A Glossary of Golf Terms and Terminology

As with so many other sports, there is a lot of terminology that is unique to the game of golf. Our little golf glossary here will hopefully explain at least a few of the more esoteric terms.

If you are looking for the information on the following:

• how to play golf
• golf guide
• golf lessons online

Likeso many other sports and leisure activities, the enthusiastic, and sometimes rabid and even incoherent, participants of golf have created a whole lexicon of words that may not mean what they do in everyday life..if you can find them in everyday life! Since the rules of golf have been around since 1744, the situation is amplified by the fact that the origins of many are vague to say the least. Here's a selection so that pretty quickly you can sound like "one of the gang"...the golfing gang, that is.  Once you get the patter, not putter, down, you can get out and practice looking like a golfer as well as sounding like one! Address: The stance a golfer takes before a swing. Airshot: A swing and a miss...even so, still counts as one stroke. Back Nine: The final nine holes of a standard 18 hole golf course. Break: A natural tendency of a Green to cause a ball to move from a straight path. A golfer who is putting must be able to "read" how the green will "break" and compensate for it. Bunker (also known as a "trap): Prepared area of ground, from which turf or earth has been removed and replaced with sand, water, or tall grass. Nothing to do with Archie or Edith Bunker or Meathead. Birdie: One stroke under the Par for the hole. Bogey: One stroke over the Par for the hole. Clubhead: The base of the club, where the ball is intended to be struck. Divot: Turf removed from the ground when a player's swing hits the grass. Dog-leg: A hole that follows a broken, sharply angled line from the tee to the green. A Hole may be "dog leg right" or "dog leg left". Drive: The longest type of stroke made during play, usually with a wood or low numbered iron, commonly the first shot on each hole. Driver: Commonly, a Wood used to make the longest Drive, or drives, along a Fairway. Eagle: Two strokes under Par for a hole. Fairway: Closely mown grass area (usually one-half to three-quarters of an inch high) between the tee and the green.  Players will tee off at one end, move the ball down the fairway, and finish by putting the ball into the hole. Flagstick: A movable pole centered in the hole to show its position, usually with a small flag at the top. Popularly referred to as the Pin, although the proper term, and the one used in the rules, of golf, is flagstick. Fore: A shout to warn other players that a ball is headed in their direction. Green:  The normally elevated and carefully cultivated area where the Pin, is located.  Usually has one or more Bunkers (Traps) around it to increase the difficulty of getting the bal l on the green. Handicap: A numerical measure of playing ability. The lower the handicap, the better the golfer. Less skilled players are allowed to deduct strokes when playing against better players. (Hence, the latter are 'handicapped'.) Hole:  This can refer to the actual hole in a green that the players are trying to put the ball iinto, however, it is also used to define the area from Tee to Green, as is first hole, second hole, and so on. Hook: A stroke which curves the ball to the left of the target, if made by a right handed player, and to the right if made by a left handed player. Iron: A metal golf club numbered 1-9, with a flat, thin, angled face. The lower the number, the less steep the loft. Lower numbered irons are intended to be used for longer shots. Loft: The angle of the clubhead, measured with respect to the shaft. Match Play: A type of competition in which each hole is a separate contest. (See "Stroke play") The lowest number of strokes on a given hole, wins that hole. Net Score: Gross score minus your Handicap. Par: The number of strokes a hole is designed to be completed in, based on it's length. Also describes the number of strokes in which the course should be played. Pin:  See Flagstick. Pitching Wedge: A club with a steeper face, used when close to the hole. (See "Sand Wedge".) Putter: A club with a vertical face designed for use on or near the green. Sand Wedge: A club with a steeper face, used to hit the ball out of a sand trap or high grass. (See "Pitching Wedge".) Slice: A ball flight which curves to the right of the target. (If made by a right handed player; to the left if made by a left handed player.) Stroke Play: Competition based on the total number of strokes taken. (See "Match play".) The lowest number of strokes over the entire course wins that game. Tee: a) A small device, usually wooden or plastic, which is pointed on one end to stick in the ground and slighly cupped at the top end to hole the ball, designed to raise the ball off the ground. Must not be longer than 4 inches or influence the movement of the ball. b) The beginning of a Hole, as in "the players are at the tee", i.e. ready to begin play at that hole. Tee Off:  Make the first Drive on a Hole.  Each player will tee off on each hole in turn. Trap:  See "Bunker" Water Hazard: As the name implies, some sort of pond, stream, or other aquatic feature, natural or man-made, which the golfer must Drive his or her ball across to successfully proceed down the Fairway or reach the Green. Wood: A club with a large, rounded head (usually made of real wood or some sort of composite material), used to hit the ball over great distances. See Drive.