The language of golf is full of curious terms that hide fascinating stories. One of the best known is “bogey”, a word that today defines a stroke over par, but whose origins had a very different meaning, steeped in tradition and folklore.
To understand it, we must travel to Scotland, the birthplace of modern golf. Since the 16th century, there were tales of bogles, mischievous goblins that lurked in the dark. Over time, this fantastical figure evolved in popular imagination into the Boggy Man, the “Bogeyman” featured in songs to scare children.
At the end of the 19th century, in 1890, Hugh Rotherham, secretary of an English golf club, created an ideal score for each hole, known as the Ground Score. The idea was for players to compete against that perfect number.
During a tournament, an English military officer watched a participant’s play and exclaimed that he was a true Boggy Man, referring to how the player was trying to reach the ideal score, almost as if the Bogeyman were chasing children. From then on, people began talking about playing against Mr. Boggy, an imaginary opponent representing the perfect score. Later, in a military club, the figure became known as Colonel Boggy.
Interestingly, what began as a reference to achieving the perfect score eventually evolved into its current meaning: today, a bogey represents a stroke over par. The word shifted from representing an imaginary adversary and perfect play to describing a small mistake in the game, while retaining its mischievous undertone.
Thus, what started as a tale of goblins and bogeymen became an essential term in golf vocabulary, reminding us that even in golf’s most serious traditions, humor and imagination have always had their place.