OED's "bogey" and "par"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 6/1/2011 11:50 AM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:
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>What is wrong with any of this?

Bogey (U.S.) is defined in terms of par, which is
defined in terms of a "scratch player".  "Scratch
player" is not defined, and its meaning derives
from games/contests where there is a (starting)
line (the "scratch line"), from which the scratch
player starts and in front of which the player
given a handicap starts.  E.g., foot races.  But not golf.

Bogey sense a. I am not sure about.  If bogey is
the score of a good player, what kind of player
gets the better "par" score?  And I wonder if
this sense is still in use in golf anywhere worldwide.

Joel


>5b does not refer to a "scratch-line".
>
>DanG
>
>On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 11:28 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      OED's "bogey" and "par"
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >>I wonder if the definitions of "bogey" (etc.) and "par" need revision.
> >
> > Bogey:
> > a.  The number of strokes a good player may be
> > reckoned to need for the course or for a hole.
> > ...
> > c. A score of one stroke over par for a hole. U.S.
> >
> > Par (June 2005):
> > 4.a. Golf. The number of strokes which a scratch
> > player should need for a hole or for a course
> > (freq. with that number as postmodifier). Also:
> > (as a count noun) a score of this number of stokes at a hole.
> >
> > And now for the final term needed to understand "bogey" and "par":
> >
> > Scratch player:
> > s.v. scratch, n., 1.: -- no definition!
> >
> > So I go up to "scratch" -- the most relevant definition(s) seem(s) to be:
> > 5.a.  a. Sport. A line or mark drawn as an
> > indication of a boundary or starting-point; †in
> > Cricket, a ‘crease’ (obs.); in Pugilism, the line
> > drawn across the ring, to which boxers are brought for an encounter.
> > b.  The starting-point in a handicap of a
> > competitor who receives no odds; sometimes
> > colloq. used ellipt. for such a competitor. Also
> > fig.; esp. in phr. from scratch, from a position
> > of no advantage, knowledge, influence, etc., from nothing.
> >
> > But surely there's no scratch line in golf!
> >
> > Joel
> >
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