaving the driver in the bag on tighter holes. Hitting a 3-wood or even a hybrid might leave you 20 yards further back, but taking your next shot from a perfect lie in the fairway is a massive advantage over hacking out of the deep grass. Smart golfers favor position over power.
This is probably the most direct way to eliminate doubles and triples. When you hit a shot into trouble - deep in the woods, under a lip of a fairway bunker - your mindset must change immediately. The goal is no longer to make par, it's to make bogey at absolute worst.
This means resisting the temptation of the "hero shot" - the one-in-a-million recovery that you will almost certainly not pull off. Instead, take your medicine. Punch the ball out sideways back to the safety of the fairway, even if it feels "boring,". A simple punch-out, a wedge onto the green, and two putts results in a bogey. Trying the hero shot often leads to another mistake, and suddenly that bogey has become a triple bogey.
So many bogeys are caused by a flawed approach shot and a poor subsequent chip. Think about our Par-4 scenario: the second shot landed 30 yards short. What if you were confident with a small, 30-yard pitch shot? If you practiced that shot you could likely put it within 10 feet a high percentage of the time. Now you’d have a decent look for par. Developing a reliable half or three-quarter swing with a wedge from 50-80 yards is a great skill that turns a scramble for bogey into a legitimate shot at par.
Greens in regulation are great, but they quickly turn into frustrating bogeys with a three-putt. Most three-putts come from poor distance control on the first putt. When you're standing over a 40-foot putt, your only goal is to get the ball inside a 3-foot-diameter imaginary circle around the hole. Don’t try to make it. Just focus on cozying it up close. By taking the pressure off making the first long putt, you’ll drastically improve your speed control and leave yourself easy tap-ins for a stress-free two-putt.
A bogey, a score of one over par, is one of the most common outcomes on a golf hole for amateur players everywhere. While perfection is the goal, true progress comes in managing your misses and making smart decisions to keep the high-scoring "double" and "triple" bogey holes off your card.
When you're trying to make smarter in-game decisions that make that happen, having an expert second opinion right there with you is a game-changer. We designed our Caddie AI to be your personal on-course strategist. Next time you find yourself stuck behind a tree and aren’t sure if you should attempt the hero shot, you now have help making the smart play. It can analyze your lie based on a photo and give you sound, objective advice to help turn those confusing moments into confident decisions, ultimately saving you strokes and making the game more enjoyable.
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