The Open: People just realising why golf scoring goes albatross, eagle, birdie, par, bogey

Need to know The Open: People just realising why golf scoring goes albatross, eagle, birdie, par, bogey The golf scoring system can be confusing to outsiders – but there are good reasons for the unusual names The reason behind golf's scoring system: - The Open Championship: Golf fans around the world are eagerly tuning in to the Open Championship this weekend. Hosted at Royal Birkdale in the North West of England, the 154th Open promises to be a thrilling four days of links golf. - How does 'par' get its name: At the heart of golf scoring is par, a term originally borrowed from the financial sector during the late 1800s. It represented the face value of a hole for a competent player before official distance-based standards were universally established in 1911. Par, of course, means the standard amount of shots a competent golf should need to get round a specific hole. - Bogey: Before the widespread adoption of par, players measured their skills against a fictional opponent named Colonel Bogey, inspired by an 1890s novelty song. While it initially represented a highly respectable score, rising standards eventually caused the term to signify a frustrating one stroke over par. As anyone familiar with golf knows, double bogey represents two over and triple bogey, three over. - Birdie: The much more cheerful "birdie" supposedly hatched in 1899 at the Atlantic City Country Club after a golfer hit an incredibly impressive shot. His playing companion excitedly declared it a "bird of a shot," and this new lingo for holing out one stroke under par reached the UK by 1913. - Eagle: To maintain the newly established avian theme, the word eagle was naturally adopted to represent an exceptional score of two strokes under par. This majestic bird perfectly captured the rarity and skill required to finish a hole with such a remarkably low number of shots. - Albatross: In Britain during the 1920s, the exceedingly rare achievement of finishing three under par took on the moniker of an albatross. Meanwhile, American golfers controversially opted for the mathematically confusing phrase "double eagle" to describe this exact same spectacular feat. Shop the 154th Open collection at the R&A Shop This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more The R&A Official Shop has unveiled a 154th Open collection ahead of the tournament on 16-19 July.