How To Putt

1. The putt is a hand and arm stroke played without body movement.
2. Swing in a pendulum-like way.
3. Swing club back straight from the ball and return along same lines.
4. Keep head down at impact.

Glossary of Golf Terms

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L |
M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

A

Albatross
A score of three under par on a hole.

Alignment
How your body is aligned in relation to an imagined ball-to-target line.

Approach shot
One whose target is the green.

Approach putt (or lag putt)
A putt not directly aimed at the hole, but close enough to make the next putt a certainty.

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B

Backspin
The spin on the ball caused by the loft of the club face.

Backswing
The first part of the swing, when the club is taken away from the ball to behind the shoulder.

Banana ball
A bad slice, so called because the flight of the ball resembles the shape of a banana

Barber
A player that talks to the point of annoyance.

Birdie
A score of one under par on a hole.

Blind
A hole or shot where you can't see your target.

Bogey
Originally the expected score in which a good player was reckoned to complete a hole, but now replaced by par. Bogey has come to mean one over par on a hole.

Borrow
How much you have to aim right or left when putting to allow for the slope of the green to bring the ball back to the hole.

Bunker
A natural or artificial depression on a fairway or round the green. It is usually half -filled with sand but can be made of earth or grass.

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C

Caddie
A helper who carries a player's bag around the course and may advise on the course or the game.

Casual water
Water on the course which is not part of the design, such as rain puddles or over-watered areas. If a ball is in such water or, to play it, the player's feet would be, one can take a free drop. If there is casual water on the green, a ball on the green may be moved to the nearest place equidistant from the hole from which the putt will avoid water.

Chip
A lofted shot played from around the green. Usually played with a pitching wedge or a sand wedge.

Chip and run
A low shot that runs towards the flag played from near the green.

Clubface
The area of the club that you use to hit the ball.

Clubhead
The part of the club attached to the lower end of the shaft, and used for striking the ball.

Collar
Edge of a sand hazard.

Cup
The tubular lining sunk in the hole. Also the hole itself.

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D

Deep stuff
Grass left to grow so that off-line shots are made more difficult. Also called 'rough'.

Divot
A chunk of turf removed by the clubhead when you play a shot, usually on the fairway.

Dog-leg
A hole with a fairway that bends sharply. A hazard is often positioned at the angle of the dog-leg to put you off driving across it.

Double bogey
A score of two over par for a hole.

Double eagle
A score of three under par on a hole (also called an Albatross)

Downswing
The part of the golf swing from the top of the backswing to striking the ball.

Draw
A shot with a slight, controlled curve through the air, from right to left for a right-handed player and right to left for a left-handed player.

Drive
A shot which is played from the tee, usually with a driver (a 1 wood).

Driver
The 1 wood, the most powerful club in the set, used for getting maximum distance off the tee.

Drop
When a ball must be lifted under penalty or otherwise, the player, standing erect, holds the ball at arm's length and shoulder height and drops it making sure that it does not land any nearer the hole.

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E

Eagle
A score of two under par on a hole.

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F

Face
The surface of the clubhead that strikes the ball.

Fade
A shot designed the curve slightly in the air, from left to right for a right-handed player and right to left for a left-handed player.

Fairway
The cut grass, and proper route, between the tee and green.

Fairway woods
2, 3, 4, 5, and sometimes higher-numbered woods designed to be used when the ball is in play after the tee shot.

Flagstick
Also called the pin, flag, or stick, the flagstick marks the hole.

Follow-through
The part of the swing beyond impact with the ball.

"Fore!"
The shouted word by which golfers warn others on the course that they are in danger of being hit by the ball.

Fourball
A matchplay or strokeplay game of two players on each side, all four striking their own ball.

Foursome
A matchplay or strokeplay game between two sides of two players each, the partners striking the ball alternately.

Fringe
The collar of slightly longer grass around the close-mown putting surface of the green.

Full set
The 14 clubs which are allowed for playing a round. A full set usually consists of three or four wooden clubs or metal woods, nine or ten irons and a putter.

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G

Get legs
A term shouted by a golfer when a shot just made is assumed to be short of the intended goal.

Gimmee
Baby talk for "give me," a putt of two feet or less that a friendly opponent declares does not have to be holed out.

Grain
The angle at which the grass of a green grows. Putting "against the grain" requires more effort than "with the grain."

Green
The closely mown, carefully manicured target area in which the hole is cut.

Grip
The part of the club you hold, and the way you hold it.

Gross score
The number of shots taken to complete the course before deduction of handicap to give the net score.

Ground under repair
Area of a course temporarily out of play, from which a ball may be removed for a drop without penalty. A ball outside the area may also be moved if the lie would cause the player to stand on it.

Guttie
A ball made from gutta percha. It lost popularity when the wound ball was introduced at the beginning of the 20th century.

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H

Half set
Either the odd or even irons, two woods and a putter. A half set of clubs is all a beginning golfer needs to start playing.

Handicap
A system devised to make play between golfers of different standards an even match. Your handicap is the number of strokes over par you average over four rounds at a golf course. For instance, if your average score is 88 on a par 72 course, you are given a handicap of 16. In strokeplay, if you play with a person that has a 2 handicap, you are allowed 14 strokes - the difference between your handicaps - extra strokes, one on each of the most difficult 14 holes. In matchplay, the longer handicap player would receive 11 shots - three quarters of the difference.

Hazard
A bunker, stream, ditch, lake, or pond are all hazards. Hazards are defined by a course committee.

Heel
The part of the clubhead beneath the end of the shaft.

Hole
This can mean the actual hole that you putt into or the entire area between tee and green.

Hole Handicap
Each score card indicates a handicap number for each hole. The lower the number, the harder the hole is to play. Some courses split odd and even handicap numbers between the front nine and back nine while others handicap all eighteen holes together. For example, the front nine can have handicap numbers 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15 & 17 while the back nine have 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16, & 18. In this case, the number 2 handicap hole isn't necessarily the second hardest hole on the course. It's the first hardest hole for that nine. A lot of golfers prefer to have all eighteen handicapped together but it is up to the course to decide.

Honor
To play first off the tee, the privilege of the winner of the preceding hole.

Hook
Faulty stoke when the ball curves to the left for right-handed players and right for left-handed players.

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I

Iron
Irons are metal-headed clubs used for most shots between tee and green. Sometimes you can use them from the tee at holes where accuracy is more important than distance. The sand and pitching wedges are also irons.

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L

Lateral water hazard
A ditch, stream, or pond roughly parallel to the line of the hole. A ball picked out may be played from either side, with a one-stroke penalty.

Lie
Where the ball is in relation to the ground it is resting on. The more embedded in the grass or sand the ball is, the worse the lie. Lie also refers to the angle of the sole of the clubhead to the shaft.

Links
A seaside golf course, typified by sand, turf, and course grass, of the kind where golf was originally played.

Loft
The angle of the clubface to the ground. The more loft a club has (indicated by how high the number is on the club) the higher the ball goes and the shorter distance it travels.

Long game
Shots over about 180 yards (164m) long, played from the tee or on the fairway with woods or low-numbered irons.

Loose impediments
Twigs and leaves, not actually growing, and not stuck to the ball, which may be removed from around it without penalty. The ball must not be moved.

Lost ball
If after a five-minute search, a ball cannot be found, a competitor is penalized one stroke and plays another ball from the spot where the first one was hit, counting as the third shot.

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M

Mark
To identify the spot on the green where a player has picked up a ball for cleaning or to clear the way for another player's putt.

Matchplay
A game between two players or two sides which is determined by the number of holes won or lost.

Mulligan
A second shot permitted without penalty. Usually only one is allowed per round and is limited to tee shots although the number can be agreed upon by players before the round begins.

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N

Net score
A player's score for a round after the handicap allowance has been deducted.

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O

Out of bounds
A ball is out of bounds if it lands anywhere prohibited for play - Usually beyond the courses boundaries.

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P

Par
The standard score for a hole, usually based on it's length. Holes up to 250 yards (228m) long are par 3's, up to 475 yards (434m) par 4's and any longer than that are par 5's. Course committees are now authorized to vary par when a hole's difficulty warrants not sticking rigidly to the distances laid down.

Penalty
In strokeplay, a rule infringement usually costs two strokes; in matchplay, the hole is generally lost.

Pin
Informal name for the flagstick in the hole.

Pitch
A reasonably high shot onto the green, traveling anything from a few yards to 120 yards (110m). You generally use a 9 iron, a pitching wedge, or a sand wedge.

Pitching wedge
A short iron with a large degree of loft, used for pitching high but short shots onto the green.

Play-off
If a competition ends with a tie, the winner is decided by playing further holes. Currently, the winner is usually the first competitor to win a hole. The U.S. and British Opens are exceptions.

Provisional
A ball played when it seems likely that the preceding shot is lost or out of bounds. It will count, plus a penalty.

Putt
The rolling shot taken on the green, with a putter.

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R

Reading the green
Looking at the slope and contours of the green to decide the line and speed of your putt.

Rating/Slope
The United States Golf Association has committees all over the country that go to member courses to evaluate and assign each course a rating and slope. It is not an arbitrary number the USGA assigns--it's not meted out just because the officials think the course is tough, or the wind was blowing and taking most shots out of bounds on a given day.
The course rating is based on a course's difficulty for a scratch golfer, and the slope rating is the measure of difficulty for a non-scratch golfer. The USGA says that a course with a 113 slope rating is one of average playing difficulty. Slope ratings can range between 55 and 155. The highest rating is 149 for the Kiawah Island Ocean Course, a layout which the greatest pros in the world view as nearly impossible to conquer.
So, when you see a slope of 115, you are looking at a decent course with slightly above average difficulty values. From 115 to 125 slope? Expect a good challenge. From 125 to 130? A stronger test. From 130 to 135 is getting into the very demanding territory of the top-rated courses, and those that are trying to be. Above 135, bring an "A" game -- preferably Tiger Woods' A game!
In many cases the rating committee will not even play the course. The committee meets with the club pro or general manager to gather information such as total course length, length of the holes into the wind and length of holes downwind. They measure the speed of the greens, the height of the fairways, the height of the rough and the roll on the fairway. They also view and evaluate the tees, the landing areas and greens.
Topography, bunkers, out-of-bounds areas, water hazards and presence or absence of trees, naturally, also come into play when determining the rating and slope. Other factors include target areas, blind shots and holes that force the golfer to lay up. After all variables are accounted for, the numbers are calculated and the course rating and slope are assigned.
What does all of this mean to you and me? If you have a 10 handicap and a USGA index of 12.5 (you have an index if you have a handicap) and you traveled to another course with a higher rating and slope than your home course, your handicap would be adjusted. At the tougher course your 12.5 index factored into a handicap computer results in a higher handicap on that course.
A consistency problem can arise if your home course--where you established your 10 handicap--happens to be very difficult. Your friend might have a handicap of 10 that was established on an easier course. The catch? If you put your respective indexes into the handicap computer at the same course, both of you will have the same adjusted handicap. Although the system is imperfect, it is the best one that we have so far. Many have suggested alternative formulas, but so far none has USGA approval.
So, for good or for ill, those rating and slope numbers on the score card are not just pulled out of the hat and applied to the course. Time, effort and calculations have been put into making the playing field as level as possible for all golfers.

Rough
Grass left to grow so that off-line shots are made more difficult. Also called 'deep stuff'.

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S

Sand trap
Alternate name for a bunker.

Sand wedge
Also called a sand iron, the shortest, most lofted iron used for playing out of bunkers and for very short pitch shots.

Scramble
Team competition in which all players play from the site of their team's best drive, best second shot, and so on.

Scratch player
A golfer with a handicap of zero.

Shaft
The length of the club down to the clubhead.

Shank
Area of an iron's clubhead at the hosel; hence a shot hit by the clubface at this point, which flies off to the right (right-handed player).

Short game
Chipping, pitching, bunker play and putting on the green and around it up to a distance of 100 yards (90m) away.

Skulling
Hitting a chip or pitch shot too hard and sending the ball past the green.

Slope/Rating
The United States Golf Association has committees all over the country that go to member courses to evaluate and assign each course a rating and slope. It is not an arbitrary number the USGA assigns--it's not meted out just because the officials think the course is tough, or the wind was blowing and taking most shots out of bounds on a given day.
The course rating is based on a course's difficulty for a scratch golfer, and the slope rating is the measure of difficulty for a non-scratch golfer. The USGA says that a course with a 113 slope rating is one of average playing difficulty. Slope ratings can range between 55 and 155. The highest rating is 149 for the Kiawah Island Ocean Course, a layout which the greatest pros in the world view as nearly impossible to conquer.
So, when you see a slope of 115, you are looking at a decent course with slightly above average difficulty values. From 115 to 125 slope? Expect a good challenge. From 125 to 130? A stronger test. From 130 to 135 is getting into the very demanding territory of the top-rated courses, and those that are trying to be. Above 135, bring an "A" game -- preferably Tiger Woods' A game!
In many cases the rating committee will not even play the course. The committee meets with the club pro or general manager to gather information such as total course length, length of the holes into the wind and length of holes downwind. They measure the speed of the greens, the height of the fairways, the height of the rough and the roll on the fairway. They also view and evaluate the tees, the landing areas and greens.
Topography, bunkers, out-of-bounds areas, water hazards and presence or absence of trees, naturally, also come into play when determining the rating and slope. Other factors include target areas, blind shots and holes that force the golfer to lay up. After all variables are accounted for, the numbers are calculated and the course rating and slope are assigned.
What does all of this mean to you and me? If you have a 10 handicap and a USGA index of 12.5 (you have an index if you have a handicap) and you traveled to another course with a higher rating and slope than your home course, your handicap would be adjusted. At the tougher course your 12.5 index factored into a handicap computer results in a higher handicap on that course.
A consistency problem can arise if your home course--where you established your 10 handicap--happens to be very difficult. Your friend might have a handicap of 10 that was established on an easier course. The catch? If you put your respective indexes into the handicap computer at the same course, both of you will have the same adjusted handicap. Although the system is imperfect, it is the best one that we have so far. Many have suggested alternative formulas, but so far none has USGA approval.
So, for good or for ill, those rating and slope numbers on the score card are not just pulled out of the hat and applied to the course. Time, effort and calculations have been put into making the playing field as level as possible for all golfers.

Slice
Faulty shot which curves left to right in the air (right-handed player).

Square
When the clubface is placed at right angles to the imaginary ball-to-target line.

Snipe
A sharply hooked ball that dives quickly.

Stableford
A popular system of scoring by points for holes completed: par = 2 points, 1 under par = 3 points, 2 under par = 4 points, 1 over par = 1 point.

Stance
The position of your feet just before playing a shot.

Standard scratch score (SSS)
The score expected of a scratch player on any given course.

Stroke
A shot in golf.

Stroke and distance
The penalty of one stroke and the return to the site of the shot before, when a ball is unplayable.

Stroke index
The numbers on a scorecard indicating the order of the holes at which a handicap player receives strokes.

Strokeplay
A competition in which a player's total strokes for a round are recorded to be compared with the scores of other competitors. 'Strokeplay', the correct term, is often referred to as 'medal play'.

Swingweight
The weight and balance of a club. All the clubs in your set should be the same swingweight.

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T

Tagged it
Used to refer to a good golf shot. Usually a tee or fairway shot that is long and on target.

Takeaway
The start of the backswing.

Tee
The area of a hole from which you play the first shot.

Tee peg
You can put the ball on this device for your first shot to help raise the ball off the ground. It is then much easier to attain height.

Tempo
The timing and rhythm of your swing, which should be even and smooth throughout.

Thin
A long, low shot hit by mistake with the leading edge of the club (blade).

Three off the tee
If a ball is lost, out of bounds, or unplayable from the tee shot, the player is penalized one stroke and tees off again - the third shot.

Tiger
Someone who is playing unusually well.

Top
A shot mistakenly hit with the bottom edge of the club, so that the ball is embedded in the ground before popping up, and in most cases traveling only a short distance.

Trap
A sand bunker.

Triple bogey
A score of three over par on a hole.

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U

Unplayable
A player may choose to deem a ball unplayable, taking a penalty stroke and dropping the ball no nearer the hole. A ball that is unplayable in a bunker must be dropped in the bunker or stroke and distance taken.

Uphill lie
When a ball is positioned on ground sloping up ahead of the player.

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W

Waggle
A player's loosening-up movements at address.

Wedge
A club with an extremely lofted face (pitching and sand irons).

Whiff
A complete miss of the ball on a swing. Also called a fan.

Wood
A club normally used for distance shots. It can be made of wood, metal, or graphite.

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Y

Yardage (distance) chart
A plan of the holes on a course showing the distance from one point to another. It can be printed by the course or prepared by the golfer or his caddie.

Yips
A condition where the player is so anxious about his putting that he can't swing his putter back, and the stroke becomes a jerky jab at the ball.

Joke of the Month

There was an old man named Bill, and one of the things he most enjoyed was playing golf with his old buddy Fred. Bill's wife always commented on how happy he looked after a game.

But one day he came home from their weekly game looking terrible and very tired. His wife asked, "What's the matter, Bill? You always seem so happy after golf and you look miserable right now."

Bill said, "Well, something terrible happened. Fred had a heart attack on the first hole." "My God, honey!" said the wife, rushing to comfort him. "That must've been terrible!"

"It was," he said. "All day long it was: hit the ball, drag Fred to the ball, and then hit it again..."

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