Ace – If a player hits the ball from the tee box into the hole with his first stroke on a par 3 and very rarely a par 4. Also called a hole in one.

Adjusted Gross Score – This is a player's gross score after he has adjusted for any strokes conceded, holes not played or not finished.

Aggregate - The combined total scores of a player for team during a tournament which last more than one day.

Albatross - A score of 3 below the par, a double eagle.

Arney – When a golfer misses the fairway and still gets on the green in regulation and makes par or better.

Automatic press - A new bet that is stared automatically if a player is down in a match play. Players determine in advance whether it would happen if a player is one down or two.

Backside - The second nine holes of an 18-hole Golf Course.

Ball Toss – This is a method of selecting partners or teams by tossing each other's golf ball into the air at the same time. The two balls that land closest together become partners and the other two are partners.

Barkey - When a player hits a tree and still makes a par or better.

Beach – Any sand trap on the golf course.

Best ball - Partners or teams in which the players use only the best score on each hole.

Birdie - A score that is one stroke below par on a hole.

Bisque – This is when a golfer can choose where his strokes are applied according to his handicap.

Blind draw – A process where partners on a team are drawn at random.

Bogey – The score on a hole one over par.

Breakfast Ball – This is a mulligan or do over on the first hole of the round. Golfer can choose either ball hit.

Bumping – When a player gets to improve his lie in the fairway by bumping the ball with his club.

Bunker - A hazard with sand or grass along fairway or around the greens to make the hole tougher to play.

Caddy - A person who carries the clubs for a golfer and offers advice on where to hit the ball.

Carryovers – When 2 or more player tie a hole, it is carried over to the next hole and continues until one player wins outright. 

Casual water – This is area that has water or snow from rain or sprinklers. The golfer can move the ball out of this area to improve his lie.

Chip in – When a golfer hits the ball into the hole from off the green.

Chip off – This is a way to find the winner of a tournament when two or more are tied. The one closest to the hole after their chip is the winner.

Course rating – The evaluation of a course of its difficulty compared to other courses throughout the area. It is based on yardage, course layout and difficulty and the scoring ability of a 0 handicap golfer.

Cup - A plastic or metal cup placed in each hole it is 4 and 1/4 inch in diameter and a designated to hold the flag stick.

Dance Floor - Another term for the putting green.

Dormie – When a player or team has won a number of holes more then there are holes left to play. Not allowing the other golfer or team to be able to come back and win.

Double bogey – A score that's two strokes over par for a hole.

Double Eagle - A score that is three Strokes under par for a hole.

Down – When a player is behind in the match.

Drive - This is the player's first hit of the golf ball off the tee box.

Driving range – A practice area for hitting golf balls designated distances are usually indicated by flags are yardage markers.

Drop - Picking up and moving the ball with or without a penalty.

Duffer - An unskilled or poor player.

Eagle - A score of two under par.

Electric - A scoring method that takes the best score in each hole from multiple days of play.

Four-ball - A match in where two players play their better ball against the better ball of a to other players.

Foursome - Four players in a group.

Foursome match - A match where two players play against two others.

Front side – A term for the first nine holes of a golf course.

Garbage - Used to describe all the additional side bets being played in a group of four golfers.

Gimmie - A word used for a putt that is close to the hole and conceded by the other player.

Ginsburg - The option to hit a second ball and choose to play the better of the two balls.

Green – The area where the cup is at the end of the hole.

Greenies - An award given for a player when they hit the green in regulation closer than the other players.

Greens fee – The money paid to play a round golf.

Greenside bunker – The sand Trap next to the green.

Gross – The total number of strokes on a hole or for the 18-hole round.

Ground under repair - Any part of the course which is steaked off or lined where work is being done, considered a free drop area. 

Hacker – An golfer who is not very good.

Half – When player tie the hole or match.

Handicap – A measurement of a player's scoring ability on a golf course. It is around an average of his typical score. 

Handicap Card – The card that shows the players handicap given out by the USGA. 

Handicap Stroke – A golfer is allowed a certain amount of strokes on the course based on the difficulty of the hole.

Hazard - A bunker or water created as an obstacle to the golfer on the golf course.

High Low - a paring of two players in a tournament one with the high-handicap and one with a low handicap.

Hogan – When a golfer hits the fairway on his first shot, then hits the green in regulation, then makes a par or birdie.

Hole – A 4 and 1/4 inch diameter on the green where the ball is supposed to go.

Hole out – To finish the hole by hitting the ball into the cup.

Honor(s) – This is the privilege or right of a player or team to tee off first by winning the previous hole.

Hustler – A golfer that maintains the higher handicap in order to win more bets and wagers.

In regulation – When hitting the ball onto the green on the first shot on par 3’s, the second shot on par 4’s and the third shot on par 5’s.

In the pocket – When a golfer is done with the hole or concedes the hole, he is considered to be done with that hole.

Inside the leather – This is a putt that can be conceded when a golfer’s ball is very close to the hole, within the distance of the grip of his putter and the putter head. 

Lie – The position of the ball as it sits on the ground in the Fairway or the rough.

Links - A name for Golf Course originally meant Golf Course built on Low Land by sea.

Local rule – These are rules set by the local committee or the Director of Golf at a specific golf course.  

Lost ball - A ball is not found within 5 minutes of searching

Low ball – The lowest score of a golfer in a group.

Lowball total – An accumulation of all of the low scores on each hole of a group for 18 holes.

Lunch ball - A second shot permitted off the first tee, also called a mulligan.

Making the turn - The golfer or golfers who have completed the first nine holes of golf and proceeding to the to play the second nine holes.

Matchplay – A competition on a Hole by hole basis.

Metal play – A competition on the total score completed round of golf. Also called stroke play.

Medalist – Players who come in first, second or third in a golf competition.

Mulligan – A do over or a second hit ball.

Nassau - A competition of three bets in 18 holes of golf. Front nine, back nine and total.

Net score – The total score after the handicap strokes are deducted.

Nineteenth Hole - The clubhouse, restaurant or bar where golfers get together after their round.

Observer - A person appointed by a committee to help with the rules and making decision regarding play or rules fractions.

Out of bounds - An area that is designated as out of play, marked by white stakes, a road or fence. A golfer must hit again of his first shot is out.

Par - The designated score for a golf hole that is based on the length of the hole.

Partner – A player who plays with you on the same team.

Penalty stroke - Strokes added to a player's score for the infraction of a rule.

Pin – The name of the flagstick which indicates the position of a hole on putting green.

Playing from the tips – The back tees of a golf course. Making the golf course play the longest possible.

 

Playing through – When golfers pass through the players in front of them because they are playing too slow.

Pollie – When you hit your approach shot to the green within the distance of the flagstick.

Press – A new bet that a player can call when he is down in the match.

Pro Shop – A place to buy golf equipment and to register to play a round of golf.

Provisional ball – A second ball hit when you are not sure where your first ball was hit.

Ranger - An employee of the golf course that regulates the pace of play, requesting golfers to play faster if they are holding up the groups behind them.

Red Stakes – The markers that show where the hazard begins and ends.

Ringer - A golfer that keeps a higher handicap so that he has an edge over other players.

Rough – The part of the golf course that is off the fairway and usually thicker grass and desert.

Round – The term used for 18 holes of golf.

Round Robin - A type of match-play competition in which each player changes partners every 6 holes.

Sandbagger – A golfer who consistently plays better than his lead people to believe or better than his handicap.

Scotch - A form of play in which players alternate hitting or putting the same ball until the hole is complete.

Scramble - A form of play in which each player hits the ball. The team picks the best ball of the four and they all play from there. Following this procedure until the hole is finished. 

Scratch – A player who has a 0 handicap.  

Shotgun Start - A format of play used for tournaments with 13 groups or more. Each team starts from a different hole. If there are more than 18 teams, two teams can be played from each hole. An A team and a B team.

Singles match – A match that is one player against another.

Skins - A game in which the lowest score on a hole wins. Two tie all tie and no skin is won.

Slope rating – This is a rating of difficulty that the USGA gives to a golf course.

Snowman – This is the score of eight on any hole.

Starter - A designated person who starts group at a golfer course according to their tee time.

Stimpmeter – A machine that measures the speed of the greens on a golf course. 

Stroke – The term refers to the intentional movement of the golf ball with a swing of a golf club.

Stroke hole – The hole that a golfer gets a one-stroke advantage depending on his handicap.

Stroke play – Known as metal play, when you count all of the strokes played on a golf course. The one with the lowest number of strokes wins the round.

Sudden Death – These are extra holes played at the end of a round to determine a winner if there is a tie.

Tee Shot – The first shot hit from the tee box.

Tee Time – A specific time that a player or players have been scheduled to begin a round of golf.

Three Putt – When a golfer takes three putts to put the ball in the hole.

Triple Bogey - A score that is three Strokes over par.

Up – When a player is winning more holes than his opponent.  

Water Hazard - An area of the golf course that has water such as a lake, river, or creek marked by red stakes. When the ball goes in the water hazard there is a stroke penalty.

Winter Rules – Additional rules set by a golf course because of bad conditions. Usually, it means bumping in the fairway.