Golfing Terminology
ACE – Term used when a Golfer makes a Hole in One! Shot from the Tee to the hole. It has been done many times.
ADDRESS – Term used when “addressing the ball” as a golfer stands and prepares to hit the ball.
ALBATROSS – Term for Double Eagle (British saying). Your Score is 3 under par on a single hole or you score a 2 on a par 5 hole. (great score if you can do it)
APPROACH – Often referred to as an “approach shot”. This is a short or medium iron, which is played into the green.
APRON – the closely cut area just around the edge of the green. Often referred to as the “Fringe”.
BACKSPIN – this is a reverse spin; causes the ball to stop very quickly on the green.
BACKSWING – the backward part of the swing starting from the ground and going back over the top of the golfer’s head.
BAIL OUT – a shot played to the safe part of the course. If a flag is right next to the water and the golfer intentionally shoots away from the flag to avoid the water hence “bailing out”.
BALL MARKER – a token or small coin which is placed directly just behind the ball in order to mark the position of the ball on the green. If your ball is in front of a player you mark your ball to remove it out of the way of the player.
BALL RETRIEVER – a long pole with a scoop on the end of it used to get balls out of water hazards.
BALL WASHER – located near the tee area at each hole so you can clean your ball
BANANA BALL – A slice on ball curving in a banana like shape from left to right.
BEACH – an expression for sand trap.
BENT GRASS – type of grass which is found in mostly in northern climates.
BIRDIE – a score of 1 under par for a hole.
BOGEY – a score of 1 over par on a hole.
BUNKER – another name for a sand trap.
CADDIE – a person who carries a players clubs during play and offers assistance in accordance with the rules.
CASUAL WATER – temporary puddles of water on the course which are not supposed to be there, like from rain. 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.
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)
CLUBHEAD – the hitting area of the golf club.
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 – score of 2 on a hole
DIMPLE – the small round indentations on the golf ball.
DIVOT – a piece of ground that is taken up by the club after hitting the ball. Golfing etiquette is to replace the divot.
DOGLEG – a hole that goes straight for a while then has a bend (or “dogleg”) to the left or right.
DOUBLE BOGEY – a score of two over par for one hole.
DOUBLE EAGLE – three under par for one hole (I.e. a two on a par five) 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.
DRIVER – This is the club known as the 1 wood. It is usually the club that hits the ball the farthest
DROP – this is a way that you get the ball back in play after hitting a shot into the water or out of bounds.
DUB – a poorly hit shot. I “dubbed” that shot.
DUFFER – one who hits a lot of bad shots. Can also be called a “hacker”.
EAGLE – score of 2 under par on a hole. (I.e. a score of 3 on a par 5 hole)
FACE – part of the clubhead that makes contact with the ball.
FADE – this is a shot (for a right-handed golfer) which curves gradually from left to right.
FAIRWAY – this is the area on the golf course, which lies directly between the tee box and the green and is cut really short and maintained really nice. You want to hit from this area if at all possible.
FAT SHOT – this is a shot which is not good. The club hits the ground behind the ball and results in a poorly struck shot that usually doesn’t go very far.
FLAGSTICK – flag/stick.
FOLLOW-THROUGH – the continuation of the golf swing to the end.
FORE – this is spelled differently than the number 4. This is the term yelled when one hits a shot toward another person on the golf course to alert him/her of impending doom from being hit by the ball.
FREE DROP – you drop the ball and don’t have to add a stroke to your score. This can happen when there is casual water on the course or ground under repair.
FRINGE – the closely cut area just around the edge of the green.
FRONT SIDE – the first nine holes is usually referred to as the “front side”.
GIMME – a term for a putt that is close enough to the cup that it will certainly be made so the other player says “it’s a gimme” and the player doesn’t have to putt it.
GRAIN – this is the direction that the grass on the green is growing.
GREEN – term used to describe the putting surface on the golf course.
GRIP – this refers to either the part of the shaft by which the club is held by the golfer usually in an overlapping grip.
GROSS – the total number of strokes a player takes on his round.
GROUNDING THE CLUB – placing the club head on the ground behind the ball also known as a position of addressing the ball.
HACKER – referring to a golfer who is not very skilled.
HANDICAP – The number of strokes a player may deduct from his actual (or gross) score to adjust his score to that of a scratch golfer.
HAZARD – a hazard is any sand trap, lake, pond and bunker that may cause problems on the golf course. This may include varmints such as birds, squirrels, snakes, bees and as seen on tv recently – an alligator.
HEEL – part of the club head nearest the shaft.
HOLE – a 4 inch round receptacle that you try to get your ball into.
HOLE HIGH – an approach shot which is even with the hole but off to one side.
HOLE-IN-ONE – see ACE above.
HOLE OUT – the process of a player completing the hole.
HONOR – the privilege of hitting first on the next tee. The “honor” is gained by having the lowest score on the preceding hole.
HOOK – to hit the ball and have it curve gradually from right to left (for right-handed golfers).
HOSEL – the hollow part of the club head that the shaft fits into.
INTERLOCKING GRIP – a type of grip where the little finger of the lower hand is interlocked with the index finger of the upper hand. You are usually taught this grip when you are a beginner.
IRON – is a metal golf club
JAIL – term used when a golfer hits a ball into a group of trees.
JUNGLE – In the Jungle is a term used by golfers for heavy rough or in the woods.
KICK – a golfers term for bounce for when a ball take a bad bounce.
LAG – putting the ball short of the hole to guarantee the next shot is better.
LIE – position the ball ends up when it comes to rest on the ground.
LINKS – another word for a golf course. Originally meant seaside course.
LIP – rim of the cup on the green
LOB SHOT – similar to basketball only it is a shot that goes straight up in the air and stops very quickly on the green.
LOCAL RULES – particular set of rules set by a golf course or resort
LOFT – angle of the club face from vertical.
MATCH PLAY – this is a form of competition by holes. Each hole is worth one point no matter how many strokes one player beats another by.
MEDAL PLAY – this is a form of competition decided by the overall number of strokes also referred to as stroke play.
MULLIGAN – an extra shot which your opponent players MAY allow you to take if you hit a really bad first shot. This is not recommended golf playing.
MUNICIPAL COURSE – a public course which is owned by a local government agency.
NASSAU – a form of competition which breaks down the play into front nine, back nine and overall 18 holes. A point is allowed for each nine and the total 18.
NINETEENTH HOLE – another term for the clubhouse or in particular the bar at the clubhouse.
OFFSET – a club with the head slightly behind (or offset) the shaft.
OUT-OF-BOUNDS – the area outside of the golf course limits in which play is prohibited. If you hit the ball out of bounds you must hit again from the same spot.
OVERCLUBBING – using a club that will hit the ball farther than necessary.
PAR – the number of stokes recommended to complete a hole (or 18 holes).
PENALTY STROKE – an additional stroke which is added to a golfers score for a rules violation, going out of bounds, losing a ball, or various other situations.
PIN – another name for flag stick or the pole that is in the cup.
PITCH – a short high arcing shot that lands on the green and usually stops quickly
PITCH AND RUN – same as a pitch but hit with a lesser lofted club which causes it to roll farther
PIVOT – the rotation of the shoulders, waist, and pelvis during the golf swing
PLAYING THROUGH – the process of slower players in front of faster players allowing the faster players to move ahead of the slower group
PREFERRED LIE – a lie that may be improved by a player.
PRO SHOP – the golf course shop operated by the golf pro.
PROVISIONAL BALL – an additional ball which is hit when the first ball can not be found. If the first ball is found, it is played. If the first ball is not found, the provisional must be played and the player is assessed a penalty stroke.
PULL – a ball that is pulled (or hit) to the left of the target (for right handed players)
PUSH – a ball that is pushed (or hit) to the right of the target (for right handed players)
PUTT – the shot hit on the green with the putter.
PUTTER – the club with a flat face used to putt. Also known as “flat stick”.
PUTTING GREEN – the surface area around the hole that is specially prepared for putting.
RANGE – also known as golfing range; this is the area where you go to practice and usually has many stations to hit practice balls/shots.
READING THE GREEN – determining which way the putt will curve based upon the slope of the green.
ROUGH – long grass area adjacent to the fairway. Normally you try to avoid the rough.
ROUND – completed 18 holes of golf.
RUN – the distance the ball will travel along the ground after it lands.
SANDBAGGER – this is a golfer who purposely tells others that he is a worse golfer than he really is in order to gain an edge in competition.
SAND TRAP – the common name for a sand hazard. These are areas that are filled with sand and should be avoided.
SAND WEDGE – an iron normally used to hit the ball out of the sand. It can also be used on short pitch shots.
SANDY – a player makes a sandy when he hits a shot out of the sand and sinks the following putt.
SCRATCH GOLFER – a player who has a handicap of 0. This player will theoretically shoot even par or better every time out.
SHORT GAME – the part of the game made up of chipping, putting and other shots around the green.
SHOTGUN START – a method of starting play where players go to every tee box on the golf course and hit their tee shots at the same time. Sometimes a horn is sounded to start play.
SIDE – this is a term front side and back side; front side 9 holes and back side 9 holes
SIDEHILL LIE – refers to a lie (see above for meaning of lie) when the ball is resting on a slope and the golfer’s feet are either above or below the ball.
SLICE – golfer shot which curves severely from left to right (for a right handed golfer).
SLOPE RATING – USGA term that represents the difficulty of a course for bogey golfers relative to the USGA Course Rating (which represents the difficulty for scratch golfers). The higher the slope, the more difficult the course plays for bogey golfers. Slope ratings range from 55 to 155 and 113 is considered average.
SNAKE – this is given to a player in a friendly game when player three putts. Whoever has the snake at the end of the round usually ‘gets’ to treat the other players to a soda.
STARTER – this is the person who is responsible for sending the groups of players off the first tee. Usually the starter is located somewhere close to the first hole.
STIMPMETER – this is a device which is used to calibrate the speed of the greens. Often referred to as ‘stimp’. A reading of 5 to 11 is the normal range with 5 being slow and 11 being extremely (PGA) fast!
STROKE – term used for the actual process of swinging the club through the ball. There is also a saying: “How many STROKES are you giving me?” This means “How many shots or additional swings are you giving me to even out the match”.
SUDDEN DEATH – method used in a tied match by playing extra holes. The first player to win a hole is the winner.
SUMMER RULES – ordinary rules according to the rulebook.
SWEET SPOT – the center point of the face of the club.
TAKEAWAY – golfer does this when he starts a back swing.
TEE – this is the wooden peg which is used to hold the ball up for driving. It is also the term for the area where play begins at a hole. (tee area)
TEXAS WEDGE – term for the putter when used off the green.
THREESOME – group of three (3)
TIGHT FAIRWAY – a narrow fairway with not much area on either side to miss.
TOE – part of the club furthest from where it joins the shaft.
TRAJECTORY – the flight path of the ball. If it goes way up in the air it is referred to a high trajectory.
TURN – to start the back nine holes. To “make the turn” means you have finished the 1st nine holes and are “turning” to the 2nd nine.
UNDERCLUBBING – using a club that does not provide enough distance to hit the ball to the intended target.
UNPLAYABLE LIE – a lie in which the ball is in and can not be hit. (I.e. it is up against a tree and the player can not hit it)
WAGGLE – the movement of the club head just prior to the player taking a swing.
WEDGE – an iron with a high loft used for short shots requiring a high trajectory.
WHIFF – swinging and missing the ball.
WINTER RULES – local golf rules that permit the player to improve the lie of the ball in the fairway. There may be additional winter rules allowed depending on the golf course condition.
WOOD – a club (either wood or metal) which is used for shots requiring a lot of distance.
WORMBURNER – this is a shot, which skims very low along the ground.
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