What Is a Quadruple Bogey in Golf?

A "quadruple bogey" is a score of four-over par on an individual hole of the golf course. If it takes you four strokes more than the hole's par rating to complete the hole, you make a quadruple bogey.

Every hole on a golf course is given a number that represents that hole's par. Par is the number number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need to complete a given hole. A par-4 hole, then, is one an expert golfer is expected to need four strokes to complete. Holes on the golf course are generally rated as par-3, par-4 or par-5 (par-6 holes also exist but are uncommon).

So a "quadruple bogey" does not indicate a specific number of strokes, except insofar as it indicates four strokes more than par.

What scores — what actual number of strokes — does a golfer have to make on a hole to get a quadruple bogey? As stated, that depends on the hole's par:

• Scoring a 7 on a par-3 hole is a quadruple bogey
• Scoring an 8 on a par-4 hole is a quadruple bogey
• Scoring a 9 on a par-5 hole is a quadruple bogey

And on those rare par-6 holes, using 10 strokes results in a quadruple bogey.

Needless to say, a quadruple bogey is not a good score! But all of us — especially beginners and higher-handicap golfers — make quadruple bogeys. They happen. Even the best golfers in the world occasionally make quadruple bogeys, just much more rarely than the rest of us.

It is common for golfers conversationally to shorten "quadruple bogey" to just "quad," as in, "I just made a quad" or "write down a quad on the scorecard for me."

Quadruple bogeys are also sometime called "turkeys," but that nickname for a quadruple bogey is not common.

A score of one-over par in golf is called a "bogey." When early golfers decided to name scores higher than one-over par, they stuck with the easy approach: If one-over is a bogey, then two-over is a double bogey, three-over is a triple bogey and four-over is a quadruple bogey.

"Quadruple" can be defined as a fourfold increase in a given quantity. If a bogey is one-over par, then a fourfold increase in the amount of strokes over par (one-over times four) is four-over par. Hence, quadruple bogey.

If 4-over on a single hole is a quadruple bogey, what is 5-over? Or 6-, 7- or 8-over?

• 5-over on a hole is a quintuple bogey
• 6-over on a hole is a sextuple bogey
• 7-over on a hole is a septuple bogey
• 8-over on a hole is an octuple bogey

(By the way, if you're making these scores more than just every once in a while, may we suggest investing in some golf lessons?)

However, above the quadruple bogey, you don't hear these terms very often in relation to professional tournaments because pro golfers — the ones being talked about by TV announcers — rarely make these scores. The rest of us? We still hear these terms much too often.