What does THAT mean?! Golf is a complicated sport, with plenty to manage—from equipment selection and shot choices to weather conditions, green reading, course rules, and the mental game. Then someone says “Today’s game format is Stableford.” What does that mean? And, what are the differences between red penalty areas, yellow penalty areas, and white stakes? This glossary, listed in alphabetical order, is designed deal with the added stress that comes with golf terminology. There are hundreds of terms to know, but this guide explains the most common ones, in plain language. If you come across a term that is not in this glossary please let us know! The source for this glossary is the USGA Rules of Golf book. www.usga.org
A
Abnormal Course Condition: A course condition such as temporary water, ground under repair, an animal hole, or an immovable obstruction that may allow free relief under the Rules.
Ace: A hole-in-one. This happens when a player hits the ball from the tee into the hole with one stroke.
Address: The position a player takes before making a swing, including how the feet, body, club, and ball are set up.
Advice: Any comment or action intended to influence a player’s club choice, swing, or strategy. General public information, such as yardage, wind direction, the Rules, or the location of a bunker, is not considered advice.
Aim Line: The imaginary line a player uses to guide the intended direction of a shot or putt.
Albatross: A score of three strokes under par on a hole. For example, making a 2 on a par 5 is an albatross. It is also sometimes called a double eagle.
All Square: A match-play term meaning the players or teams are tied.
Alternate Shot: A team format in which partners take turns hitting the same ball until the hole is completed.
Approach Shot: A shot played toward the green, usually after the tee shot and before putting.
Areas of the Course: The five defined parts of a golf course: the general area, the teeing area, penalty areas, bunkers, and the putting green of the hole being played.
Apron: The closely mown area of grass surrounding the putting green. It is also called the fringe.
B
Back Nine: The last nine holes of an 18-hole golf course, usually holes 10 through 18.
Backspin: Spin that makes the ball stop quickly or even roll backward after landing.
Ball Marker: A small object, often a coin or marker, used to mark the position of a ball on the green before lifting it.
Best Ball: A team format where each player plays their own ball, and the best score among the team members counts for the hole.
Birdie: A score of one stroke under par on a hole.
Bogey: A score of one stroke over par on a hole.
Break: The curve a putt takes as it rolls because of slope, grain, or speed.
Boundary Object: An object such as a fence, wall, rail, or white stake that marks out of bounds. Free relief is not allowed from boundary objects.
Bunker: A specially prepared sandy area on the course, often near greens or fairways.
C
Caddie: A person who assists a player during a round by carrying clubs, offering advice, and helping with course strategy.
Carry: The distance a ball travels through the air before it lands.
Cart Path: A prepared path for golf carts. If it interferes with a player’s stance or swing, free relief is often available because it is usually an immovable obstruction.
Casual Water: An older term for temporary water, meaning water on the course that is not in a penalty area and is visible before or after a player takes a stance.
Casual Water: Older term for temporary water. It means water on the course that is not in a penalty area and is visible before or after a player takes a stance.
Chip Shot: A short, low shot played near the green that rolls more than it flies.
Course Handicap: The number of handicap strokes a player receives for a specific set of tees on a specific course.
Club Length: A measuring distance based on the length of the longest club in the player’s bag, other than the putter.
Cup: The hole on the putting green where the ball must finish.
Course Rating: A number that represents the expected score for a scratch golfer on a specific course under normal conditions.
D
Divot: A piece of turf cut or displaced by a club during a swing.
Dogleg: A hole that bends to the left or right between the tee and the green.
Double Bogey: A score of two strokes over par on a hole.
Double Eagle: Another name for an albatross, meaning a score of three strokes under par on a hole.
Draw: A controlled shot that curves gently from right to left for a right-handed player, or left to right for a left-handed player.
Drop: The act of putting a ball back into play by holding it at knee height and letting it fall into a relief area.
E
Eagle: A score of two strokes under par on a hole.
Embedded Ball: A ball that is stuck in its own pitch mark in the ground after landing.
Equipment: Anything used, worn, held, or carried by the player or the player’s caddie during a round.
Etiquette: The expected courtesy and behavior on the course, including keeping pace, repairing damage, staying quiet during shots, and showing respect for other players.
F
Fade: A controlled shot that curves gently from left to right for a right-handed player, or right to left for a left-handed player.
Fairway: The closely cut area between the teeing area and the green that usually provides the best place to play from.
Fairway Wood: A longer club designed for distance shots from the fairway, tee, or light rough.
Flagstick: The removable pole placed in the hole to show where the cup is located on the green.
Fore: A warning shouted when a ball may be heading toward another person.
Four-Ball: A format where two partners each play their own ball, and the lower score of the partners counts for the team on each hole.
Foursomes: A partner format also known as alternate shot, where partners take turns hitting the same ball.
Fringe: The closely cut grass around the green, slightly longer than the putting surface.
G
General Area: The area of the course that is not the teeing area of the hole being played, the putting green of that hole, a bunker, or a penalty area.
Gimme: An informal putt that other players allow a golfer to count as made without actually putting it. Gimmes are common in casual play but are not allowed in most official stroke-play competitions.
Grain: The direction in which the grass grows, especially on the green, which can affect how a putt rolls.
Green: The closely mown area around the hole where players usually putt.
Green in Regulation: Reaching the green in the expected number of strokes: one stroke on a par 3, two on a par 4, or three on a par 5.
Gross Score: A player’s total score before handicap strokes are applied.
Ground Under Repair: An area of the course marked or declared by the Committee as being under repair. Free relief is usually available.
H
Handicap: A number used to represent a golfer’s playing ability and help players of different skill levels compete fairly.
Hazard: An older term that commonly referred to bunkers and water hazards. Under modern rules, the preferred term for many former water hazards is penalty area.
Hole Out: To finish a hole by getting the ball into the cup.
Hook: A shot that curves sharply from right to left for a right-handed player, or left to right for a left-handed player.
I
In Play: A ball is in play once a player has made a stroke from the teeing area and it remains in play until it is holed, lost, out of bounds, or replaced under the Rules.
Interference: A situation where a condition, object, or area affects the player’s stance, swing, lie, or line of play under the Rules.
J
Jigger: An older term for a short iron or club used for approach shots. The term is uncommon today but may appear in older golf writing.
K
Knee Height: The required height from which a player must drop a ball when taking relief under the Rules.
L
Lag Putt: A long putt played mainly to finish close to the hole rather than necessarily make it.
Lateral Relief: A relief option, usually from a red penalty area, that allows a player to drop within two club lengths of where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area, no nearer the hole.
Line of Play: The direction a player intends the ball to travel after a stroke.
Line of Putt: The path a player intends a putt to take on the green.
Lost Ball: A ball that is not found within three minutes after the player or caddie begins searching for it.
M
Marker: In stroke play, the person responsible for recording and certifying another player’s score.
Match Play: A format where players or teams compete hole by hole. The player or team winning the most holes wins the match.
Movable Obstruction: An artificial object that can be moved with reasonable effort and without damaging the course or the object.
Mulligan: An informal replay of a shot without penalty. Mulligans are common in casual rounds but are not allowed under the official Rules of Golf.
N
Nearest Point of Complete Relief: The reference point used when taking free relief, where the condition no longer interferes with the player’s lie, stance, or swing and is no nearer the hole.
Net Score: A player’s score after handicap strokes have been applied.
No Play Zone: An area where play is not allowed, usually for safety, environmental protection, or course preservation.
O
Obstruction: An artificial object on the course, except for integral objects and boundary objects. Obstructions may be movable or immovable.
Out of Bounds: An area outside the course boundary. A ball out of bounds requires stroke-and-distance relief.
Outside Influence: A person, animal, object, or other thing that can affect what happens to a ball, other than the player, opponent, caddie, or equipment.
P
Par: The expected number of strokes an expert golfer should take to complete a hole or course.
Penalty Area: An area marked by red or yellow stakes or lines where a player may play the ball as it lies or take relief, usually with one penalty stroke.
Penalty Stroke: A stroke added to a player’s score under the Rules, usually because of relief, a lost ball, out of bounds, or another rules breach.
Pitch Shot: A short shot, usually played with a wedge, that flies higher and rolls less than a chip shot.
Punch Shot: A low, controlled shot often used to keep the ball under wind or tree branches.
Putt: A stroke made on or near the green using a putter, intended to roll the ball toward the hole.
Putting Green: The specially prepared area for putting on the hole being played, including the hole itself.
Putt: A stroke made on or near the green using a putter, intended to roll the ball toward the hole.
Q
Qualifier: A competition or round used to determine who advances to another event or stage.
R
Red Penalty Area: A penalty area marked with red stakes or lines. In addition to stroke-and-distance and back-on-the-line relief, players usually have the option of lateral relief for one penalty stroke.
Relief Area: The defined area where a player must drop a ball when taking relief under the Rules.
Rough: Longer grass outside the fairway that usually makes shots more difficult.
Rub of the Green: An older expression for a lucky or unlucky bounce or outcome on the course. It is not commonly used in the modern Rules.
S
Sand Save: Making par or better after hitting a shot from a bunker during the hole.
Scorecard: The card used to record a player’s scores for each hole during a round.
Scramble: A team format where all players hit shots, the team chooses the best one, and everyone plays the next shot from that spot.
Scratch Golfer: A highly skilled golfer with a handicap index of approximately zero.
Shank: A mishit where the ball strikes the hosel of the club and shoots sharply off line.
Slice: A shot that curves sharply from left to right for a right-handed player, or right to left for a left-handed player.
Slope Rating: A number that indicates how difficult a course is for a bogey golfer compared with a scratch golfer.
Stroke and Distance: A penalty procedure where the player adds one penalty stroke and plays again from where the previous stroke was made.
Stroke Play: A format where the total number of strokes over the round determines the winner.
Sweet Spot: The area on the clubface that produces the best feel, distance, and control when the ball is struck well.
Stroke Play: A format where the total number of strokes over the round determines the winner.
T
Tee Box: An informal term for the starting area of a hole. Under the Rules, this is called the teeing area.
Teeing Area: The area where a player starts each hole, defined by two tee markers and extending two club lengths back.
Temporary Water: Water on the course that is not in a penalty area and is visible before or after a player takes a stance.
Texas Wedge: Using a putter from off the green, often from the fringe or closely mown grass.
Through the Green: An older term that was replaced by the modern term general area.
U
Unplayable Ball: A ball that the player decides cannot reasonably be played as it lies. Relief is available with a penalty stroke, except in a penalty area where penalty-area rules apply.
V
Virtual Certainty: The standard used when deciding whether a ball is in a penalty area or affected by another condition, even if the ball is not found.
W
White Stakes: Markers that usually indicate out of bounds. A ball out of bounds requires stroke-and-distance relief.
Wedge: A club with high loft, used for short shots, pitch shots, bunker shots, and shots requiring height and control.
Winter Rules: Informal term for local rules that may allow preferred lies when course conditions are poor. These rules must be authorized by the Committee.
Wrong Ball: Any ball other than the player’s ball in play, provisional ball, or second ball played under the Rules.
Y
Yellow Penalty Area: A penalty area marked with yellow stakes or lines. A player may play the ball as it lies or take relief for one penalty stroke, usually using stroke-and-distance or back-on-the-line relief.
Z
Zero Handicap: Another way to describe a scratch golfer, meaning a player whose handicap index is approximately zero.