Golf Glossary
Bogey golfer
In short
A bogey golfer is a reference player used in course rating. In the definition of the USGA and the R&A, he has a handicap of about 20 for men and about 24 for women and plays a hole in a bogey on average, one stroke over par. The difficulty of a course for this player is used to derive its Slope Rating.
What is a bogey golfer? The definition
The term bogey golfer is used in two ways. In everyday talk it describes someone who plays most holes in a bogey, needing one stroke more than par. That is a solid recreational player who usually makes contact but regularly loses a stroke on the way to the green.
In course rating, the bogey golfer is a fixed reference. There he stands for an average player who does not play perfectly but is no beginner either. The handicap rules of the USGA and the R&A set him at a Handicap Index of about 20.0 for men and about 24.0 for women. The DGV uses the same definition. He is the counterpart to the scratch golfer, who plays to a handicap of 0.
The numbers are approximations. A bogey golfer is not a player with an exact handicap but a yardstick. It helps to describe how much harder a course is for ordinary players than for very good ones.
The bogey golfer in numbers: handicap and distance
Course rating needs more than a handicap figure, so the raters also fix a typical length. According to the guidelines, the male bogey golfer hits his tee shot about 200 yards, roughly 180 metres, and reaches a 370-yard hole, roughly 340 metres, in two shots. The female bogey golfer hits her tee shot about 150 yards, roughly 135 metres, and reaches a 280-yard hole, roughly 255 metres, in two.
By comparison, the male scratch golfer in these guidelines hits the ball about 250 yards, roughly 230 metres.
These figures explain why some courses are much harder for bogey golfers than for scratch golfers. A water hazard that has to be carried over 200 metres is no problem for one and impossible for the other. That difference feeds into the Slope Rating.
Bogey Rating and Slope Rating: the role in course rating
Every rated tee receives two figures. The Course Rating describes how many strokes a scratch golfer needs on average. The Bogey Rating gives the same for the bogey golfer. The gap between the two produces the Slope Rating.
Under the USGA method, the formula for men is: Slope Rating = (Bogey Rating minus Course Rating) times 5.381. For women the factor is 4.24. An example for men: a course has a Course Rating of 72.0 and a Bogey Rating of 93.0. The gap is 21 strokes, times 5.381 gives 113. That is the Slope Rating of a course of average difficulty.
If the same course has a Bogey Rating of 96.0, the gap is 24 strokes. That gives a Slope Rating of about 129. The course is then much harder for bogey golfers although it stays the same for scratch golfers. The higher the Slope Rating, the more strokes higher-handicap players lose compared with good players.
Example: how a bogey golfer plays a round
On a par-72 course, a player who finishes every hole in a bogey plays 18 over par. The round ends on 90 strokes. That corresponds roughly to a handicap of 18 and is close to the definition of the bogey golfer at about 20.
In practice a round rarely looks that even. A typical round is a mix: four pars, ten bogeys and four double bogeys also add up to exactly 18 over par. What matters is the thought behind it. For the bogey golfer, par is not the normal result but a successful exception, and a double bogey is part of every round.
In Stableford such a player scores only about 18 points on a gross basis. With a playing handicap of 18 he receives one stroke on every hole. Every bogey then counts as a net par, and in the net competition he reaches exactly 36 points. That is a round in which he plays to his handicap.
Origin: why is it called bogey?
The word bogey has a history of its own. Around 1890 the Great Yarmouth Golf Club in England introduced competitions in which all players competed against an imaginary opponent. This opponent needed a fixed number of strokes on each hole, known as the ground score. Tradition links the name to a popular music hall song about the Bogey Man. Later the imaginary opponent is said to have been given the rank of Colonel at a club with many military members. According to this account, Colonel Bogey was born.
At that time bogey stood for the number of strokes a good player should take on a hole. Later the term par became established as the normal value, largely through the USA, and bogey took on its present meaning of one stroke over par.
The bogey golfer therefore carries a name that once recalled the good player but today describes the respectable average player.
Bogey golfer, scratch golfer and single-figure player compared
The reference players can be placed in a series:
- Scratch golfer: handicap 0, plays to about the level of the Course Rating.
- Single-figure player: handicap under 10, often plays par.
- Bogey golfer: handicap about 20 for men and about 24 for women, plays bogey on average.
- Beginner: handicap 54 to about 36, averages around double bogey or worse.
For you as a player the series is a signpost. If you play off 36, you are still some way from the bogey golfer. If you reach 20, you have hit an important milestone for many golfers. You then roughly match the reference player used in course rating.
Note the difference between a bogey and a bogey golfer. A bogey is a score on a single hole. The bogey golfer is a type of player. A bogey golfer plays many bogeys, but also pars and double bogeys.
Tips for bogey golfers: where to save the most strokes
If you want to move from bogey golfer to a lower handicap, you should know where the strokes go. Strokes gained analysis by Mark Broadie shows, as a rough guide, for players shooting about 90: roughly two thirds of the gap to players shooting about 80 comes from the long game, that is tee shots and approaches. Approaches account for about 40 percent and tee shots for about 28 percent. The short game around the green accounts for about 17 percent and putting for about 15 percent.
Three points follow from this:
- Hitting the fairway matters more than a longer drive. A ball out of bounds costs a penalty stroke and the distance.
- Aim approach shots at the middle of the green, not at a flag beside a bunker.
- Avoid double bogeys. For this type of player a bogey is a good result.
Training with measured data helps you to know the carry distances and the dispersion of your own clubs exactly.
Try it at Golf Lounge
If you are a bogey golfer who wants to lower your handicap, the Golf Lounge Resort Hamburg offers 60-minute one-to-one lessons with a PGA Pro. On request they include a swing analysis with TrackMan data, short sessions on the short game or putting, and a club fitting. The team of PGA professionals coaches players from beginners to tournament players. Lessons can be booked online daily by appointment.
Frequently asked questions
What is a bogey golfer?
A bogey golfer is a reference player in course rating. By definition he has a handicap of about 20 for men and about 24 for women and plays a bogey per hole on average. The gap between his Bogey Rating and the Course Rating of a course is used to calculate the Slope Rating.
What handicap does a bogey golfer have?
According to the USGA and the R&A, a male bogey golfer has a handicap of about 20.0 and a female bogey golfer about 24.0. The values are approximations. On a par-72 course, a bogey on every hole equals 90 strokes, roughly a handicap of 18.
How far does a bogey golfer hit the ball?
The rating guidelines assume a tee shot of about 200 yards for male bogey golfers, roughly 180 metres, and about 150 yards for women, roughly 135 metres. These are calculation values for course rating, not targets for players. The best way to find your own distances is with a launch monitor.
What is the difference between a bogey golfer and a scratch golfer?
The scratch golfer has a handicap of 0 and plays to about the Course Rating. The bogey golfer has a handicap of about 20 or 24 and plays bogey on average. The male scratch golfer hits about 250 yards under the rating guidelines, the male bogey golfer about 200 yards. Together the two types determine the Slope Rating.
Where does the term bogey come from?
The term arose around 1890 at the Great Yarmouth Golf Club in England, where members played against an imaginary opponent called Colonel Bogey who took a fixed number of strokes on each hole. Bogey then stood for a standard score per hole. When par became the standard, bogey took on its present meaning of one stroke over par.
As of: October 2026