D to G - Golf Dictionary

D

dance floor
Slang for green.

dawn patrol
The players who tee off early in the day.

dead
(body bags, cadaver, on the slab, perdition, jail, tag on his toe, wearing stripes, no pulse - you get the idea)
No possible way out of the shot!

deep
High clubface from top to bottom.

deuce
A score of two on a given hole.

dimple
Depression on the cover of a golf ball.

divot
Turf displaced by the clubhead during a swing.

dogleg
Hole on which the fairway curves one way or the other.

dormant
Grass on the course is alive but not actively growing. Also my hair.

dormie
The player who's winning the match in match play -for example, five up with only five holes left, or four up with four left.

double bogey
Score of two over par on a hole.

double eagle
Score of three under par on a hole. Forget it, you,'11probably never get one. See also albatross.

down
Losing.

downhill lie
When your right foot is higher than your left when you address the ball (for right-handed players).

downswing
The part of the swing where the clubhead is moving down, toward the ball.

drop
Procedure by which you put the ball back into play after it's been deemed unplayable.

dub
Bad shot or player.

duck hook (shrimp, mallard, quacker)
Shot curving severely from right to left.

duffer
Bad player.

dying putt
A putt that barely reaches the hole.

DQ'd
Disqualified.

drain
To sink a putt.

draw
Shot that curves from right to left.

drive
Shot from teeing ground other than' par-3 holes.

drive for show, putt for dough
Old saying implying that putting is more important than driving.

driving range
Place where you can go to hit practice balls.

drive the green
When your drive finishes on the putting surface. Can happenon short par-4, or when the brakes go out on your cart.


E

eagle
Score of two under par for a hole.

embedded ball
Portion of the ball is below ground.

erosion
Loss of land through water and wind damage - most common on the coasts.

etiquette
Code of conduct.

explode
To playa ball from a bunker moving a large amount of sand. Or what you do if the ball doesn't get out of the bunker.

extra holes
Played when a match finishes even (is tied).


F


face
The front of a club or bunker.

fade
Shot that curves gently from left to right.

fairway
The prepared surface running from tee to green.

fairway wood
Any wooden club that's not your driver. Nowadays, you say fairway metal because you don't see many wooden clubs anymore.

fat
To strike the ground before the ball.

feather
To put a delicate fade on a shot - don't try it yet!

first cut
Strip of rough at the edge of a fairway.

first off
Golfers beginning their round before everyone else.

flag
Piece of cloth attached to the top of a flagstick.

flagstick
The stick with the flag on top, which indicates the location of the cup.

flange
Projecting piece of clubhead behind the sole (bottom).

flat
Swing that is less upright than normal, and more around the body than up and down.

flub
To hit the ball only a few feet.

flex
The amount of bend in a shaft.

flier
Shot, usually hit from the rough, which travels way too far past the target.

fly the green
To hit a shot that lands beyond the putting surface.

follow-through
The part of the swing after the ball has been struck.

foozle
To make a complete mess of a shot.

Fore!
What to shout when your ball is headed toward another player.

forged irons
Clubs made one by one, without molds.

forward press
Targetward shift of the hands, and perhaps a right knee, just prior to takeaway.

foursome
Depends where you are. In the States, a group of four playing together. In Britain, a match between two teams of two, each hitting one ball alternately.

free drop
Drop for which no penalty stroke is incurred, generally within one club length of where the ball was.

fried egg
When your ball is semi buried in the sand.

fringe
See apron.

frog hair
Slang for apron, fringe, or collar.

front nine
The first half of your round of golf; the second half is the back nine holes.

full swing
Longest swing you make.


G

gallery
Spectators at a tournament.

gimme
A short putt that your opponent doesn't ask you to hit, assuming that you can't possibly miss the shot.

G.I.R
Slang for greens in regulation - greens hit in regulation number of strokes.

glove
Usually worn on the left hand by right-handed players. Helps maintain grip.

Golden Bear
Jack Nicklaus.

golf widow(er)
Your significant other after he or she finds out how much you want to play!

go to school
Watching your partner's putt and learning from it the line and pace that your putt should have.

good-good
Reciprocal concession of short putts. (See gimme.)

grain
Tendency of grass leaves to lie horizontally toward the sun.

Grand Slam
The four major championships: Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship.

graphite
Lightweight material used to make shafts and clubheads.

Great White Shark
Greg Norman.

green
The shortest-cut grass where you do your putting.

greenies
Bet won by player whose first shot finishes closest to the hole on a par-3.

green jacket
Prize awarded to the winner of the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

greens fee
The cost to playa round of golf.

greenside
Close to the green.

greensome
Game in which both players on a team drive off. The better of the two is chosen; then they alternate shots from there.

grip
Piece of rubber/leather on the end of a club. Or your hold on the club.

groove
Scoring along the clubface.

gross score
Actual score shot before a handicap is deducted.

ground the club
The process of placing the club head behind the ball at address, generally touching the bottom of the grass.

ground under repair
Area on the course being worked on by the groundskeeper, generally marked by white lines, from which you may drop your ball without penalty.

gutta percha
Material used to manufacture golf balls in the 19th century.