Golf Terminology - The Birdie Golf has a language of its own. There is not always a logic
to it or the possibility of finding out just where these odd words come from. We
look here at our feathered friends. At the end of any Annual Trophy Presentation, the women
acknowledge the winners of the “Birdie Board” for the year. Like many other notices and information sheets, the Birdies made are displayed monthly on a chart in the locker room. The
calculations are made by the computer and organised for display by the Women’s Committee - Rosemary West and Veronica Bertram. The sheets present an
accurate and comprehensive result and a chance for all the women members to learn
about the achievements of others. The Birdie Board has also always presented a
quick and visual answer as to how the course is playing and what correlation it
has to the hole ratings. It is more than a Birdie list, Eagles are listed too! On the
June result sheet the rarest of goals, an Albatross, is also included. This
wonderful achievement by Alyssa Starc, mentioned in the last newsletter with a
photo, is the first for a woman in living memory and most likely ever in the
club’s history. (The Archives welcome more information about this statement.) Until Covid, the Birdie Board was a self-scoring large hand
drawn cardboard sheet. You may have had a terrible round of golf but there was definite
satisfaction knowing that you had played at least one good hole and you could add
it to the Birdie board putting your name in the box for the hole. The event used
to be sponsored by one volunteer member each year. Twenty-five years ago Sue
Hardy donated the prizes across the three divisions for a few years the winners
took home themed prizes including beautifully glazed ceramic birds which she had made (2000). %20(8).jpg) | As usual there is a debate as to just how and when these “bird”
terms began. Bogey, was a term used very early to describe a stroke system and
the Par were central to the development of the handicapping system. Here are some suggested definitions and meanings: Par
A term derived
from the Stock exchange – in golf the number of shots a good golfer should take Birdie
From American slang – Bird meaning anything
excellent. Eagle
From the American White tailed Eagle. Albatross
Thought
to be a British term for the rare bird. Condor
Source
likely to be the Americas because of its local habitat, size and nature. Used
to describe a hole-in-one on a Par 5 or 2 on a Par 6. A world-wide list updated in 2023 says that there has been 6
Condors recorded in the past 60 years. There is debate about the term Bogey and there hasn’t been
any obvious recognised words to describe the sliding scale down from there.
What could a Triple Bogey be called - a Galah or a Dodo!? In the 16th century a ‘bogle’ was a Scottish goblin
and also called the Bogey man. The Great Yarmouth Golf Club (a seaside holiday
town on the east Coast of England) claims that they were the first to use it in
their match play games in the early 1900s. Supposedly taken from an Edwardian
music hall song called “Hush! Hush! Hush! Here comes the Bogey Man.” It is
certainly meant to be nothing good! Following Alyssa’s recent quite amazing and exciting
Albatross on the 4th, taking just two stokes on a par 5 it looks as
if we might soon need a regular Eagle, Albatross and a Condor Board too! It is
inspiring and of course the men have achievements to list on a ‘Birdie Board’ too.
Source - History of Golf 1955 – Robert Browning Sandra Mellowes | Archives Committee |
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