Why bogey golf works
Bogey golf is not about trying to make bogey on every hole. It is about accepting that bogey is often a useful score and making decisions that protect the total instead of chasing scratch par.
Bogey golf gives you room to play normally
On a par-72 course, 18 bogeys produces 90. If your goal is to break 100, you do not need a card full of pars. You can make plenty of bogeys, some doubles and still reach the target if you avoid the holes that explode into very large numbers.
A bogey can be a positive result
Traditional par makes every bogey look like one shot lost. But if your Target Par on a difficult par 4 is 6, making 5 is one shot better than your plan. That is a useful scoring result even though the card still calls it a bogey.
The reverse matters just as much. Suppose a difficult hole is a Target Par 7 and you make 8. The scorecard may make that 8 feel like a disaster, but against the round you planned it is only one over Target Par, effectively a net bogey against your target. One net bogey does not require a heroic response on the next hole.
It reduces the need for hero shots
Many high scores are not caused by one poor swing. They are caused by the decision immediately after it: trying to thread a ball through trees, carrying a hazard from a poor lie or forcing a long approach because laying up feels like giving up.
If a safe recovery still leaves a realistic route to Target Par, the recovery is not surrender. It is course management.
Target Par can mean you do not need driver
The longest club is not automatically the best scoring club. More importantly, Target Par changes the question from “how do I play this par 4?” to “how many shots do I actually have to get the ball where I need it?”
If your Target Par allows you four shots to reach the green or get greenside and still leaves the planned shots to finish, there may be no reason to hit driver simply because you are standing on a par 4 or par 5. Four controlled shots with clubs you trust can be a much better route than one long tee shot that regularly brings a reload, water or trees into play.
That does not mean automatically leaving driver in the bag. If driver is a reliable club and the hole suits it, use it. The point is that course par no longer forces the decision. OKBogey gives you the hole's Target Par; you can then choose the safest sensible route to that number.
Bogey golf is not the same as defensive golf
Playing sensibly does not mean refusing every opportunity. If you have a comfortable shot, take it. If the green is reachable with a normal club and the miss is acceptable, go for it. The difference is that you do not need to manufacture an aggressive shot simply because the scorecard par makes you feel behind.
Why it fits breaking 100 particularly well
A player trying to shoot 99 on a par-72 course has 27 shots above par available. If 18 of those are used as one bogey per hole, nine more shots remain. Those extra shots can absorb nine doubles, or be distributed in other ways across the round.
That does not mean you should deliberately aim for nine doubles. It shows how much more realistic 99 looks when you stop comparing every hole with scratch par.
The real enemy is repeated damage
A single hole one over Target Par is manageable. What hurts is reacting to it as if the round is ruined, then losing another two or three shots by chasing. If an 8 is only +1 to Target Par, the next hole keeps its original job. You do not suddenly need birdie.
OKBogey keeps the comparison against your chosen total visible. That makes it easier to see the difference between a frightening-looking gross score and the actual damage to the plan.
Use Target Par rather than one rule for every hole
Pure bogey golf treats every hole as par plus one. OKBogey goes a step further by distributing the shots from your chosen target score across the actual course. Some holes might be Target Par 5, others 6 or 7, depending on course par, Stroke Index and the score you are trying to shoot.
That gives you the same useful mindset without pretending every hole should be approached identically.