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Golf Glossary
Learn the language of Golf — answer-first definitions with real examples, beginner to pro.
202 terms
- 14-Club Limit (Maximum Clubs in Your Bag)BeginnerUnder Rule 4.1b you may not start a round with more than 14 clubs or have more than 14 during it. In stroke play, an extra club costs two strokes for each hole where the breach happened, up to four. In match play, the match score loses one hole for each hole in breach, up to two.
- Abnormal Course Conditions (Casual Water and GUR)BeginnerAbnormal course conditions are temporary water, ground under repair, animal holes and immovable obstructions such as cart paths. If one touches your ball or gets in the way of your stance or swing, Rule 16.1 gives free relief, except in a penalty area. In the general area, drop within one club-length of the nearest point of complete relief.
- Accidental Deflection Off a PlayerBeginnerNo, there is no penalty if your ball accidentally hits you, your bag or your cart. Under Rule 11.1a, the ball is usually played as it lies. Two exceptions apply on the putting green. A putt that hits another person on the green, other than you or someone attending the flagstick, must be replayed. In stroke play, a putt that hits another ball at rest on the green costs two strokes.
- Adaptive Golf (Golfers with Disabilities)BeginnerYes, you can play golf with a disability, and the Rules of Golf include Rule 25 to help. It modifies some rules for golfers who are blind, amputees, use assistive mobility devices or have intellectual disabilities. Many golfers also use adapted clubs, single-rider carts and lessons from adaptive coaches.
- Address PositionBeginnerAddress position is a golfer's complete setup just before the swing starts: grip, stance, alignment, ball position, posture, and weight distribution.
- Aiming a PuttBeginnerTo aim a putt, pick a spot on your start line a few inches ahead of the ball. Set the putterface square to that spot before you set your feet. Many golfers use a line on the ball, pointed along the start line rather than at the hole, then match the putter's sight line to it.
- Albatross, Hole-in-One and CondorBeginnerAn albatross, also called a double eagle, is three under par on one hole. That means a 2 on a par 5 or a hole-in-one on a par 4. A hole-in-one, or ace, is holing your tee shot, most often on a par 3, where it counts as an eagle. A condor is four under par on a hole and is extremely rare.
- AlignmentBeginnerAlignment is the direction the body and clubface are aimed at address. Poor alignment is one of the most common causes of off-target shots even with a good swing.
- Approach ShotBeginnerAn approach shot is any shot hit toward the green to reach or set up the putting surface. It is usually a par 4's second shot, or a par 5's second or third.
- Average Golf Handicap for Men and WomenBeginnerIn September 2024 the USGA reported an average Handicap Index of 14.2 for men and 28.7 for women among US golfers who hold one. Index holders include many regular players. The average for all golfers may be higher. A good handicap is one that keeps coming down for you.
- BackswingBeginnerThe backswing is the movement of the club from address to the top position. It creates the width, shoulder turn, and wrist hinge needed for power on the way down.
- Ball Moved at Rest (Accidentally Moving Your Ball)BeginnerIf you accidentally move your ball at rest, replace it and add one penalty stroke under Rule 9.4. There is no penalty on the putting green, while searching for it, or while marking, lifting or replacing it under a Rule. If wind or water moves it, play it from its new spot without penalty.
- Ball Overhanging the Hole (Ten-Second Rule)BeginnerYou get a reasonable time to walk to the hole, then ten more seconds to see if the ball drops. If it falls in during that time, you holed it with your last stroke. If it falls in after that, it still counts as holed, but you add one penalty stroke.
- Ball PositionBeginnerBall position is where the ball sits in your stance: off the front foot for a driver, near the center for short irons. It directly controls the low point and attack angle.
- Ball Position — DriverBeginnerDriver ball position sits forward in the stance, usually off the lead heel or slightly inside it. The club then meets the ball on the upswing, after the low point of the swing arc has already passed.
- Ball Position — IronsBeginnerIron ball position moves back as clubs get shorter: just forward of center for long irons, near center for wedges. It supports a slightly descending strike.
- Banana SliceBeginnerA banana slice is the exaggerated, wide left-to-right curve most associated with beginner and high-handicap golfers. It usually starts near or left of the target and bends hard right.
- Beginner Golf Club SetBeginnerA beginner does not need a full 14-club set. A half set of seven or eight clubs is enough to learn with: a driver or fairway wood, a hybrid, a few irons, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge and a putter. Choose forgiving clubs with a shaft flex that suits your swing speed.
- Beginner Slice FixBeginnerFor most beginners, a slice comes from a face open to an out-to-in path. The fastest fix is usually a stronger grip and swinging from the inside, not harder.
- Best Ball vs Scramble FormatBeginnerIn best ball, each teammate plays their own ball through the hole, and the team counts the lowest individual score. In a scramble, everyone tees off, the team picks the best shot, and all players hit their next shot from that spot.
- Birdie and Eagle ExplainedBeginnerA birdie is one stroke under par on a hole, and an eagle is two strokes under par. Both are celebrated results that most golfers, even good ones, make only sometimes.
- Blade PutterBeginnerA blade putter has a slim, classic head with less perimeter weighting than a mallet, and it is more often toe-hang balanced. That design suits golfers with a natural arcing stroke who prefer feel and feedback.
- Bogey GolfBeginner"Bogey golf" describes shooting roughly one over par on every hole, around 90 for an 18-hole, par-72 course. It is a common and respectable benchmark for a solidly developing recreational golfer.
- Breaking 100BeginnerBreaking 100 means finishing an 18-hole round in fewer than 100 total strokes. It depends far more on avoiding disaster holes than on hitting great shots.
- Breaking 90BeginnerBreaking 90 means finishing 18 holes in fewer than 90 strokes. It usually requires a reliable short game more than a longer drive.
- Bump-and-RunBeginnerA bump-and-run is a low chip that lands on the green just past the fringe and rolls to the hole like a putt. It uses the fringe and green to deliver the ball.
- Bunker Rules (Touching the Sand)BeginnerIn a bunker you must not touch the sand with your club right in front of or behind the ball. You also must not touch it in a practice swing, in your backswing, or on purpose to test it. The penalty is two strokes in stroke play or loss of the hole in match play.
- Camera Angle GuidanceBeginnerCamera angle guidance shows where to film a swing from, usually down-the-line and face-on. The wrong angle can hide or distort what the analysis needs.
- Carry DistanceBeginnerCarry distance is how far the ball travels through the air before it first lands. It is different from total distance, which includes roll.
- Cart Path Relief (Immovable Obstructions)BeginnerAn artificially surfaced cart path is an immovable obstruction, so relief from it is free. You get it when your ball is on the path or the path affects your stance or swing. Drop within one club-length of the nearest point of complete relief, no nearer the hole. You can't choose the side of the path, and the drop must give complete relief.
- Chili-DipBeginnerA chili-dip is the most extreme version of a chunked chip, on a very short finesse shot. The club digs in so far behind the ball that the ball barely moves at all, sometimes just a few inches.
- Chip vs PitchBeginnerA chip flies low, spends more time rolling than flying and uses a short stroke with little wrist hinge. A pitch flies higher, carries most of the way and uses a longer swing with wrist hinge. Chip when you have green to work with, and pitch when you must carry rough, a bunker or a slope.
- Chip-and-RunBeginnerA chip-and-run is a low, bouncing chip that gets on the green fast and rolls toward the hole. It is the safest choice when there is room between the ball and the green edge.
- ChippingBeginnerChipping is a short shot played from just off the green. A small swing gets the ball rolling on the green quickly so it can run to the hole.
- Chipping PracticeBeginnerPractice chipping by picking a landing spot and hitting it, not by hitting many balls at one flag. Change the lie, the distance and the club as you go, learn how far each club rolls after landing, and finish with an up-and-down game that keeps score. If contact is still fat or thin, fix the technique first.
- Chipping StanceBeginnerA good chipping stance narrows the feet, leans the shaft and weight slightly toward the target, and plays the ball back of center. It is built for crisp, ball-first contact, unlike the full-swing posture used for longer shots.
- Chipping With a Hybrid or Fairway WoodBeginnerYes, you can chip with a hybrid or fairway wood. It works best from tight lies or the fringe when the ball can roll most of the way. Grip down, stand close and use a firm putting stroke. The wide sole glides over the grass instead of digging.
- Choosing a Golf BallBeginnerChoose a golf ball mainly for how it performs on short shots, then check that it suits your driver and swing speed. Multi-layer urethane balls spin more on wedges and cost more, and two-piece ionomer balls are tougher, spin less and cost less. Lower-compression balls feel softer, and some golfers with slower swings prefer them.
- ChunkBeginnerA chunk (fat shot) is when the swing bottoms out too early and the club hits the ground before the ball. The short, low shot often loses most of its distance.
- Chunked ChipBeginnerA chunked chip is fat contact on a short finesse shot near the green. The club hits the ground well before the ball, loses speed, and leaves the shot far short of the target.
- Closed StanceBeginnerA closed stance aligns the feet, hips, and shoulders right of the target line (for a right-hander). It is sometimes used deliberately to hit a draw, but is more often an unintentional cause of a push or hook.
- Club SelectionBeginnerClub selection is picking the right club for each shot from real carry distance, lie, wind, elevation, and hazard placement. It is one of the biggest scoring decisions.
- Common Beginner Swing FaultsBeginnerNearly every beginner hits topped shots, chunked shots, slices, and shanks. These misses almost all trace back to a small set of setup and contact issues.
- Confidence on the Golf CourseBeginnerConfidence on the course comes from things you control. A routine you repeat on every shot, a target and club you commit to, and practice that rehearses the shots you will face. Judge yourself on whether you made a committed swing, not on where one ball finished, and it lasts longer than a hot streak.
- Course Handicap vs Handicap IndexBeginnerHandicap Index is a portable number representing a golfer's general ability, calculated from past scores. Course handicap converts that same index into the actual number of strokes they receive on a specific course and tee, using that course's slope rating.
- Curve Ball FlightBeginnerA curve ball flight is any shot that bends noticeably left or right in the air. It happens when clubface angle and swing path differ enough at impact to tilt the ball's spin axis away from horizontal.
- Data Overload (Too Many Metrics)BeginnerData overload is seeing so many swing numbers at once that none gets acted on. Without clear priorities, more data can leave a golfer more confused, not less.
- Distance From the Ball at AddressBeginnerStand far enough from the ball that your arms hang naturally from your shoulders after you bend from the hips. Your hands should sit roughly below your shoulders, not reaching out or jammed in. Many coaches use about a hand's width between the grip end and your thighs as a quick check.
- Dogleg (Golf Hole)BeginnerA dogleg is a golf hole that bends to the left or right partway along the fairway, like a dog's hind leg. A dogleg left turns left and a dogleg right turns right. The bend usually comes around where tee shots land.
- Double Bogey and Blow-Up HolesBeginnerA double bogey is two strokes over par on a hole. A "blow-up hole" is the casual term for any hole that goes much worse than that. Limiting them is usually a beginner's single biggest lever for a lower score.
- Double-HitBeginnerA double hit is when the club strikes the ball twice during one swing. It is most common on slow, decelerating chips and pitches near the green. Under Rule 10.1a it counts as one stroke with no penalty, and you play the ball as it lies.
- Down-the-Line ViewBeginnerThe down-the-line view films the swing from behind the golfer, along the target line. It is the best angle for swing plane, club path, and delivery position.
- DrawBeginnerA draw is a controlled shot that curves gently right to left for a right-handed golfer. The face is slightly closed to the path but open to the target line.
- Driving Range EtiquetteBeginnerAt the range, hit only from your own bay or between the markers, and never walk past the hitting line to get a ball. Leave space between you and the next golfer. Keep noise down, and replace or neatly pattern your divots on grass.
- Embedded Ball (Plugged Lie Relief)BeginnerAn embedded, or plugged, ball sits in its own pitch mark with part of it below ground. In the general area, including the fairway and rough, you get free relief under Rule 16.3, except in sand not cut to fairway height. Drop within one club-length of the spot right behind where it was embedded, no nearer the hole. There is no free relief for a plugged ball in a bunker or penalty area.
- Eyes Over the Ball (Putting)BeginnerMany coaches suggest setting your eyes directly over the ball or just inside it, on or slightly closer to you than the target line. Eyes well outside or well inside the line can make the line look bent and pull your aim off. Check it by holding a ball at the bridge of your nose and letting it drop.
- Face-On ViewBeginnerThe face-on view films the swing from in front of the golfer. It best shows hip and shoulder rotation, weight transfer, spine tilt, and early extension.
- FadeBeginnerA fade is a small, controllable left-to-right bend for a right-hander. It is a slice's tame, repeatable cousin, and many pros play it as their stock shot.
- Fairway WoodBeginnerA fairway wood is a lower-lofted, larger-headed club, commonly a 3-, 5-, or 7-wood. It is designed to be hit off the turf as well as a tee, covering long shots between the driver and hybrids or long irons.
- Fairways HitBeginnerFairways hit measures driving accuracy: the percentage of par-4 and par-5 tee shots that finish in the fairway. It is a key input into greens in regulation.
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