Score names relative to a hole's par: a birdie is one under par, a bogey one over, an eagle two under. Golf almost never states a score in absolute strokes.
Golf talks in differences, not absolute numbers. Saying \"I was two over\" means two strokes more than the combined par of the holes you played — which is exactly why a scorecard stays unreadable until the names click: a birdie is one under par, a bogey one over, a double bogey two over, an eagle two under. The classic beginner mistake is measuring yourself against birdies. On a par 4 that means three strokes: drive, approach and a single putt. You get far more out of hunting down your double bogeys and turning them into bogeys — that drops your score faster than any hero shot. And because everything runs against par, hole length is already priced in: a bogey on a long par 5 is the better piece of golf than a bogey on a short par 3.