Golfing Terms - why the birds?
To score one under par in golf is described as getting a 'birdie'. If you get two under it is an 'eagle, and three under is an 'albatross'. The origin on the term birdie is said to go back to a time early last century, when after a score of one under par on a hole, the golfer exclaimed loudly 'what a bird of a shot'.
This term caught on, and in time players scoring one under par came to refer to it as a birdie. Now that the bird theme was introduced, it became a logical sequence to name two under par after a bird, in this case an 'eagle', and three under par after a more rare bird, the 'albatross'.
Related Pages
- Complete list of golfing terms
- Basic Rules of Golf
- Discussion of golf-type sports
- Golf Game Variations
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