A Beginner’s Guide to Golf Lingo
Slice, draw, fade, shank. What does it all mean?
Golf is an intimidating sport. Besides the sheer difficulty of hitting the ball well, you must be proficient in etiquette and have the funds to play.
But another barrier to entry is all the lingo that comes along with golf. In poker, you must know what a flop, check, and three-bet is. While in golf, you don’t need to know the lingo in order to play, it helps to know what it means to avoid shanking the ball from the fringe.
Below are the most common words golfers will say before, during, or after a round. Some are obvious, but that’s probably why you’re here.
COURSE LINGO
Pitch and Putt — a par 3 course for beginners or casual rounds. No dress code, and like the name suggests, all you need is your pitching wedge and your putter. No power kart option.
Executive Course — a step up from pitch and putt, but not a full course. It can be 18 holes or less, sometimes 12 or 15. Mostly par 3s with a spattering of par 4s, but not 5s. Power karts are often available.
Full Course — 18 holes with a range of par 3s, 4s, and 5s. A full course will always have power karts available and usually enforce a dress code.
Links Course — the original type of golf course. A links is of Scottish style and can be found worldwide, but mostly in Great Britain and Ireland. Links courses are usually denoted by coastline locations, undulating fairways, and a firmer playing surface, which allows the ball to bounce and roll a greater distance.
SHOT LINGO
The following shots assume the golfer is right-handed. If you are left-handed, you can reverse all ball trajectories.
Fade — a ball flight that starts slightly left of centre and ends slightly right of centre. This is called a ‘shaped shot.’ This is the ideal shot to hit if the hole bends to the right (otherwise known as a dog-leg right).
Draw — a ball flight that’s right-to-left. This is the opposite of a fade, and more common for left-handed golfers. Is the forest jetting out into the fairway with the pin tucked around to the left? Hit a draw.
Hook — if a draw is good, a hook is bad. It will appear similar to your draw, until the ball moves laterally to the left, often disappearing into the trees or bouncing off a big oak tree. Its causes are a closed club face at impact. This could be due to an incorrect grip or a funky swing path.
Slice — if a fade is good, a slice is bad. They can appear similar at first, as your ball will start slightly left of centre but then go very very right. Its causes are an open club face, and a swing path that goes out to in. If you ever tee off and find your ball on the other fairway to your right, you’ve sliced it good.
Shank — a shank looks like a slice but has a different cause. A shank occurs when you hit the ball with the hosel — where the club face meets the shaft. It’s even worse than a slice, as it will go immediately right and not very far. Here’s a video of Donald Trump hitting a shank in Los Angeles.
Thin — when you hit the ball below its equator on the upswing. It causes the leading edge to make contact with the ball first instead of the club face. The flight path will be lower, making the ball travel farther than you intend.
Fat — when you hit the ground behind the ball before you hit the ball. Consequently, grass and dirt get between your ball and club and give you less distance. This is also known as a “chunk.”
GREEN LINGO
The Green — The green is specifically the putting surface that hosts the flag. It’s the shortest grass on the golf course. You can mark, lift, and clean your ball when it reaches the green.
Fringe — the slightly longer grass surrounding the green, often connecting it to the fairway. Although some may putt from the fringe, you aren’t allowed the benefits the green allows.
Fairway — the manicured, closely mown grass that leads to the fringe and putting green. It should be closely mown and is the target from the tee box.
Tee Box — Where you tee off (take your first shot). Officially known as the ‘Teeing Area,’ it is a rectangular area denoted by markers laterally with an allowed depth behind them of two club lengths.
Rough — the grass surrounding the fairway that is longer, unkept, and harder to hit from. It can vary in length and difficulty.
Fescue — the grass grown in the second cut of rough, sometimes wild and unmowed. It’s often incorporated into course design and will mean difficulty for inaccurate golfers that find their balls there.
If you understand what these words mean you won’t be left scratching your head on the course. There are many many more to cover and next, I will discuss basic golf etiquette.
