Golf Lingo #4 (From A to Z)

If you are a beginner, you will soon learn that golf has a language all its own. You’ll feel like you have landed in a foreign country when you first begin playing! Sure, you will catch on quickly, especially to the more basic golf terms like Par, Bogie, Birdie, Stroke, Bunker, and others, but here are some of the other terms used in golf that are not so fundamental. Learn these terms and you will sound like an old pro (even if you don’t play like one…yet!)

Ace – A hole-in-one. Congratulations! Buy a round of drinks at the Nineteenth Hole!

Addressing the ball – Assuming a stance and touching the club to the ground prior to hitting it.

Airball -Your swing missed the ball! Don’t worry, it happens to everyone.

All square – A term used to describe a match that is tied.

Amateur – Someone who plays for fun, not money. You!

Approach shot – Your shot to the green made from anywhere except the tee.

Apron – Fringe of closely cut grass leading to the green.

Away – The player whose ball lies farthest from the hole is said to be away.

Back door – The side of the cup opposite the player’s ball.  Sometimes a ball will roll around the cup and enter by the back door.

Back lip – The edge of a bunker (aka sand trap) that’s farthest from the green.

Ball washer – Found at many tees; a machine for cleaning the golf ball.

Back nine – The second nine holes of an 18-hole course; the first half is the front nine holes.

Backspin – Reverse spin that cause a ball to back up on the golf course.

Backswing – A turn of the hips and shoulders made before moving the club forward.

Banana – A shot that is sliced off line, causing the ball flight to take the shape of a banana.

Best ball – Format in which only the lowest score of a foursome is used.

Better ball – Format in which only the lower of two scores is used on each hole.

Birdie – A hole played in one under par.

Bite – Descriptive term for when a ball reverses direction after landing because of strong backspin.

Blind hole – A hole whose green is not visible from the tee.

Bogey – A hole played via one over par.

Bunker – An area of ground along a fairway from which soil has been moved. Sometimes it has been filled with sand. It is a hazard, but golf purists never call it a sand trap.

Buried lie – A ball sitting down so deeply in the rough that it can barely be seen.

Caddy – The person carrying your clubs during your round of golf, and the only person officially allowed to give you advice.

Chip shot – Very short, low-flying shot to the green.

Cup – A metal or plastic liner fitted into the hole in the green.

Dance floor – Slang term for the putting green.

Divot – Grass turf displaced by the head of your club during a swing.

Dogleg – A hole with a sharply angled fairway.

Double bogey -A hole played in two strokes over par (a.k.a. Buzzard).

Double eagle – A hole played in three strokes less than par.

Downswing – The part of the swing where the club head is moving down, toward the ball.

Draw – A term used to describe a hooked shot.

Driver – A club with the longest shaft and least loft.

Duffer – A golfer who seldom sniffs par.

Eagle – Score of two under par for a hole.

Fade – A term used to describe a gentle slice.

Fairway – The mowed area between the tee and the green.

Flagstick – The metal pole emerging from each hole.

Fore! – Be sure to shout this when your ball is headed toward another player.

Foursome – Four golfers playing together.

Gallery – Spectators at a tournament.

Gimme – A putt so short that it is conceded.

Grain – The direction that grass grows on a putting green.

Golf widow(er) – Your partner after he or she finds out how much you want to play!

Green fee – The cost to play a round of golf.

Green jacket – The prestigious prize awarded to the winner of the Masters Tournament.

Handicap – An allocation of one or more strokes that allows one player to be competitive with another of greater skill. For example, one whose handicap is 16 is expected to shoot 88 on a par 72 course, or 16 strokes over par.

Hacker – Poor player. Don’t be one!

Hazard – An obstacle on the course in which a player’s club is not permitted to touch the sand or water before the swing has begun.

Hole-in-one – A ball hit directly into the cup from the tee.

Honor – The privilege of  hitting first.

Hole – Your ultimate goal!

Kill – Hitting a very long shot

Knee-knocker – A short, but easily missable putt.

Lay-up – A shot played  purposely short of a hazard.

Leader board – Place where lowest scores in tournament are posted.

Links – Traditional seaside golf course.

Masters Tournament – First major tournament of each calendar year. Always played at Augusta National course in Georgia, USA.

Mulligan – An additional shot often taken on the first tee after the first shot goes out of bounds, into the trees or into the water. No stroke is charged. (Mulligans are not permitted in tournaments.)

Nineteenth hole – The clubhouse bar.

Par – The number of strokes assigned to a hole, usually 3, 4 or 5.

Penalty stroke – A stroke assessed for hitting a ball to where it couldn’t be played or for rules infractions.

Pigeon – An opponent you should beat easily. Go for it!

Private club – A club open to members and their guests only.

Pro-Am – Charity golf tournament in which professionals are paired with amateurs.

Provisional ball – A substitute shot played in case the first ball is not found.

Pro shop – A place where you sign up to start play, enroll in lessons and can buy balls, clubs, and clothing.

Quadruple bogey – Four over par on one hole (a.k.a. Turkey). Having a bad day?

Rabbit – A beginning player.

Relief – A situation in which a player may move the ball without penalty.

Rough – Naturally wild or long-grassed area bordering the fairway.

Sandbagger – One who has a  fraudulent handicap and wins matches by pretending to be poorer than he is. He takes too many handicap strokes.

Scratch player – A par golfer who has a zero handicap.

Scramble – Tournament format that calls for each player in a foursome to hit a shot and then each plays the next shot from the spot where the best-positioned ball rests.

Shag – To retrieve practice balls.

Shank – A shot that hits off the edge of a club or the shaft and goes dead right or left.

Stimpmeter – Device used to  measure the speed of the greens.

Stroke – Any forward motion of the club made with the intention of advancing the ball. This includes a whiff.

Sweet spot – The specific place on the clubface that produces maximum accuracy and power.

Tee – Small peg on which the ball is placed for a drive from the teeing ground. Also, the area from which your first shot is hit.

Teeing ground – Designated area from which tee shots must be struck

Triple bogey – Three over par on one hole (a.k.a. Grouse). Not good.

Golf Lingo