Turkey
A turkey in golf is three birdies in a row, made on three consecutive holes during the same round.
What is a turkey in golf?
A turkey happens when a golfer scores a birdie on three holes back to back. A birdie is one stroke under par, so a turkey means going one under on each of three holes in sequence, with nothing higher slipping in between.
It is a streak, not a single-hole score. That sets it apart from most golf scoring terms, which describe what happened on one hole. Birdie, eagle and bogey all refer to a single result. A turkey only counts if the three birdies land one after another, so a birdie on the 4th, a par on the 5th, then birdies on the 6th and 7th does not qualify. The run has to be unbroken.
Three birdies in a row is hard, even for good players. It asks for accurate approach shots and confident putting across three holes while the pressure builds, which is why the word carries a bit of bragging weight when a playing partner pulls one off. The term is informal. There is no official turkey marker on a scorecard, and the rules of golf do not recognise it, but it is widely used and understood among golfers.
Where the term comes from
Golf borrowed the word from bowling. In ten-pin bowling, three strikes in a row is called a turkey, and golfers adapted it to mean their own version of a three-in-a-row feat. According to National Club Golfer’s glossary, the bowling origin is almost certainly American.
The bowling link is usually traced to the holiday promotions alleys ran in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Around Thanksgiving and Christmas, some alleys are said to have handed out a turkey to bowlers who rolled three consecutive strikes, and the prize gave the achievement its name. The term stuck in bowling, then made the jump to golf, which already had a flock of bird-themed scoring words for it to fit alongside.
Bowling kept building on it, too. Six strikes in a row is sometimes called a wild turkey or a golden turkey, per National Club Golfer. Golf never adopted those extensions, so in golf, the word stops at three.
What a turkey looks like on the scorecard
Because a birdie is relative to par, the actual numbers in a turkey depend on the holes. A birdie on a par 3 is a 2, on a par 4 it is a 3, and on a par 5 it is a 4. String three of those together on consecutive holes, and you have a turkey.
A common run might look like this:
| Hole | Par | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 4 | 3 | Birdie |
| 7 | 3 | 2 | Birdie |
| 8 | 5 | 4 | Birdie |
That is a turkey: three holes, each played one under par, in a row. The pars do not have to match, so a turkey can stretch across a par 4, a par 3 and a par 5 just as easily as three holes of the same length.
Turkey vs. other golf scoring terms
Most golf scoring terms measure one hole against par. A turkey is different because it describes a sequence. The table below shows where it sits next to the single-hole terms golfers use most, with scoring figured against par as defined by the USGA.
| Term | What it means | Relative to par |
|---|---|---|
| Birdie | One hole under par | -1 (one hole) |
| Eagle | One hole two under par | -2 (one hole) |
| Albatross | One hole three under par | -3 (one hole) |
| Bogey | One hole over par | +1 (one hole) |
| Turkey | Three birdies in a row | -1 on each of 3 holes |
The thing to hold onto is the unit. An eagle is a single brilliant hole. A turkey is three good holes that arrive consecutively. A golfer can make an eagle and a turkey in the same round, and an eagle could even be one leg of a different streak, though a turkey specifically counts birdies, not eagles.
The other meaning of “turkey”
Here is where some golfers get crossed up. A small number of sources use “turkey” to mean something far less flattering: a quadruple bogey, or four over par on a single hole. By that definition, a turkey is a 7 on a par 3, an 8 on a par 4, or a 9 on a par 5.
This usage is rare. Golf Compendium notes that the standard term for four over on a hole is quadruple bogey, and that “turkey” for a bad score shows up only occasionally. The far more common meaning, and the one a golfer almost always intends, is the happy one: three birdies in a row. If someone mentions a turkey without context, assume the good version unless the rest of the conversation points the other way.
Related Golf Terms
- Trajectory — The flight path of the ball through the air.
- Triple bogey — A score of three over par on a single hole.
- Topspin — Forward rotation on the ball causing it to roll more after landing.
- TrackMan — A popular radar-based launch monitor used by professionals and fitters.
- Transition — The change of direction from backswing to downswing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is three birdies in a row called?
Three birdies in a row, on three consecutive holes in the same round, is called a turkey. The name comes from bowling, where three straight strikes carries the same label.
Is a turkey in golf good or bad?
Almost always good. In its common meaning, a turkey is three birdies in a row, a strong streak. A rare slang meaning uses it for a quadruple bogey, which is a bad single-hole score, but that usage is uncommon.
Does the turkey count if a par interrupts the birdies?
No. The three birdies have to be consecutive. A birdie, then a par, then two birdies is not a turkey, because the run was broken by the par.
Do the three holes have to be the same par?
No. The holes can be any mix of pars. All that matters is that each of the three consecutive holes is played one stroke under its own par.
Sources
- USGA. “Rules of Golf: Scoring.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.usga.org/rules - National Club Golfer. “NCG’s Golf Glossary: What is a turkey?” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.nationalclubgolfer.com/news/golf-glossary-turkey/ - Golf Compendium. “What Is the Golf Score Called a Turkey?” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.golfcompendium.com/2023/01/turkey-golf-score.html - All Square Golf. “Turkey | Golf Terms.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.allsquaregolf.com/golf-terms/turkey-term
