Welcome

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Welcome to Golf's Usage Dictionary. This blog will enable anyone, golfer and non-golfer alike, to understand the terms involved in golf...

A

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ACE A score of "1" on any hole - a hole-in-one, in other words. Aces are most commonly made on par-3s, but sometimes occur on shor...

B

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BALL MARK The indentation that a ball makes in the surface of the putting green upon landing. The softer the surface of the putting green, ...

C

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CLOSEST TO THE PIN Closest to the pin is a contest that is a staple of charity tournaments, corporate outings and similar amateur golf tourn...

D

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DIVOT Most shots from the fairway with an iron will scrape off the top of the turf where the ball was resting. "Divot" refers to b...

E

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Eagle A score of two strokes below par on any individual hole. Eagles are most commonly made on par-5s, where an eagle is a score of 3. An e...

F

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FADE A fade describes a trajectory or ball flight in which the golf ball comes off the clubface moving to the left of the target before curv...

G

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GIMMIE A putt that one player requests be conceded by another player, allowing the first player to pick up and move on as if the putt had be...

H

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HOOK Hook describes a trajectory or ball flight in which the golf ball starts out to the right (for a right-handed golfer) before curving se...

I

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INSIDE THE LEATHER Inside the Leather is the measurement used to determine if a putt is a "gimmie." It refers to the distance from...

K

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KP KP is a commonly used abbreviation for "closest to the pin." The confusion here is that "closest" does not start with...

L

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LINKS Links refers to a specific type of golf course. A traditional links course will have many - perhaps all - of the following features: •...

M

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MULLIGAN Most simply put, a "do-over." Hit a bad shot? Take a mulligan and hit it again. Mulligans are played only when expressly ...

N

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NET SCORE The net score is a player's gross score minus the strokes his or her course handicap allows to be deducted during the course o...

O

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OPEN FACE Open face refers to the position of the clubface relative to the target line at impact (the moment the clubface strikes the ball)....

P

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PULL Pull describes a trajectory or ball flight in which the golf ball starts to the left (for a right-handed golfer) of the target line and...

R

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REFURBISHED GOLF BALLS Refurbished balls are golf balls that have been found on a course, cleaned up, and then sold at a discounted price. R...

S

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SCRAMBLE Scramble, or scrambling, refers to when a golfer misses the green-in-regulation but is still able to make par. Most of the time th...

T

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TOPPED SHOT A topped shot - often just called a "top" - is one in which the golfer very nearly swings over the ball, with impact b...

U

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UP AND DOWN An up and down refers to getting the ball into the hole in two strokes when starting from off the green or in a greenside hazard...

V

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VARDON GRIP The most popular way to hold the golf club among golfers. The Vardon Grip consists of placing one's little finger on the tr...

W

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WORMBURNER A wormburner refers to a golf shot that only gets a few feet off the ground. Wormburners can easily be confused with the term ...

X

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X-OUTS X-Outs are name brand golf balls on which the name brand has been crossed out. During the production process if an error is ever mad...

Y

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YIPS A nervous affliction in which the person putting cannot make short putts due to the inability to create a smooth putting stroke. A case...