Golf Scoring Explained: Par, Birdie, Eagle, Bogey and How to Read a Leaderboard

Birdie, bogey, eagle, albatross: golf has its own language. Here is what every scoring term means and how to read a tournament leaderboard.

By ForTheFans

Published Oct 25, 2026 · 3 min read

Golf is the only sport where the lowest score wins and where every score has a nickname borrowed from a bird. Once you know the vocabulary, watching a PGA Tour Sunday gets a lot more fun. Here is golf scoring explained.

What Is Par?

Par is the number of strokes an expert golfer should need to finish a hole. Holes are rated by length:

Par 3: short holes, reachable with one shot
Par 4: medium holes
Par 5: long holes

Add up the 18 holes and you get the course's par, usually 70, 71 or 72. A tournament is normally four rounds of 18 holes.

Scores Under Par

Term	Strokes vs. par	Example
Birdie	1 under	3 on a par 4
Eagle	2 under	3 on a par 5
Albatross (double eagle)	3 under	2 on a par 5
Condor	4 under	1 on a par 5, almost never seen

A hole-in-one (an "ace") is a single stroke. On a par 3, it counts as an eagle.

Scores Over Par

Term	Strokes vs. par	Example
Bogey	1 over	5 on a par 4
Double bogey	2 over	6 on a par 4
Triple bogey	3 over	7 on a par 4

How to Read a Leaderboard

Leaderboards show each player's score relative to par, not the total number of strokes:

-8 means eight under par. The lower, the better.
E means even par.
+3 means three over par.

You will also see:

Thru: how many holes the player has completed in the current round, such as "Thru 12"
F: the player has finished the round
T5: tied for fifth place
Today: the score for the current round only

The Cut

Most PGA Tour events have a cut after two rounds: only the players in the top part of the field continue into the weekend. Players who miss the cut go home with no prize money.

Stroke Play vs. Match Play

Stroke play is the standard format: every stroke counts, and the lowest total over all rounds wins.
Match play is hole-by-hole: whoever wins the most holes wins the match. Scores like "3 and 2" mean a player was 3 holes ahead with only 2 holes left. The Ryder Cup is played this way.

Ties and Playoffs

If players are tied after the final round, most tournaments hold a sudden-death playoff: players replay holes until one wins a hole outright.

Keep Reading

See how the biggest team event in golf works in our story on the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, and follow the tour on our golf news page.

Background from Wikipedia

Par (score)

In golf, par is the predetermined number of strokes that a proficient (scratch, or zero handicap) golfer should require to complete a hole, a round (the sum of the pars of the played holes), or a tournament (the sum of the pars of each round). For scoring purposes, a golfer's number of strokes is compared with the par score to determine how much the golfer was either "over par", "under par", or "even/level par".

Holes are generally assigned par values between three and five based on the distance from the teeing ground to the putting green, and occasionally other factors such as terrain and obstacles. A typical 18-hole golf course will have a total par around 72, and a 9-hole par-3 course (where all holes are rated as par 3) will have a total par of 27.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Frequently Asked Questions

What is par in golf?

Par is the number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need on a hole or a course. Holes are usually par 3, par 4 or par 5, and most courses are par 70 to 72.

What is a birdie in golf?

A birdie is one stroke under par on a hole, such as a 3 on a par 4.

What is an eagle and an albatross?

An eagle is two strokes under par on a hole, such as a 3 on a par 5. An albatross, also called a double eagle, is three under par, such as a 2 on a par 5.

What does E mean on a golf leaderboard?

E means even par: the player's total score matches par for the holes they have played.

Sources & Official Resources

Rules, schedules and statistics in this article are checked against these official sources. See our editorial policy for how we fact-check.

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