TERMS
19th Hole: the bar in the clubhouse.
Best Ball – tournament format. Each player plays their own ball for the entire hole, and the best score is
used as the team score for the hole.
Draw: a ball that takes a slight turn to the left as it flies
Dog Leg: a hole that has an L shape between the tee and the green. They can either be a dog leg right,
or a dog leg left.
Fade: a ball that takes a slight turn to the right as it flies
Footer ( x footer ): a putt. 3 footer means a 3 foot putt. The ball was 3 feet from the hole. 15 footer
means a 15 foot putt.
Halfway House: building at The Turn that sells food and drink
Hazard: a nasty thing in the fairway. This can be a lake, a creek, or even, as is seen especially on desert
courses, an area that has been let grow natural. If your ball lands in a hazard generally
speaking it is gone. Which is why they are referred to as hazards.
Hook: a ball that makes a large turn to the left as it flies
Gimme: a conceded putt. If the ball is very close to the hole and chances are 99% the player will make
the putt, the people he is playing with can tell him it's a gimme. This means he can pick up the
ball and take the stroke, just as if he had putted the ball and made it, without actually putting
and taking a chance on missing the easily makable putt. Absolutely NOT legal for scoring
purposes.
Grocery Money: the money a golfer wins off his fellow players during a round. Called grocery money
because it is usually used to buy food and drink ( hence 'groceries' ) at the 19th hole.
Jungle: thick, deep, nasty rough
Lay up: stop short of hitting over a hazard. If there is a lake or a large sand trap, or 'natural area',
between the tee and the green you have two choices when you are on the tee. If you are good
enough, and can hit long enough, you hit the ball hard and hope it goes over the hazard. If you
are not that good, or can't hit that hard, you hit a shorter shot, a lay up, that stops just before
the hazard, and then hit another shot to get the ball over the hazard.
Mulligan: a do-over. If you hit a bad shot you put a ball in the same spot you just hit from and hit
another shot ( and hope this one is better ). Absolutely NOT legal for scoring purposes.
Players Assistant: see Ranger
Pitch: a short shot, hit from off the green onto the green. Usually hit with a wedge.
Ranger: actually this is the old term. Now-a-days they are called Players Assistants. Rangers patrol the
course. They make sure every one is following course rules with regards to where carts can go,
not playing out of marked off areas, replacing divots, etc. They tell players when they need to
speed up play and they can pull unruly players from the course.
Ready golf: who ever is ready to hit next goes. Golf etiquette says that the player farthest from the hole
hits first. To speed things up people will play ready golf. Whoever gets to their ball first and
is ready to go hits first.
Royal and Ancient, R&A: Golf's oldest ruling body. Based at St. Andrews.
Scotch – also known as Alternate Shot. Tournament format. Players take turns hitting the ball for each
hole. One player hits the ball off the tee. The next player hits the ball from where it lies. And
so on until the ball is in the cup.
Scramble – tournament format. Each team member hits the ball. The team goes to the best shot and
each team member hits a ball from that spot. And so on until the hole is finished. The
number of shot ‘best shots’ is the team score for the hole.
Short game: the part of a round of golf played with the short irons. Basically the 9 irons and the wedges.
This is the part of the game played up around the green.
Shotgun start – each player ( or team as the case may be ) is assigned a starting hole. At the start time
all players(teams) start playing at the same time, and move around the course until they
get back to the hole they started on.
Slice: a ball that makes a large turn to the right as it flies
Snack shack: building at The Turn that sells food and drink
Snowman: A score of 8 on a hole
St. Andrews: The Home of Golf. Golf courses in the town of St. Andrews in Scotland. St. Andrews
currently consists of 6 courses, with a 7th on the way. The most famous of the 6 is The Old
Course ( supposedly where the original sheep farmer got bored and started hitting a rock
with a stick. The most famous golf course in the world. Every Golfer wants to play there at
least once before they die. ), The New Course ( opened in 1895 ), and the Jubilee Course (
opened in 1897, the Jubilee of Queen Victoria ).
Starter: The person in charge of the schedule. When you call for a tee time the Starter marks it on the
schedule. When you get to the course you 'check in' with the Starter and let them know you are
there. When it's your turn to tee off the Starter calls your name. On most courses the Starter
controls play. Which means the rangers/players assistants report to the Starter. He can have
them speed up players, or pull unruly players from the course.
The Turn: going from The Front Nine to The Back Nine ( see Phrases )
Whiff: Swing at the ball and miss
PHRASES
Army Golf: Right, Left, Right, Left. Meaning first you hit the ball way to the right. Then you hit your
next shot way to the left. And so on.
On The Dance Floor ( Dancing ): On the green. The green is 'the dance floor'.
The Back Nine: Holes number 10 - 18
The Front Nine: Holes number 1 - 9
Up and Down: hitting from off the green very close to, or even in, the hole.