The A-Z of Golf | PGA Play

Golf is full of many weird and wonderful phrases - we attempt to unclutter some of them. Find out more in our full Golf Glossary

A - Albatross, a score of three shots under par on any hole. This is particularly rare and is most likely to happen when a player holes their second shot on a par 5. Interestingly Tiger Woods has never had an albatross on Tour.

B - Bogey, a score of one over par on any hole and the most likely outcome for the club golfer. Conversely a birdie is a score of under better than par on any hole.

C - Caddy, someone who will carry your clubs and give you some sound advice on what clubs to hit and where best to hit them. Will likely save you plenty of shots over the course of a round due to their knowledge of the course and of the greens.

D - Driver, the longest club in the bag, literally and for distance. It will generally measure between 43 and 45.5 inches with a loft that varies from around 7-14˚. The head size also varies, between 300cc and 460cc, and the modern-day driver is unrecognisable to the olden-day driver in size and material. Titanium is the most common material used in your modern driver.

E - Etiquette, something that refers to how you behave on the course. This is generally picked up with some handy advice from your playing partners on where to stand when someone else is playing a shot and what not to ask or say. Much of golf’s etiquette is based on unwritten guidelines and can easily be picked up as you start playing more.

F - Foursome, this is a game where you play alternate shots and is one of the oldest forms of the game. Each team shares a ball and they take it in turns to tee off so one player will tee off on the odd holes and the other on the evens and then play the hole out alternately.

G - Gimme, a putt that is conceded in matchplay. It is generally given if it is from a very short distance and therefore is expected to be holed but it is understood that you should never ask for a gimme. For some reason a gimme (or lack of one) can cause problems but the basic premise is that you should expect to hole out unless someone concedes your putt and that you should concede a putt that you fully expect your opponent to hole. If you think that they might miss then it’s fair play to make them putt it.

H - Hybrid, a type of club that has become more and more popular in recent years. It is also known as a rescue or utility club. The beauty of the hybrid is its versatility in that it is effective from the tee, fairway and particularly the rough and many golfers use a hybrid for some more straightforward chip shots. They have replaced many golfers’ longer irons as they are more forgiving and produce a higher ball flight and they can cover a large variety of lofts - the Titleist TSi hybrids, for example, start at 18˚ and go up to 29˚ and they are adjustable.

I - Irons, a type of gold club which is made of metal and makes up the majority of your golf bag. Distance wise they sit in between your woods and your wedges and traditionally they began with a 3 and finished with a 9 but many golfers’ bags now begin with a 5-iron. The higher the number, the more loft there is on it and the shorter the club, in length and distance, it is. These days some manufacturers produce single-length irons where all the irons are the same length.

J - Jack, the first name of the most decorated male golfer of all time. Nicklaus won 18 majors in his illustrious career and he won The Masters at the age of 46. Almost more impressive was the fact that he has 19 second-place finishes in the majors which is also a record.

K - Knife, this covers a couple of terms. Back in the old days it was slang for the 1-iron as it had the sharpest blade. It also describes a chip shot that is hit thin and which runs through the green.

L - Links, for some the best type of golf courses. Literally it means the land that links the mainland to the sea and is therefore played on coastal terrain where the elements play a huge part in the conditions and the ball runs along the ground rather than being played in the air. The UK boasts many of the world’s best links with something like 240 of them on their shores.

M - Matchplay, a format of the game where the scores are recorded by the number of holes won or lost. Whereas most tournament golf is played in a stroke play format, matchplay is played between a player or teams where you attempt to win a hole. The most famous matchplay event is the Ryder Cup.

N - Net, a score after your handicap strokes have been deducted. So you add up your total number of strokes on a hole, which is your gross score, and then take away the number of shots that you have on that particular hole. In mathplay your net score will determine whether you win or lose a hole, in strokeplay you calculate your net score at the end of the round.

O - Offset, a term to describe the design condition in the head of a golf club in which the hosel or neck is positioned to make the clubface appear as though it’s slightly set back from the club’s neck. Unless you are a truly elite player then you will benefit from some offset in your clubs to help you square the face at impact.

P - Par, the predetermined number of strokes that scratch golfer should need to complete a hole. For scoring purposes a golfer’s number of strokes is compared with the par score to determine how much that golfer was over or under par. Holes are generally given pars from 3 to 5 based on the distance of the hole – so on a par 3 a scratch golfer is expected to hit the green with his/her tee shot and take two putts to get the ball into the hole.

Q - Qualification, this can cover a multitude of aspects of the game but, for the PGA, we offer three courses to become a PGA Professional. A PGA degree is the most respected golf qualification in the world.

R - Rough, the area of the course which has longer and thicker grass which is usually on either side of the fairway. There are different gradients of rough and, ideally, this should become longer the more offline that you go.

S - Stimpmeter, a device used to measure the speed of a putting stroke. The ’stimp’ of a putting green is a numerical value that represents how fast the ball rolls and the higher the number, the faster the putt. It was originally invented by Edward S Stimpson in the 1930s and it his version was made of wood where the ball would be rolled down a chute to determine how far it then travels.

T - Tee, this is either an object that is used to balance your ball when teeing off on a hole but only on the first shot of any hole. Or the area of well-cut grass where you start a hole from. Typically a men’s competition tee will be played from white tees, the general men’s tee will be played from the yellow tees and the ladies’ tees are played from the reds.

U - Unplayable, this term describes when you are unable to play a shot because of the conditions or there is an obstruction. So the player may drop the ball into a better position, along with the rules, and play their next shot with a penalty shot.

V - Vardon, a professional golfer from Jersey who won The Open six times. Harry Vardon also developed the overlapping grip which is still used by millions of golfers today where the little finger of the right hand is placed on top of the hollow between the fore and index fingers of the left hand.

W - Wedge, a club that generally has a loft higher than a 9-iron. Golfers used to carry a pitching and sand wedge but these days golfers carry a collection of wedges which are generally spaced out in loft. These days we all carry a gap wedge and a lob wedge and they have become more and more important as we understand more the use in having a strong wedge game.

X - X, as in X-stiff shafts. Extra stiff shafts are reserved for the fastest swingers and are hugely popular in the professional game. All shafts are different but a rough guide is if you swing the driver above 105mph it might be time to get a X-stiff shaft in your driver, for irons golfers who swing them at more than 92mph might benefit from them. As is always the case get fitted by a PGA professional to see what will work best with your swing.

Y - Yip, a term which describes an involuntary wrist spasm that can occur in any part of your game but is most associated with putting. Many golfers also struggle with the chipping yips and even the driver yips which can be equally as destructive. Needless to say they also occur in many other sports such as darts, cricket and baseball.

Z - Zip, as in backspin. This is when the ball rotates backwards after the ball is hit and is crucial for stopping your ball on the green and for getting the ball in the air in the first place. If you could do with some more spin get a ball fitting with your local PGA pro as playing the right ball for you is one of the most underrated aspects of the amateur game.