The Adair County News

BIRTH OF COLONEL BOGY.

Origin of the Term That Has Become a Part of Golf.

"Who is Colonel Bogy?" That is the first question usually asked by the recruit when he steps on the golf links. Professionals and veterans never tire of explaining that he is the imaginary opponent, with the fixed score for each hole, but few can tell how the name originated.

It generally is accepted that an Englishman was first to set forth the idea. In December, 1890, the scratch score of the Coventry course was taken, being the score that a good scratch player would take to each hole of the grounds, making no mistakes, but also fluking nothing nor being fortunate with any special flashes of brilliant play.

At the time they called this "the ground score," and later several tournaments were given under the system. The name, however, followed soon, and its origin was a curious one. Dr. Thomas Browne, R. N., went out to play against a friend, Major Charles A. Wellman, and they agreed instead of playing directly against each other to play against the ground score and decide their match accordingly as each fared in this way. It so happened that about the same time the bogy song was being sung by the late E. J. Lonnen at the London Gaiety theater, and everybody else was singing it. The words of the refrain were:

Hush! Hush! Hush!
Here comes the bogy man!
So hide your head beneath the clothes
He'll catch you if he can.

There was the idea in golf. "He'll catch you if he can!" And it flashed across the mind of Major Wellman when he was playing this game and was getting "caught" by the ground score.

"Why," said he to his friend Browne, "this player of yours is a regular 'bogy' man." A considerable piece of golf history was made in that chance remark, for "bogy" was from that moment established in golf. Some time later "colonel" was added.—Exchange.