Because golf has its roots in Scotland, where it has been played for more than 500 years, the language of golf often seems strange to beginner golfers at Kimball Golf Club. Here is a brief vocabulary.
• Par: The number of strokes the powers that be determined a golfer should take to complete the hole.
• Birdie: Completing the hole in one stroke less than the par.
• Bogey: Completing the hole in one more stroke than par.
• Eagle: Completing the hole in two fewer strokes than par.
• Fairway: The stretch of shorter grass that directs you to the hole (it’s where you want to be).
• Fore: What golfers yell (preferably loudly) when they hit a bad shot – to alert the golfers in the area where their ball is headed. Generally translated as “duck and cover.”
• Dogleg: Refers to a bend to the left or the right in a fairway.
• Divot: The piece of turf you take out of the ground after you hit a golf shot (best to replace these).
• Green: The putting area of finely trimmed grass at the end of each hole .
• Hazards: What golf course architects put in your way, like water, sand traps, and tall grass.
• Hole-in-One: Hitting it in the hole on your first shot. All golfers achieving this feat are awarded a hole-in-one trophy.
• Hook: A golf shot that moves severely right to left for right-handed hitters, and the opposite way for lefties.
• Lie: The way the ball has come to rest on the ground. The ball on a “good lie” may be in short grass on the fairway or, a “bad lie” in deep grass in the rough.
• Mulligan: An unofficial “re-do” or “re-hit” that is undoubtedly a golfer’s best friend.
• Pin or Flag: The object used on the greens to mark the location of the hole.
• Rough: The areas of longer grass that line the fairway (it’s where you don’t want to be).
• Sand Trap: The sand-filled pits of despair that line fairways and guard the greens. Slang for bunker.
• Slice: A golf shot that moves severely left to right for right-handed hitters, and the opposite way for lefties.
• Stroke: The act of making a swing at the ball.
• Tee Box: The designated area that marks the beginning of each hole – where you tee off.
• Thin: When you hit the golf ball too low on your clubface.
• Top: When you the hit golf ball at the lowest point on the clubface, producing a rolling shot that doesn’t catch much air.
• Snowman: When you make an 8 on a hole (because the 8 looks like a snowman).
Knowing the language of golf is not a pre-requisite to beginning and enjoying golf at Kimball Golf Club “Where Golf is More Fun!”
Golf – The Game for Life!