Here’s the birdie vs bogey difference in one line: a birdie is one stroke under par on a hole, and a bogey is one stroke over. [1] Both terms apply to a single hole, not to your total for the round, so the words change from hole to hole.
Take a par 5. Scoring 4 on it is a birdie, one stroke under par. [1] Another way to put it: a birdie is one less stroke than par on an individual hole, such as a 2 on a par 3. [2]
A bogey works the same way in the other direction. Both words are measured against par, so you need to know the hole’s par before you can tell which one you made. The next section compares the two on par 3, 4 and 5 holes.
How a birdie and a bogey compare on par 3, 4 and 5 holes
On every par, a birdie is one stroke under par and a bogey is one stroke over, so the par of the hole sets both numbers. [1]
Hole | Birdie | Bogey |
|---|---|---|
Par 3 | 2 | 4 |
Par 4 | 3 | 5 |
Par 5 | 4 | 6 |
On a par 3, a birdie is a 2, such as holing your tee shot in two strokes. Par 3s are the shortest holes, so a 2 usually means a tee shot that finished close to the flag. [2]
On a par 4, a birdie is a 3, one stroke less than par. [3] A 3 is rare on a par 4 for most weekend players, but it is the number to aim for when you hit a solid drive and a good approach.
On a par 5, a birdie is a 4, which is one under par. [1] The longer hole gives you more chances to make a mistake, so a 4 there often comes from a strong drive, a good second shot and one clean putt.
Say you take 5 strokes on a par 4. That is a bogey, one stroke over par. [1] A 3 on that same hole would have been a birdie, one stroke under. [3]
Because a birdie and a bogey sit one stroke either side of par, they are always two strokes apart. Once you know the par, you can read any hole without learning a new rule.
How do you read a birdie or bogey on a scorecard?
Start every hole by writing its par at the top of the box, then write your strokes beneath it. Your score on that hole is how far your strokes land from par.
Subtract par from your strokes. A negative answer means you finished under par, a positive answer means you finished over it, and zero means you made par.
Here is a round of two holes, both par 4:
Hole | Par | Your strokes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | 3 | 1 under (birdie) |
2 | 4 | 5 | 1 over (bogey) |
Hole 1 is a birdie. A birdie is when you complete a hole in one stroke less than par, like scoring a 3 on a par 4 [3]. Hole 2 is a bogey, because a 5 on that same par 4 is one stroke over. A bogey is 1-over par on a hole [1].
Totals work the same way. Add up your strokes at the end of the round and compare them with the total par for the holes you played. If you played four par 4s and took 17 strokes, you finished one over, since par for those four holes is 16. That one number tells you more about your round than any single hole.
Where did the words birdie and bogey come from?
The word bogey began as a yardstick for good golf, not as a penalty. 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. [4] Bogey and par were central to the development of handicapping, which is why the two words stayed linked. [5]
The modern meanings of bogey, birdie and eagle come from how the words were used in the USA. [5] Those are the meanings you hear on the course today, and they carry the same idea of measuring a hole against a standard.
Golfers have also stretched both words beyond scoring. You’ll hear ‘scoring a birdie’ used to describe any impressive achievement, while ‘bogey’ has become synonymous with any minor setback. [6] So a birdie can be a great putt on a bad hole, and a bogey can be a single bad swing on an otherwise good round.
On the first tee, this figurative side of the lingo is the friendly part. When your partner says he made a bogey after a shank, he means a small slip, not a disaster. Keep the scorecard meaning separate from the slang, and you won’t mix the two up when you add up your round.
So which one is better to get?
A birdie is the score to chase, and a bogey is the one to avoid. A birdie is a score of 1-under par on a hole [1], so a 4 on a par 5 is a birdie. A bogey is 1-over par on a hole [1], which means you took one stroke more than the hole called for. Related reading: Golf Terms for Beginners.
The one thing to remember is that both words only mean something once you know par. Par is the benchmark for each hole, so check it before you tee off, then judge your score against it.
Your next step is simple: on your first round, write par at the top of each hole and compare your strokes to it. After a few holes, birdie and bogey will read as easily as the numbers on the card.