When a golfer is first starting out, making a bogey can be quite the accomplishment.
While ultimately, we want to make pars and birdies, getting to the bogey level on every hole is a good starting point for the beginner golfer.
Tiger Woods’ Father used to make a “par” score for every hole on the course based on how far Tiger could hit the ball. I think many adult golfers could use this approach when playing the game at first.
There should be no shame in making a bogey for the golfer that is struggling to break 100 when they first start.
Is Bogey Golf Good?
For the beginner golfer, bogey golf is good. Overtime, the golfer can continue to build his or her skill and improve, eventually striving to make more pars or even birdies. For the more advanced golfer, a bogey is often a disappointing score on a hole. The best golfers might only make 1-2 bogeys per round.
Personal Journey: Every great golfer at one point played bogey golf on their journey to playing as a single digit handicap, scratch player or even under par golfer. Golf is a journey and everything has to go through different stages to reach the next level. Keep working, invest the time, and become a student of the game!
What is Bogey Golf?
When a golfer plays a round of golf around 18 over par. This golfer might be referred to as a “bogey golfer.” The golfer will make the occasional par and the occasional double bogey as it balances out over the 18 holes.
Related Posts (Dive deeper into how to break your next scoring barrier):
How to Play Bogey Golf?
- Follow our formula below
- Use the 3 drills below
Formula
There is a formula I have used with many students to help them progress and get better by working with their mindset and their course management.
Our goal starts off with trying to get the golf ball around the green in regulation. This means on a par 3, we want the ball somewhere around the green in 1 shot. On a par 4, somewhere around the green in 2 shots and on a par 5 in 3 shots.
The goal from here is to chip the ball on the green and give yourself at worst a 2 putt for a bogey. Overtime, as we improve our chipping and putting, we will occasionally be able to chip it close and make a putt.
Over the course of 18 holes, the golfer, who manages his or her game properly, will have several quality par putts and might occasionally make the double bogey due to a bad drive or a 3 putt.
Overall, the golfer will play bogey golf as long as they can hit the ball solid off the tee and approach shots and hit decent chips.
The formula from a game management approach can be found above, but what about some drills that can help you become a better ball striker and even control the shape of your shot?
Below, I will provide 3 drills that golfers of all ability levels can use to continue to progress their game and their skill.
Drill #1: Low Point Control
- Take some yard paint and patina a 1-2 yard long line.
- Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
- Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
- Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten.
- You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.
If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keeping your head still to help control the low point in the swing.
Drill #2: Stock Shot Drill
- At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
- If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).
- Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target. Pick one side and measure your game at this point.
- The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target.
Here is the drill being explained by Kyle Morris:
Dril #3: Train for Speed
A repeatable golf swing is one that allows you to score consistently and make plenty of bogeys, pars or birdies depending on where your current ability level is.
Having enough speed to play the game is essential and keeps the golfer from over swinging. When a golfer has the confidence that he or she has enough distance they can swing within themselves and keep their swing repeatable.
As soon as the golfer starts to try to get more power by swinging harder on the course, they will often lose consistency.. Instead the golfer should train for additional distance and speed in specific training sessions.
Let’s face it, we all want to hit the ball further! The good news…there is a way to increase your driver distance that doesn’t include spending $500 on a new driver.
You can train for speed and get some amazing results with SuperSpeed Golf. It worked for me and I believe it can work for many (especially if you make a commitment and actually use it)
I believe many used to believe, well this is just how fast I can swing.
Recent training tools have started to change many minds. We have seen many of the professional golfers get longer and longer with their tee shots as a result of additional swing speed. You will find many touring pros using the SuperSpeed System, which I highly recommend.
SuperSpeed Golf is one option to increase your swing speed through a science based overspeed training approach. In simple terms, you train by swinging a lighter club (20%) faster than you swing your driver. Over time, by training at a higher speed, your mind and body feel safe to swing that fast with your normal driver, resulting in an increase in driver swing speed.
The SuperSpeed System provides 3 different weighted sticks and takes the golfer through a training protocol every other day for about 15 minutes. The golfer can expect to see a 5-8% increase in swing speed, resulting in 20-30 yards for most golfers. The great news is that the 5-8% can be expected as early as the first training session. The additional speed will become more permanent after about 30-60 days of training.
My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109. My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months. I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!
Phil Mickelson has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed. There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!
Check the current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!
| Original Swing Speed | After 4-6 Weeks | New Carry Distance | Total Distance |
| 95 | 102 | 245 | 265 |
| 100 | 108 | 259 | 279 |
| 105 | 113 | 271 | 291 |
| 110 | 118 | 283 | 303 |
The Quickest Route for Improvement: The Short Game
The quickest way to lower your score for a beginner golfer is learning how to chip and putt at a decent level. Even if a golfer were to miss all 18 greens in regulation, but keep the ball around the green in regulation, they have a chance to make around 9 pars if their short game is of above average quality.
The best golfers might be able to save par 12-14 times per hour if they missed all 18 greens and the worst golfers might not ever save a par during a round.
The great news about chipping and putting is that it doesn’t take great speed, power or athletic ability. If you spend the time and have some basic understanding of the movements and which clubs to use, you can quickly improve and lower your golf scores!
Helpful Post: What degree wedge is best for chipping?
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.