Golf Terms

CADDIE – A person who carries a player’s clubs during play and offers assistance in accordance with the rules.

CARRY – The distance in the air that a ball must travel before it hits the ground. (i.e. you need 160 yards to carry the water means you need to hit the ball 160 yards in the air to clear the water)

CASUAL WATER – No this is not water dressed in blue jeans and T-shirt but rather any temporary puddles of water on the course which are not supposed to be there, like say for instance after a rainstorm. There is no penalty for a player to move his ball out of casual water.

CHIP SHOT – A short approach shot with a low trajectory usually hit from close to the green.

CHIP IN – This happens when you hit a chip shot (see above) into the cup. (Note: this is usually good!)

CHOKE – This word has two meanings. One is to grip lower on the club than normal (you may hear the term “choke down” on the club) The other definition in golf (and most other sports) means to collapse under pressure (i.e. he “choked” under the pressure of the Master’s).

CHOP – To hit the ball with a hacking motion or the word immediately after “pork”.

CLUBHEAD – The hitting area of the golf club.

CLUBHOUSE – The main building at the golf course where players usually go to have refreshments and tell about their 2 under par round (note: at times, you can actually see their noses grow!)

COURSE RATING – The difficulty of a course. Usually the higher the course rating the harder it is.

CUP – The thing in the hole that holds the flagstick.

DEUCE – Hmmm, now lets see, if an ace is a hole in one, then a deuce must be a hole in two! That’s right Sherlock! It is a score of 2 on a hole!

DIMPLE – The small round indentations on the golf ball. A lot of really smart guys (some call them scientists) got together and figured out how many dimples would help the ball fly straight and true.

DIVOT – A piece of ground that is taken up by the club after hitting the ball. A good golfer ALWAYS replaces his divots and tamps them back down so they will grow back again!

DOGLEG – This is one of two things. It is either one of four things that Rover walks on or it is a hole that goes straight for a while then has a bend (or “dogleg”) to the left or right. You decide which fits here!

DOUBLE BOGEY – A score of two over par for one hole. These are not very good!

DOUBLE EAGLE – NO, this is NOT two eagles, but it is a good score for one hole! In fact it is an excellent score for one hole – three under par for one hole! (i.e. a two on a par five!) This is also referred to as an “albatross”.

DOWNHILL LIE – The ball is on the downslope of a hill. When a right handed player addresses the ball his right foot will be higher than his left foot.

DRAIN – To make a putt (“drain it”).

DRAW SHOT – This is when a right handed player hits a controlled hook, which goes from right to left.

DRIVE – This is the term which means your tee shot. It is also usually the way you get to the golf course.

DRIVER – This is the club known as the 1 wood. It is usually the club that hits the ball the farthest. It is also a person that very rich people have to haul them around.

DROP – This is a way that you get the ball back in play after hitting a shot into the water or out of bounds. This also happens to waitresses when they carry too many plates.

DUB – A poorly hit shot. I “dubbed” that shot.

DUFFER – One who hits a lot of bad shots. Can also be called a “hacker”.