Where did the golf terms birdie, eagle, par, and bogey come from?

Question

I know what these words mean, but I'm just curious where they got the terms birdie. eagle, par and bogey come from. What is there origin and original meaning?

Answer 1

The origin of the words BIRDIE and EAGLE:

The term 'birdie' originated in the United States in 1899. In H.B. Martin's "Fifty Years of American Golf" there is an account of a foursomes match played at the Atlantic City CC, in which one of the players, Ab Smith relates, "My ball came to rest within six inches of the cup. I said, 'That was a bird of a shot. I suggest that when one of us plays a hole in one under par he receives double compensation.' The other two players agreed and we began right away, just as soon as the next one came, to call it a birdie" In 19th centruy American slang, 'bird' referred to anyone or anything excellent or wonderful.

Once the term 'birdie' became common, people started referring to a core one better than a 'birdie' as an 'eagle'. One better than an "eagle", was an 'albatross' - an even bigger eagle!

The origin of the word BOGEY:

The term 'bogey' comes froma song that was popular in Britain in the early 1890s called "The Bogey Man" (later known as "The Colonel Bogey March"). The character of the song was an elusive figure who hid amongst the shadows saying, "I'm the Bogey Man, catch me if you can."

In Britain, golfers equated the quest for the elusive Bogey Man with the quest for the elusive perfect score. By the mid-to-late 1890s, the term 'bogey score' referred to the ideal score a good player could be expected to make on a hole under perfect conditions. It also came to be used to describe stroke play tournaments. In about 1910, the term 'par' began to be used, designating the number of shots a scratch player could be expected to take on a hole in ideal conditions. In this way 'par' was distinguished from 'bogey'. 'Par' itself is a standard sporting term meaning 'level' or 'even'.