Quadruple Bogey
A quadruple bogey is a score of four strokes over par on a single hole. On a par 4, that means a score of 8; on a par 3, a 7; on a par 5, a 9.
What is a quadruple bogey?
In the bogey family of golf scoring terms, the quadruple bogey is the fourth step. Par is the score an expert golfer is expected to need to finish a hole, and every score above par gets its own name based on how far above par it lands. One over is a bogey. Two over is a double bogey, three over is a triple, and four over is a quadruple bogey.
The “quadruple” prefix comes from Latin, meaning four, the same root behind words like quadrant and quadrilateral. Combined with “bogey” (one over par), it gives a precise way to record a score that is exactly four strokes more than the hole was designed to take.
Quadruple bogeys are uncommon for skilled players and frequent for newer ones, but every golfer makes one at some point. They are usually the product of a single blow-up hole rather than a gradual struggle, and they tend to show up on scorecards next to lost balls, water hazards, or out-of-bounds penalties.
How a quadruple bogey scores on each hole
The number on the scorecard depends entirely on the par of the hole. The relationship stays constant (four strokes over par), but the actual stroke total moves with the par value. The table below shows the stroke counts that qualify as a quadruple bogey across the standard par values.
| Hole par | Quadruple bogey score |
| Par 3 | 7 strokes |
| Par 4 | 8 strokes |
| Par 5 | 9 strokes |
| Par 6 (rare) | 10 strokes |
Par 6 holes do exist, though they are uncommon on regulation courses. Most rounds happen on par 3, par 4, and par 5 holes, so the scores of 7, 8, and 9 cover almost every quadruple bogey a typical golfer is likely to see.
Quadruple bogey vs. other bogey scores
Most golfers can name the first few bogey-family scores, but the naming pattern continues well past quadruple bogey. The structure follows Latin number prefixes layered onto “bogey,” and Golf Compendium documents the full sequence.
| Score relative to par | Term |
| 1 over par | Bogey |
| 2 over par | Double bogey |
| 3 over par | Triple bogey |
| 4 over par | Quadruple bogey |
| 5 over par | Quintuple bogey |
| 6 over par | Sextuple bogey |
| 7 over par | Septuple bogey |
The terms stretch further, with octuple for eight over and nonuple for nine, but they appear rarely outside trivia. As Golf Compendium puts it, if a golfer has never heard the term for a score that high, they have likely never made one.
Common nicknames for a quadruple bogey
Several slang names exist for quadruple bogeys and scores like them. The most common is “quad,” used as shorthand for the way “double” stands in for double bogey.
When a quadruple bogey lands on a par 4 and produces a score of 8, golfers often call it a “snowman,” because the numeral 8 looks like two stacked snowballs. Per Hole19’s glossary, the nickname applies to any eight-stroke score on one hole, with the name coming from the shape of the number 8. Whether snowman overlaps with quadruple bogey depends on the par.
Broader labels also get tossed around for any score in this range. “Blow-up hole” and “disaster hole” are informal terms for any hole where the score balloons well above par, often used when a quadruple bogey or worse appears on the card. Less commonly, older slang like “double buzzard” or “turkey” turns up, though most modern golfers stick with “quad.”
Why even professionals make quadruple bogeys
Tour professionals score quadruple bogeys rarely, but they do happen at the highest level. At the 2026 Masters, Fred Couples was 2-under par when he reached the 15th hole. Per ESPN, he then hit two balls into the water from 90 yards out and finished the hole with a quadruple-bogey 9, carding a 78 for the round. Sports Illustrated covered a similar moment at the 2024 PGA Championship, where Michael Block opened bogey-quadruple bogey at Valhalla after a series of mishit shots around the par-4 second hole.
Tour pros still hit bad shots. The difference is how often a bad shot turns into a catastrophic hole. Hole19 reports that a PGA Tour player averages only about 3.4 more birdies per round than a 20-handicapper. The scoring gap mostly comes from avoiding big numbers. A single quadruple bogey adds four strokes to a scorecard, which is why pros spend so much energy on damage control when a hole starts to fall apart.
Origin of the term
“Bogey” itself dates to 1890 at the Great Yarmouth Golf Club in England. Per England Golf, club member Charles Wellman called the score he was chasing the “bogey man,” a mythical figure of the era used to represent the score a player should match on a hole. That score was what golfers now call par. As scoring conventions standardised, “par” took over the meaning of an ideal score and “bogey” shifted to one over par.
“Quadruple bogey” is a more recent invention. Golf Compendium notes that the term does not appear in newspaper archives until the 1940s, and the first mention in the New York Times came in 1964. Higher prefixes such as quintuple and sextuple were added later as a logical extension of the same naming system.
Related Golf Terms
- Push — A shot that travels straight but to the right of the target for a right-hander.
- Putts per round — The average number of putts taken during a round.
- Putt — A stroke played on the putting green using a putter.
- Punch shot — A low-trajectory shot played to stay below tree branches or wind.
- Putter — A flat-faced club designed for rolling the ball along the putting green.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a quadruple bogey called for short?
A quadruple bogey is usually shortened to “quad.” Some golfers also call any score of 8 on a hole a “snowman,” but that name applies to the number 8 specifically, not the quadruple bogey itself.
Is a quadruple bogey the same as a snowman?
Only on a par 4. A snowman is any score of 8 on a single hole, while a quadruple bogey is four over par. On a par 4, both terms describe the same score; on a par 3, an 8 would be a quintuple bogey, not a quadruple.
What comes after a quadruple bogey?
A score of five over par is a quintuple bogey, followed by sextuple (6 over) and septuple (7 over). The naming continues with Latin number prefixes, but most golfers stop tracking after quintuple.
Do tour pros score quadruple bogeys?
Yes, though rarely. Recent examples include Fred Couples carding a quadruple-bogey 9 at the 2026 Masters and Michael Block opening with one at the 2024 PGA Championship. Tour scoring data shows pros separate themselves from amateurs largely by avoiding scores this high. Birdie counts play a smaller role in the gap.
What’s the difference between a triple and a quadruple bogey?
A triple bogey is three strokes over par; a quadruple bogey is four strokes over par. On a par 4, a triple is 7 and a quad is 8, one extra stroke apart.
Sources
- Golf Compendium. “The Golf Scores That Result in a Quadruple Bogey.” Accessed May 2026.
- Golf Compendium. “Triple Bogey, Quadruple Bogey … What Scores Come Next?” Accessed May 2026.
- Hole19. “Snowman | Golf Glossary.” Accessed May 2026.
- Hole19. “Pro Golf Stats That Will Change How You Think About Your Game.” Accessed May 2026.
- ESPN. “Quadruple bogey ends Fred Couples’ stay among Masters leaders.” 2026 Masters Tournament coverage. Accessed May 2026.
- Sports Illustrated. “Michael Block Makes Quadruple Bogey Early in Round 1 at PGA Championship.” Accessed May 2026.
- England Golf iGolf. “What Is a Bogey in Golf?” Accessed May 2026.
