I am a recreational golfer. To give you an idea, I am ecstatic this year as I am finally consistently shooting in the low to mid 90s. I’ve tried to find some new courses to play in the DC area, and during my search I came across a term I’d use but didn’t realize was official - “Bogey Golfer.”

I was (obviously) familiar with Scratch Golfer who is “one who can play to a Course Handicap™ of zero on any and all rated golf courses. He (she) can hit tee shots an average of 250 (210) yards and reach a 470 (400)-yard hole in two shots.” However, I didn’t realized Bogey Golfer is is actually defined by the USGA as “one with a Course Handicap of 20 (24). He (she) can hit tee shots an average of 200 (150) yards and can reach a 370 (280)-yard hole in two shots.”

Now, why does this matter… The USGA actually maintains a database of all of the member courses in the US. Most of us golfers are familiar with USGA Course Rating™ and the Slope Rating®, but most recreational golfers struggle with what to do with those numbers as our scores aren’t near the Course Handicap. Well, Bogey Golfer translates into a Bogey Rating into the USGA course database. It gives the recreational golfer a much easier metric to compare the difficulty of two courses you play. Also, it gives me a score to try to beat and knowing that if I beat it I’m moving my handicap below 20 (and above 20 if I don’t…) I don’t have any expectation of ever becoming a scratch golfer - I know I don’t have the swing nor the dedication to make it happen. However, bogey golfer is a definitely good target to be trying to beat.
Here is a link to the database - hope you find it as helpful as I do!

Course Rating and Slope Database™ - http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/course_ratings/course_rating_lookup.asp