# Golf Terms and Slang: A to Z Glossary of 147 Words

147 golf terms explained in plain English, from ace to yips. Learn the scoring, rules, league formats, and etiquette you will hear on the course.

Source: https://stg.benchapp.com/learn/golf-terms
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## Golf terms, explained in plain English

Every word you are likely to hear on the tee, on the green, or in the league standings, in 147 short definitions you can read in a few seconds each.

This glossary is for new golfers, league players, and anyone joining a weekly group who wants to understand what the people around them are talking about, from the scorecard to the banter on the first tee.

Terms are listed from A to Z and cover scoring, the Rules of Golf, the formats used in leagues and outings, and on-course etiquette. Related terms are linked so you can follow a topic from one entry to the next. Where leagues and casual groups often play by their own local rules, the definition says so.

## 147 golf terms, A to Z

- Ace: Another name for a hole in one: holing your tee shot with a single stroke.
- Albatross: A score of three under par on a single hole, such as a 2 on a par 5 or a hole in one on a par 4. It is also called a double eagle and is much rarer than a hole in one.
- All square: In match play, a tie: both sides have won the same number of holes so far.
- Alternate shot: A team format where two partners play one ball and take turns hitting it until the hole is finished. Partners usually also alternate who tees off on each hole. The formal name is foursomes.
- Approach shot: A shot intended to land the ball on the green, usually the second shot on a par 4 or the third on a par 5.
- Army golf: A joking description of a round where the ball keeps going left, then right, then left again, like the cadence of a marching drill.
- Away: The player whose ball is farthest from the hole is "away" and traditionally plays next. In stroke play, groups often use ready golf instead to keep the pace moving.
- Back nine: Holes 10 through 18 on an 18-hole course.
- Backspin: Spin that makes the ball rotate backward in flight, helping it stop quickly or even pull back after it lands on the green.
- Ball mark: The dent a ball makes when it lands on the green. Golfers are expected to repair their own ball marks, and the Rules allow you to repair damage on the green even on your line of play.
- Ball marker: A small flat object, like a coin or a plastic disc, placed behind your ball on the green so you can lift it to clean it or move it out of another player's way.
- Beach: Slang for a bunker. Hitting into one is "going to the beach."
- Best ball: A team format where each player plays their own ball and only the best score on each hole counts for the team. With two-person teams it is often called four-ball, and leagues frequently use net scores.
- Birdie: A score of one under par on a hole, such as a 3 on a par 4.
- Bite: When a ball stops quickly or spins back after landing, usually because of backspin. Players will often shout "bite!" at a shot that looks like it will roll too far.
- Bogey: A score of one over par on a hole, such as a 5 on a par 4.
- Breakfast ball: An informal do-over on the first tee shot of the day, offered in some casual rounds. Like any mulligan, it is not allowed under the Rules of Golf or in posted scores.
- Bump and run: A low shot from just off the green that lands short and rolls most of the way to the hole, usually played with a less lofted club.
- Bunker: A prepared area of sand, usually a hollow, on the course. In a bunker you may not touch the sand with your club just before your stroke or on your backswing.
- Carry: How far the ball travels through the air before it first lands. A shot over water needs enough carry to clear it.
- Chapman: A two-person team format where both partners tee off, each then plays the other's ball for the second shot, and the team picks one ball to finish with alternate shots. It is often called pinehurst, though the exact details vary from club to club.
- Chip: A short, low shot from near the green that spends a little time in the air and then rolls toward the hole.
- Chunk: A miss where the club hits the ground before the ball, taking a big divot and sending the ball well short. Also called hitting it fat.
- Collar: Another name for the fringe, the short grass ringing the green.
- Concede: In match play, you may tell your opponent their next stroke, the hole, or the whole match is good without them playing it. Concessions are not allowed in stroke play.
- Condor: A score of four under par on a single hole, such as a hole in one on a par 5. It is extremely rare and only a handful have ever been recorded.
- Course handicap: The number of strokes you receive on a specific course from a specific set of tees. Under the World Handicap System it is calculated from your Handicap Index, the slope rating, and the difference between the course rating and par.
- Course rating: The score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot on a course from a given set of tees, such as 71.4. It is used together with the slope rating to work out course handicaps.
- Cup: The hole on the green that you are trying to get the ball into. It is 4.25 inches (108 mm) wide.
- Dance floor: Slang for the green. A shot that finally reaches it is "on the dance floor."
- Divot: A piece of turf cut out by the club during a swing, or the scar left behind. On fairways you should replace it or fill the hole with the sand mix the course provides.
- Dogleg: A hole that bends left or right partway down the fairway, like a dog's hind leg.
- Dormie: In match play, being ahead by exactly as many holes as are left to play, so the leader cannot lose in regulation, though the other side can still tie.
- Double bogey: A score of two over par on a hole, such as a 6 on a par 4.
- Double eagle: Another name for an albatross: three under par on a single hole.
- Down: In match play, trailing by a number of holes. "Two down" means your opponent has won two more holes than you.
- Draw: A controlled shot that curves gently from right to left for a right-handed golfer (left to right for a left-hander).
- Drive: A tee shot hit with the driver, usually on a par 4 or par 5.
- Driver: The longest club in the bag, with the biggest head and least loft, built to hit the ball as far as possible off a tee.
- Driving range: A practice area where golfers hit balls toward targets, usually with buckets of balls paid for by the size of the bucket.
- Drop zone: A marked area some courses provide as an extra relief option, often near a penalty area. Whether you can use it and what it costs is set by the course's local rules.
- Eagle: A score of two under par on a hole, such as a 3 on a par 5.
- Fade: A controlled shot that curves gently from left to right for a right-handed golfer (right to left for a left-hander).
- Fairway: The closely mown strip of grass between the tee and the green, where you want your tee shot to finish.
- Fairway wood: A wood with more loft than a driver, such as a 3-wood or 5-wood, designed to be hit off the fairway as well as off a tee.
- Fat: Hitting the ground before the ball, which costs distance. Also called a chunk.
- First cut: A narrow band of slightly longer grass between the fairway and the deeper rough.
- Flagstick: The pole with a flag that marks the hole on the green. Under the current Rules you may putt with it left in the hole or have it removed.
- Flop shot: A very high, soft shot hit with an open-faced lofted wedge, used to get over something and stop the ball quickly on the green.
- Fore: The warning shouted when a ball is heading toward other people. If you hear it, cover your head and turn away from the shot.
- Four-ball: A format where two-person teams each play their own ball and the better score on each hole counts for the team. It is the formal name for two-person best ball.
- Foursomes: The formal name for alternate shot: two partners play one ball, taking turns until the hole is complete.
- Free drop: Taking relief without a penalty stroke, for example from a cart path, ground under repair, or temporary water.
- Fringe: The band of grass around the green that is cut a little longer than the putting surface. Also called the collar.
- Front nine: Holes 1 through 9 on an 18-hole course. Many weekday leagues play only nine holes, alternating between the front and back nine.
- Gap wedge: A wedge with loft between a pitching wedge and a sand wedge, typically about 50 to 52 degrees, used to fill the distance gap between them.
- Gimme: A short putt your playing partners agree you would make, so you pick it up without putting. Gimmes are a match play concession; in stroke play and posted scores you are expected to hole out, though casual groups often allow them.
- Green: The very short, smooth grass surface around the hole, where you putt.
- Gross score: Your actual number of strokes for a hole or round, before any handicap strokes are taken off.
- Handicap: A measure of a golfer's ability that lets players of different skill compete fairly. Under the World Handicap System it is expressed as a Handicap Index and turned into strokes for each course.
- Handicap Index: Your portable handicap under the World Handicap System, calculated from the best 8 of your most recent 20 score differentials. The maximum is 54.0.
- Hazard: An older term for bunkers and water hazards. Since 2019 the Rules of Golf no longer use it: water hazards are now called penalty areas, and bunkers are treated as their own area.
- Hole: Either one of the 18 (or 9) playing units of a course, from tee to green, or the cup on the green itself.
- Hole in one: Getting the ball into the hole with your tee shot, scoring a 1. Also called an ace.
- Honors: The right to tee off first on a hole, which goes to the player or side with the lowest score on the previous hole. On the first tee it is usually decided by the draw or the group.
- Hook: A shot that curves sharply from right to left for a right-handed golfer, more than a draw and usually unintended.
- Hybrid: A club that blends features of a fairway wood and an iron, often used instead of long irons because it is easier to get airborne.
- Irons: Clubs with flat, angled metal faces, numbered roughly 3 through 9 in a typical set. Lower numbers have less loft and go farther.
- Lag putt: A long putt hit mainly to finish close to the hole so the next putt is easy, rather than to make it.
- Layup: A deliberately shorter shot played to a safe spot, for example short of water, instead of going for the green.
- League night: A regular weeknight round, usually nine holes, where league members play in set groups. Leagues pick a format for each week, such as stroke play, match play, best ball, or a scramble, and many use handicaps so everyone can compete.
- Lie: Where and how the ball is sitting, such as a good lie in the fairway or a buried lie in the rough. The word is also used for the angle of a club's shaft to the ground.
- Lie angle: The angle between the shaft and the sole of a club when the club rests flat on the ground. A lie angle that does not suit your swing can push shots left or right.
- Line of play: The path you intend your ball to take after your stroke, including a reasonable distance on either side and above it.
- Links: A seaside course built on sandy ground with firm turf, few trees, and wind as a big factor. People also use the word loosely for any golf course.
- Lip out: When a putt catches the edge of the cup, circles around it, and stays out.
- Lob wedge: The most lofted wedge, usually about 58 to 60 degrees or more, used for very high, short shots.
- Loft: The angle of the clubface relative to vertical. More loft sends the ball higher and shorter; less loft sends it lower and farther.
- Lost ball: A ball that is not found within three minutes of starting to search. You must take a one-stroke penalty and play again from where you hit the previous shot, unless a local rule offers another option.
- Match play: A format where you play against an opponent hole by hole. Whoever takes fewer strokes wins the hole, and the match goes to the side that wins more holes.
- Mulligan: An informal do-over of a bad shot with no penalty. Mulligans are not allowed under the Rules of Golf, but some casual rounds and charity outings permit them, sometimes for a fee.
- Nassau: A popular friendly bet that is really three bets in one: the front nine, the back nine, and the full 18 holes.
- Net score: Your gross score minus your handicap strokes. Net scores let players of different abilities compete in the same league or event.
- OB stakes: White stakes or lines that mark the boundary of the course. A ball beyond them is out of bounds.
- Out of bounds: Anywhere outside the course boundary, usually marked with white stakes or lines. A ball out of bounds costs a one-stroke penalty and must be replayed from where you hit it, though many courses adopt a local rule that allows a two-stroke drop instead.
- Over par: Taking more strokes than par for a hole or round. A round of 80 on a par 72 course is 8 over par.
- Pace of play: How quickly a group plays its round. Good pace means being ready when it is your turn, keeping up with the group ahead, and letting faster groups play through.
- Par: The number of strokes a skilled golfer is expected to need on a hole, usually 3, 4, or 5. The par for the course is the total of all the holes, often 70 to 72 for 18 holes.
- Penalty area: A body of water or other area marked by the course, where you may play the ball as it lies or take relief for one penalty stroke. Before 2019 these were called water hazards.
- Penalty area stakes: Red or yellow stakes or lines that mark a penalty area. Red areas give you an extra sideways relief option; yellow areas do not.
- Pin: Common name for the flagstick, and by extension the hole's location on the green.
- Pin high: A ball that finishes level with the hole, the right distance even if it is off to one side.
- Pin position: Where the hole is cut on the green that day, such as front, middle, or back. Courses move it regularly.
- Pinehurst: A name often used for the Chapman format, where partners swap balls after the tee shot, pick one, and finish with alternate shots. Some groups use the name for slightly different rules.
- Pitch: A short, higher shot that flies most of the way to the target and rolls less than a chip, usually played with a wedge.
- Pitching wedge: The least lofted of the standard wedges, usually about 44 to 48 degrees, used for full shots into the green and longer pitches.
- Playing through: When a slower group lets a faster group behind it pass and continue ahead on the course.
- Practice green: A putting green near the clubhouse or first tee set aside for warming up and practicing putts.
- Provisional ball: A second ball you hit when your first might be lost or out of bounds, so you do not have to walk back. You must announce it before playing, and if the first ball is found in bounds in time, you abandon the provisional.
- Punch shot: A low, controlled shot with a short follow-through, used to keep the ball under tree branches or the wind.
- Putt: A stroke on or near the green, usually with a putter, that rolls the ball along the ground toward the hole.
- Putter: The flat-faced club used to roll the ball on the green. Most golfers use it more than any other club in a round.
- Rake bunkers: Smoothing the sand with a rake after playing out of a bunker, so the next player does not land in your footprints.
- Ready golf: Playing when you are ready rather than strictly waiting for the player who is farthest away. The Rules encourage it in stroke play to speed up rounds.
- Relief: Moving your ball away from a problem, either for free (such as from a cart path or ground under repair) or with a penalty (such as from a penalty area). You usually drop from knee height into a relief area of one or two club-lengths.
- Repair ball marks: Fixing the dent your ball made on the green by easing the turf back into place with a repair tool or tee, then tapping it flat.
- Replace divots: Putting back the turf you cut out, or filling the hole with the sand or seed mix the course provides, so the fairway can heal.
- Roll: How far the ball travels along the ground after it lands. Total distance is carry plus roll.
- Rough: The longer grass beside the fairway and around the green. It is harder to hit clean shots from.
- Sand trap: Everyday name for a bunker.
- Sand wedge: A wedge, usually about 54 to 56 degrees, designed to slide through sand and also used for short shots around the green.
- Sandbagger: A golfer suspected of keeping their handicap higher than their real ability to get extra strokes in competitions.
- Sandy: Getting the ball out of a bunker and into the hole in two strokes total. It is an up and down from the sand.
- Scorecard: The card listing each hole's par, yardage, and stroke index, where you record scores. In stroke play competitions it must be signed and returned.
- Scramble: A team format where every player tees off, the team picks the best shot, and everyone plays their next shot from that spot, repeating until the ball is holed. It is the most common format at charity and corporate outings.
- Scratch golfer: A player with a Handicap Index of about zero, who is expected to shoot the course rating.
- Shamble: A team format that starts like a scramble: everyone tees off and the team picks the best drive. From there, each player plays their own ball into the hole.
- Shank: A miss where the ball hits the hosel (where the clubhead meets the shaft) and shoots off sharply to the side.
- Shotgun start: A start where groups begin on different holes at the same time, so the whole field finishes together. It is common for leagues and outings.
- Skins: A game where each hole is worth a prize, called a skin. A player wins the skin only by beating everyone on that hole outright; ties usually carry the skin over to the next hole.
- Skull: Hitting the ball near its middle with the leading edge of the club, usually around the green, so it shoots low and far past the target.
- Slice: A shot that curves sharply from left to right for a right-handed golfer, more than a fade. It is the most common miss for new golfers.
- Slope rating: A number from 55 to 155 that shows how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer. A course of standard difficulty has a slope of 113.
- Snowman: Slang for scoring an 8 on a hole, because the number looks like a snowman.
- Stableford: A scoring system where you earn points on each hole instead of counting total strokes: typically 0 for double bogey or worse, 1 for bogey, 2 for par, 3 for birdie, 4 for eagle, and 5 for albatross. The highest total wins, and leagues often use net scores.
- Stroke and distance: The basic penalty for a lost ball or one out of bounds: add one stroke and play again from where you hit the previous shot.
- Stroke index: A ranking on the scorecard from 1 to 18 that shows where handicap strokes are given. The hole marked 1 gets the first stroke.
- Stroke play: A format where you count every stroke over the round, and the lowest total wins. It is also called medal play.
- Tap-in: A putt so short it can be knocked in with almost no effort.
- Tee: The small peg you may set the ball on for your first shot of each hole. The word also refers to the teeing area itself.
- Tee box: Everyday name for the teeing area, where each hole begins.
- Tee shot: The first shot on a hole, played from the teeing area.
- Tee time: The reserved time your group starts its round. Leagues often book a block of tee times a few minutes apart.
- Teeing area: The official Rules term for where you start a hole: a rectangle two club-lengths deep behind the front edge of the two tee markers. You must play from inside it.
- Thin: Hitting the ball too low on the clubface, so it flies low and often runs past the target.
- Top: Hitting the top of the ball, so it barely gets off the ground and rolls a short way.
- Triple bogey: A score of three over par on a hole, such as a 7 on a par 4.
- Turn: The break between the front nine and the back nine, often a quick stop for food or a drink.
- Under par: Taking fewer strokes than par for a hole or round. A round of 70 on a par 72 course is 2 under par.
- Unplayable lie: You may declare your ball unplayable anywhere except in a penalty area, then take relief for one penalty stroke by replaying from the previous spot, dropping back on a line from the hole, or dropping within two club-lengths. In a bunker, the back-on-the-line and two-club-length drops must stay in that bunker; taking back-on-the-line relief outside the bunker costs two penalty strokes. You are the only one who decides if your ball is unplayable.
- Up: In match play, leading by a number of holes. "Three up" means you have won three more holes than your opponent.
- Up and down: Getting the ball into the hole in two strokes from off the green, usually a chip or pitch followed by one putt.
- Wedges: The most lofted clubs in the bag, used for short approach shots, chips, pitches, and bunker shots. Common types are the pitching, gap, sand, and lob wedge.
- Woods: The long-shafted clubs with large rounded heads, including the driver and fairway woods. They are made of metal today despite the name.
- Worm burner: A shot that skims along the ground instead of getting into the air, usually from topping the ball.
- Yardage marker: A post, plate, or sprinkler head marking on the course that shows the distance to the green, often to its center.
- Yips: A nervous twitch or flinch during short putts or chips that makes easy shots hard. It can affect golfers of any skill level.

## Frequently asked questions

- What are the basic golf terms? Start with the scoring words: par, birdie, bogey, and eagle. Then learn the parts of the course (tee box, fairway, rough, bunker, and green), the main shots (drive, approach, chip, pitch, and putt), and a few rules terms like out of bounds, penalty area, and relief. With those you can follow almost any round.
- What is par in golf? Par is the number of strokes a skilled golfer is expected to need on a hole, usually 3, 4, or 5 depending on its length. Add up every hole and you get the course par, often 70 to 72 for 18 holes. Scores are described relative to par, such as 2 over or 1 under.
- What is a birdie and an eagle? A birdie is one stroke under par on a hole, like a 3 on a par 4. An eagle is two under par, like a 3 on a par 5. Three under par is an albatross, also called a double eagle.
- How does a scramble work? In a scramble, every player on the team tees off, the team chooses the best shot, and everyone plays their next shot from that spot. The team keeps doing this until the ball is in the hole and records one score. Many events also require a set number of drives from each player.
- What is a handicap in golf? A handicap measures a golfer's ability so players of different skill can compete fairly. Under the World Handicap System you have a Handicap Index, which is converted into a course handicap for the course and tees you play. Your handicap strokes are subtracted from your gross score to give a net score.

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