Common Golf Vocabulary

Common Golf Vocabulary

Those who make it a habit of playing 18 holes of golf in their spare time are likely to hear a few terms and expressions that are not in common use outside the course. If you’re not too familiar with the lingo and you want to be in the know, here’s an example of some golf vocabulary that you’ll catch walking to your next shot.

Golf Vocabulary

Swing

You might be saying, “Come on, I’m not that clueless.” But your golf swing is something that will continually change from the moment you pick up your first club until you reach your greatest golfing goals, and it will continue to change after that. As a golfer, your swing will continue to evolve constantly.

Fore

If your aforementioned swing makes your ball careen toward others, feel free to yell out this bit of golfing vocabulary freely as a warning. If you happen to hear this yelled in your direction, it might be a good idea to seek temporary shelter as quickly as possible.

Away

Referring to the player whose ball is the furthest away from the hole at any given time.

After taking a stroke, you probably don’t want to hear this particular piece of golfing vocabulary, “You are still away.”

Divot

Behold the power of your clubface. Not only can it send a ball 300 yards, it can move the very earth in flying grassy clumps called divots. Please do your best to replace these on the course or fill them with sand.

Fairway

This is the well-groomed grassy area between the tee box and the putting green. Hopefully, your ball should stay on this part of the course instead of the rough.

Par

The average amount of strokes a professional golfer should take when completing a hole and the course. This bit of golfing vocabulary is actually short for Professional Average Result.

Putt

When you are mere feet away from the hole, it’s time for that nerve-wracking procedure known as the putt. Only in golf is it easier to send a ball 200 yards rather than holing those putts over the last few feet.

Sweet Spot

That spot on your clubface where you get the most power transferred from the club to the ball.

When you hit the sweet spot, you’ll definitely feel it and see the results. Hopefully, you’ll encounter more sweet spots than the next entry in our golfing vocabulary.

Shank

Though consisting of five letters, golfers consider this a four-letter word. When the hosel of the club hits the ball and causes a severe change in direction, or a shank, you may hear a few other choice golfing vocabulary terms that we’ve declined to reproduce here.

So now you can talk the talk, but there are simply no words to explain the feeling of getting out there and hitting that sweet spot resulting in a perfect drive down the fairway. Talk some friends into a tee time and spend time discussing some golfing vocabulary, and perhaps learn a few new terms as well.

Whether it’s terms, positioning, swings, or a myriad of other things you want to know about golf, the College of Golf at Keiser University has the experienced professionals to help teach you what you want and need to know.

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Updated from blog originally published Feb.6, 2015