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Golf Glossary
Learn the language of Golf — answer-first definitions with real examples, beginner to pro.
70 terms
- 3D Swing AnalysisAdvanced3D swing analysis reconstructs the swing from motion capture or several cameras. Angles like hip rotation are then measured, not estimated from a flat image.
- Aim PointAdvancedAim point reads greens by feel instead of by eye. The feet sense the slope percentage, and that number becomes a finger-count aim spot near the hole.
- Arm-Lock PuttingAdvancedArm-lock putting uses a longer putter whose grip is held against the inside of your lead forearm. The shaft and lead arm move as one, which leans the shaft forward and quiets the wrists. It is legal, because Rule 10.1b lets you hold the club against a forearm.
- Attack AngleAdvancedAttack angle is the vertical direction the clubhead is moving at impact. Negative means hitting down on the ball; positive means hitting up.
- BlockingAdvancedBlocking is when the arms and club fail to fully release through impact. The face is held open, so the ball flies straight right (for a right-hander) with no draw.
- Bowed WristAdvancedA bowed wrist at the top of the backswing means the lead wrist flexes toward the palm (like a bow), closing the clubface and storing power for a powerful, face-controlled delivery.
- Center of Gravity (Club)AdvancedA club's center of gravity is its balance point. Placing it low and back raises launch and cuts spin. Low and forward gives a lower, more penetrating flight.
- Club PathAdvancedClub path is the horizontal direction the clubhead is moving through impact, relative to the target line, in degrees. Positive is in-to-out (a draw bias); negative is out-to-in (a fade or slice bias).
- Cold ShankAdvancedA cold shank is a shank that appears without warning in an otherwise solid ball-striking session. The ball hits the hosel instead of the face and shoots sharply right at a steep angle.
- Compensation PatternAdvancedA compensation pattern is a move the body adds, usually unconsciously, to offset an earlier fault and still make contact. It often becomes a habit of its own.
- Cupped WristAdvancedA cupped wrist is a lead wrist bent backward (away from the palm) at the top of the backswing. It opens the clubface and often contributes to slices or weak fades.
- Curving the Ball Around a TreeAdvancedTo hook the ball around a tree as a right-hander, aim your body well right of the tree and point the clubface just right of it, where you want the ball to start. Swing along your body line. The face is closed to that path, so the ball curves left. For a slice, reverse it.
- D-PlaneAdvancedThe D-Plane model shows that face angle (not path) mostly sets the starting direction, while path relative to face sets the curve. It replaced the older, oversimplified "path starts it, face curves it" idea.
- Deliberate PracticeAdvancedDeliberate practice is focused work with specific targets, immediate feedback, and repeated challenge at the edge of your ability. It is not casual hitting or playing rounds.
- Delivery PositionAdvancedDelivery position is where the shaft and clubface point, relative to the body and target line, just before impact. It helps predict where a shot is headed.
- DispersionAdvancedDispersion is how spread out your shots are, plotted as a pattern. A tight dispersion means repeatable contact; a wide one signals inconsistency in face, path, or strike.
- Doppler Radar TrackingAdvancedDoppler radar tracking bounces radio waves off the moving ball and club. The frequency shift gives speed, spin, and trajectory from actual flight data.
- Duck HookAdvancedA duck hook is a low, hard shot that dives suddenly left. It comes from a face closed to a steep out-to-in or overly in-to-out path at impact, often with an active release and hand flip.
- Dynamic LieAdvancedDynamic lie is the club's lie angle at impact, measured as the angle of the lower part of the shaft relative to level ground. It shows whether the toe or heel was up at the strike, which can differ from how the club sat at address. Fitters compare it with the static setting.
- Dynamic LoftAdvancedDynamic loft is the actual loft presented by the face at impact — not the loft stamped on the club. It is the main driver of how high the ball launches.
- Early ExtensionAdvancedEarly extension is when the hips thrust toward the ball during the downswing. The golfer stands up out of posture and has to compensate at impact.
- Face AngleAdvancedFace angle is where the clubface points at impact, relative to the target line, in degrees. It determines roughly 75–85% of the ball's starting direction.
- Face Closure Rate (Rate of Closure)AdvancedFace closure rate, or rate of closure, is how fast the clubface rotates closed through impact, measured in degrees per second. A lower rate sounds more forgiving, but biomechanist Sasho Mackenzie notes there is currently no evidence that golfers with lower rates hit more fairways.
- Flop ShotAdvancedA flop shot is a very high, soft-landing chip or pitch played with a wide-open lob wedge. It stops quickly and is used when there is little green between the ball and the hole.
- Good MissAdvancedA good miss is the preferred side to miss on a given shot. It is the direction or spot where an error leaves the easiest recovery or does the least damage.
- Handicap Changes: Exceptional Scores, Caps and PCCAdvancedYour handicap can drop a lot after one round because of the exceptional score reduction. If your Score Differential beats your Handicap Index by 7.0 to 9.9 strokes, your index is cut by an extra 1.0. At 10.0 or more, the cut is 2.0. A new low score also enters your best 8 of 20.
- Handle DragAdvancedHandle drag is the trail hand pulling the grip end down and forward so the handle leads the clubhead into impact. It creates forward shaft lean and compression.
- High Cut ShotAdvancedA high cut shot is a deliberately high-launching, left-to-right shot that lands softly with minimal roll. It is useful for stopping the ball quickly on firm greens or navigating around trouble on the left side of a hole.
- High-Spin MissAdvancedA high-spin miss has too much backspin, so it climbs too steeply and falls short. It most often comes from a high-face driver strike or a steep attack angle.
- Hip ClearanceAdvancedHip clearance is the rotation of the lead hip out of the way through impact. It creates room for the arms and club to swing freely past the body.
- Hip–Shoulder SeparationAdvancedHip–shoulder separation is the angular gap between the hips and shoulders at the start of the downswing. A larger, well-timed gap stretches the core and releases into club speed.
- Horizontal Gear EffectAdvancedHorizontal gear effect is the sidespin added when the ball is struck toward the heel or toe of the face. It curves the ball opposite the direction of the miss: toe strikes tend to draw, and heel strikes tend to fade.
- LagAdvancedLag is the acute angle between the lead arm and the shaft in the downswing. This loaded position releases into club speed at impact when timed correctly.
- Lateral ShiftAdvancedA lateral shift is a small move of the hips toward the target as the downswing starts. It moves the low point forward and works with hip rotation instead of replacing it.
- Lie AngleAdvancedLie angle is the angle between the shaft and the ground when the club is soled correctly. A lie angle that is too upright pulls shots left; too flat and they drift right (for a right-hander).
- Long Bunker ShotAdvancedFor a 30 to 50 yard bunker shot, take a less lofted wedge, such as a gap or pitching wedge, and keep the face closer to square. Hit the sand a little closer to the ball and take a thinner layer. Make a smooth, longer swing rather than a harder one.
- Low Draw ShotAdvancedA low draw shot launches low on purpose and curves right to left, running out far on landing. It can get under trouble on the right or add roll on firm fairways.
- Low-Spin MissAdvancedA low-spin miss has sharply reduced backspin, usually from a thin or low-face strike. It flies on an unstable, "knuckling" path instead of a controlled flight.
- Moment of Inertia (MOI)AdvancedMoment of inertia (MOI) measures a clubhead's resistance to twisting on off-center hits. A higher MOI keeps the face more stable at impact, so perimeter-weighted, forgiving clubs retain more ball speed on mishits.
- Players IronsAdvancedPlayers irons use compact heads and thin top lines to favor shot-shaping control over maximum forgiveness. They suit golfers with reliably centered contact.
- Plumb BobbingAdvancedPlumb bobbing hangs the putter straight down, one eye closed, to judge which way a putt breaks. It is now considered less reliable than modern methods.
- Plus HandicapAdvancedA plus handicap means you are better than a scratch golfer. Your Handicap Index calculates below zero, so it is written with a plus sign, such as +2. Instead of getting strokes, you give strokes back to the course, starting at the hole with stroke index 18.
- Pose EstimationAdvancedPose estimation identifies a person's body position, joint by joint, from a 2D video frame. It is the computer-vision technique behind markerless swing apps.
- Posting Up on the Lead LegAdvancedYes, in most full swings the lead leg straightens through impact. It stays flexed early in the downswing, then pushes up and back as the hips turn. This posting move helps the hips clear and adds speed.
- Practice TransferAdvancedPractice transfer is how well range improvements carry over to the course. Varied, game-like practice transfers well; repetitive, blocked practice transfers poorly.
- Pull-HookAdvancedThe pull-hook is golf's biggest miss: gone left immediately, then bending further left still, with two errors compounding rather than cancelling.
- Quiet Eye (Putting Focus)AdvancedQuiet eye is the final steady look at the ball just before you start your putting stroke. Researchers define it as the last fixation before the backswing begins. Golfers trained to hold a longer, steady quiet eye on the back of the ball putted better under pressure in studies.
- Reverse Spine AngleAdvancedA reverse spine angle is excessive backward spine tilt toward the target at the top of the backswing. It places the upper body in a position that is difficult to unwind safely and reliably on the downswing.
- Scratch GolferAdvancedA scratch golfer is one with a Handicap Index of 0.0. On an average day, they are expected to shoot right around the course rating. It is a benchmark reached by only a small fraction of golfers.
- ShallowingAdvancedShallowing is when the club shaft flattens (becomes more horizontal) in the early downswing. This allows it to approach the ball from inside the target line for a powerful, in-to-out delivery.
- Shank PatternAdvancedA shank pattern is a recurring, structural tendency to strike the ball off the hosel. Unlike an isolated cold shank, it usually traces to a consistent setup or swing-path cause.
- Single-Digit HandicapAdvancedA single-digit handicap is a Handicap Index of 0.0 to 9.9. It marks an accomplished amateur, a small minority of golfers who keep an official handicap.
- Skeletal TrackingAdvancedSkeletal tracking is software that finds a person's joints in video and links them into a stick figure. It lets one phone video estimate body positions.
- Smothered HookAdvancedA smothered hook is a low, hooded shot that never gets airborne. It comes from an overly closed clubface at impact, combined with a delofted, shut position through the strike.
- Snap HookAdvancedA snap hook is a sudden, sharp, violent left curve that appears late in the ball flight. It usually comes from a clubface that closes rapidly relative to the path just before impact.
- Stack and Tilt SwingAdvancedStack and Tilt is a swing method created by coaches Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer. Instead of shifting weight to the trail foot in the backswing, the golfer tilts toward the target and keeps the weight from moving back. The aim is a steady low point and ball-first contact.
- Stinger ShotAdvancedA stinger is a low, penetrating, low-spin shot hit on purpose, usually with a driver or long iron off the tee. It stays under the wind and rolls out extra yards on landing.
- Strokes GainedAdvancedStrokes gained measures the strokes a player gains or loses against a benchmark (tour average or a peer group). It covers tee shots, approach, around the green, and putting.
- Swing Direction and Swing Plane (TrackMan)AdvancedOn TrackMan, swing direction is the horizontal direction of the club's swing plane, measured against the target line. Swing plane is the vertical angle of that plane against the ground. Swing direction is not the same as club path, because path also depends on attack angle.
- Swing SequencingAdvancedSwing sequencing is the downswing order in which hips, torso, arms, then club peak in speed. It separates efficient power from a swing that only looks fast.
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