During some recent traveling i picked up the book “Words we use” by Diarmaid O Muirithe, and came across a entry regarding the word ‘bogey’. I found it quite interesting, so thought it’d be worth sharing.

He makes reference to an article from Oxford, written in 1908:

‘One popular song at least has left its permanent effect on the game of golf. That song is The Bogey Man. In 1890 Dr Thomas Browne, RN, the honorary secretary of the Great Yarmouth Club, was playing against a Major Wellman, the match being against “the ground score”, which was the name given to the scratch value of the hole. The system of playing was new to Major Wellman, and he exclaimed, thinking of the song of the moment, that his mysterious and well-nigh invincible opponent was a regular “bogey-man”. The name “caught on” at Great Yarmouth, and today bogey is one of the most feared opponents on all the courses that acknowledge him.’

According to O’Muirithe, it was here in the US that bogey started being used for one over par in 1898. S.B. Flexner, in his Listening to American (1982), wrote that ‘after the rubber golf ball was invented in 1898, the bogey established for the guttapercha ball became too easy and the British lowered their bogies by about one strike per hole, and kept the term, but the Americans began to use the word par instead, keeping the old British word bogey to mean the old, easier expected score of a good player, usually one stroke more than the new par.’

It’s not known when it was changed back over in the UK and Ireland but even in the 1950s the signs on Tee-boxes stated ‘bogey four‘, meaning par four.

So there’s a little fun fact you can share with your foursome next weekend. If anyone knows any more on the subject, or other golf terms, please drop us a comment and share your knowledge.

Is he some sort of paranoid spectator that reckons he needs a construction hard hat in order to be safe at the Masters? But if that’s the case, he looks like he must be in deep meditation and be “taking on his fear” as he hasn’t even flinched as the ball zooms by his head.

Perhaps the caption should be “Find a happy place. Find a happy place.”

Your thoughts?

We had a chance to meet with Simpac during the PGA show demo day in January, and was impressed by their S-Cube D1 driver (pictured below). Featuring a 460cc head and TWS (two weight-spot structure), the club offers a combination of distance and accuracy. Will it work for you? Only one way to find out…head out to a Simpac demo day!

European golf media is this morning claiming that world number one, Tiger Woods, has decided to end his season prematurely. Some reports are citing his recent frustrations with photographers, as well his sudden loss of form may have pushed the superstar to the shocking announcement. Others close to Wood’s agent Mark Steinburg, suggested that now that his winning streak is over, he is going to focus on his family. Perhaps for the first season in a long time, the other players will actually have a chance!

Update: As many of you may have guessed, this was DemoDayFinder’s little April Fool’s Post. Still though, i think it’s still an interesting proposition for the rest of the tour. Anyone else think it might make it more exciting?

From the team at DemoDayFinder.com and golfers everwhere, we say thank you!

We also had a chat with Jason Loudermilk, one of the ball fitters, who gave us an overview of the whole process, as well as a glimpse at some of the new Bridgestone Golf Irons, including a beautiful set of blades. One of the coolest things about their offering is that they will create a totally custom set of irons - some hybrids, some cavity-backs, some blades or combination there of, for each customer. Nice idea, and one that will likely help many golfers find their ‘dream set’.

If you’re a manufacturer and don’t see your golf demo days listed, you can contact us at events.team@demodayfinder.com to start having your events listed.