Glossary

Hazard

Hazards are areas on the course that may be marked by yellow or red stakes. These areas may be filled with water, sand, grass or dirt. You may play your balls from these hazards if possible but the rules of golf allow you to take a drop out of these areas with a penalty shot.

OB

“Out of Bounds” is defined by white stakes. These areas are considered off the course and it becomes a “lost ball”even if the ball is actually found. The proper ruling of how to proceed under OB or “lost ball” is stroke and distance. This requires you to count the shot that went OB, add a penalty shot and play another shot from where you last played from. Definitely the most severe penalty in golf.

Drop

Taking a “drop” means putting a ball into play by dropping it to the ground from your hands. The procedure for dropping a ball has changed over years. Most recently the rule changed to being able to release the ball from just about any height as long as it isn’t placed on the ground directly. Most situations when you “take a drop” add one penalty shot. However, there are some situations that allow you to take a “free drop” without penalty.

Lateral

Lateral, refers to lateral water hazard that is defined by red stakes. These hazards snake along the course alongside the hole. They allow you to take a drop with the penalty of one shot and you may drop within 2 club lengths of last point of entry into the hazard no closer to the hole and play away.

Play ready golf

Hit when ready as long as it is safe to proceed. The “actual rules” of golf require the player farthest from the hole to play the next shot. This may not always be logistically the most efficient and timely way to play as a group. Our general rule is to encourage people to learn to play golf in 15 minutes or less as a group. If riding in carts, bring multiple clubs out to your ball this can help keep things moving along.

Cart path only

Cart path only is when the carts are required to remain on the path for the entire round of golf. The course may be too wet, sloped, damaged, busy or any other reasons for cart path only. Some players with physical limitations may ask for special designation to allow them off the path with the cart. The biggest benefit of cart path only is you don’t need to carry your clubs but may require some considerable walking to your ball and back to the path.

90 degree rule

90 degree rule is also considered an “H” pattern. This means if you are driving a cart, the course allows people to drive along the path until they drive even with their ball. They may then turn onto the course at a 90 degree angle off the path to their ball and then return directly back to the path on the same 90 degree after finishing their shot. The object of this rule is to reduce cart traffic all throughout the course. Any forward movement of the cart towards the hole should be done on the cart path.

Tee time

A tee time is an appointment or reservation to play a round golf. Tee times may be booked in advance and are made for up to four players. It may be necessary to call a week or more in advance to reserve your preferred times. Most courses allow walk up players but they are purely allowed as space available. Never a guarantee to get on the course without a tee time.

Fairway

The fairway is the closely mown area off the tee. The fairway defines the direction of play for the hole. There are multiple cuts of grass on the course. The fairway, tee boxes and fringe are all cut the same height. The putting green is the shortest and the rough often has 2 cuts, the first cut and the tallest stuff. The object is to hit the ball from the tee box into the clean cut fairway and then onto the green. Easier said than done but dare to dream, right?

Green

The putting green is the shortest cut of grass on the course where the hole and flagstick are located. The greens are often what define a course. If the greens are running smooth and true most people are happy and may overlook other issues. If the greens are shabby or rough, players can’t stop complaining about everything. People want good greens.

Rough

The rough cuts are generally in 2 cuts. The first cut is shortish rough that allows you to play some shots and advance the ball towards the hole. The second cut or longer rough is often nicknamedi, the junk, the hay, the cabbage and many other names. In this longer cut of rough it’s often too difficult to make a positive shot towards the hole. It may require decisions to just escape the rough back towards the fairway.

Bunker / trap

Most of these areas are filled with sand or long grass. The texture of sand in these bunkers varies from very soft, fine sand to very course, thick sand. Original golf courses often had sheep around the greens. Where these sheep huddled together and tried to stay warm the ground would get worn away and it created natural bunker looks. That is where designers began building in these bunkers as intentional obstacles.

Yardage marker

Most courses have markers on ever hole. On the tee box there are many sets of tees that have yardages displayed. In most cases there are markers throughout the course that measure distances to the green. These markers are often red, white and blue. These colors designate 100, 150 and 200 yards. There are also sprinkler markers or Kirby markers in the fairway that may measure front, middle and back yardages.

Barber pole

On blind tee shots there may be markers out in the distance or in the landing areas. These markers or alignment aids help players know where to aim their golf shots. They are not distance markers but sometimes they may tell you how far it is from the tee to these aim markers to allow the player to feel some depth perception. Players may choose different angles for their shots depending on how far they hit the golf ball. These markers can really help players learn to navigate these blind shots and keep pace.

Lag putt

Lag putts refer to putts outside of 20 feet. The odds of putts outside this range going in are not very high. It becomes very important to learn to “lag” putts to within a 2 foot circle. This increases the chances of the player making their next putt into the hole. It’s the basic goal to make the first putt and if you miss, leave the ball close enough to make the next putt.

Green speed

Green speeds refer to how fast the ball rolls across the putting surface. Green speeds vary from course to course. Generally the flatter courses can allow for faster surfaces and the hilly, sloped courses may be better suited medium to slower speeds. Geographic and weather demands on a course often affect how short a course can cut the grass.

Slice

A slice is ball that is hit with a clubface that is open to path. For right handed golfers these shots curve to the right and for left handed players they curve to the left. These shots tend to curve too much and are often referred to as being negative.

Hook

A hook is a ball that is hit with a clubface that is closed to path. For right handed golfers these shots curve left and for left handed golfers these shots curve to the right. These shots tend to curve too much and are often referred to as being negative.

Draw / fade

Draws and fades are softer hooks and slices. Draws are soft hooks just slight differences of clubface to path. Fades are soft slices with slight differences of clubface to path.

Stinger

A stinger is a shot that is hit with a lower flight and a little less spin than ordinary golf shots. These shots are most often played when the ground is firm and will allow the ball to release and roll out. Stingers are generally played with the longer clubs: driver, 3 wood or long iron. The purpose is to shoot out fast and low and hit the ground hot and running.

Knock down

The knockdown is very similar to the stinger but has even less spin or rise to the ball flight. These shots are generally played into the wind, under trees and onto green where it is wise to land the ball in front and roll the ball back to the hole.

Handicaps

Understanding the handicap system in golf can be a bit confusing but simply joining associate handicap clubs can make things much easier. Generally for a simple fee, most associate or e-Clubs range between $30 and $125. One simple understanding about golf handicaps is it is not your average score. A player should only shoot their handicap approximately 4 times out of 10 rounds of golf. Most people believe that their handicap reflects their average score and that they should shoot their handicap every round.

Starter sets

Beginner golf sets. These sets are often priced at advantageous price points which allow many to get a good start in the game. Many starter sets are made up of 10 or 11 clubs. A driver, fairway wood, hybrid, 5-iron-pitching wedge, a putter and a bag with stand. Later on, players can make more specific, personal and often more expensive decisions for players to grow with the game.

Par and What does it mean?

Par for a hole is directly related to the length of the hole. Par 3s are shorter holes that allow for one shot to reach the putting green and finish with 2 putts. A par four is a hole that allows for 2 shots to reach the green and finish with 2 putts. A par 5 is a golf hole that allows for 3 shots to reach the green and finish with 2 putts. Par is a good score for a hole.

Book a tee time

Once you have built up your game it’s important to get you to the course. Most courses have online booking systems that allow you to schedule and book tee times up to 4 players per tee time in advance. If you need personal assistance most courses also have pro shop staff answering phones and managing the tee sheet to better help you find the best times and rates available. Most courses allow walk on players but it’s not recommended to depend on this unless you can be flexible to wait for space available to play.