Golf Speak

Golfers have a lot of strange sayings that you don't hear in the real world. Some are a universal part of the game and some are unique. Easy ones: birdy (one under par), par (the score a scratch golfer should make on the hole), bogey (one over par), eagle (two under par) and albatross the most rare of birds (three under par, sometimes called a double eagle in the US).

Some are more colorful. To shank the ball is to hit it off the hozzel often resulting in a low flyer heading way right into oblivion. Many people won't say the word shank, we have a client at Nike Golf named Dan Shenck, but we call him Dan Lateral. Substitutes include "hozzel rocket" and "exaggerated fade." To fade a shot is to bend it right, to draw a ball is to bend it left. To hook a ball is to hit it way left, to slice the ball is to hit it way right. A "duck hook" is a ball the starts off OK then ducks towards the woods on the left.


A "worm burner" is a shot that never gets off the ground. To hit the ball straight up is to "balloon it," "knock it up" or "sky it." A "Texas wedge" is another name for your putter. On short wedge shots we often putt them in Texas due to the wind and hard ground. The "big stick" is the driver. When someone says, "let the big dog hunt" they are pulling out driver. The "flat stick" is your putter. A layup is a safe shot short of the hole as opposed to going for it. A lag is a good put from long distance that leaves you close. When you hear "nice lag," it is often facetious.

"Skulled it" or "thined it" means you hit too much ball and not enough ground. To hit it fat means the opposite, too much ground not enough ball. If you are "on the beach," your are in a sand bunker. When hitting out of a bunker you want to "hit the big ball first," i.e. hit the sand before the ball.

"Drive for show, putt for dough." People look good when they drive the ball 300 yards, but if you can't putt you won't make any money. To "grind it out" is to play hard and stay focused even though you are not having your best day.

"Never up, never in," you left the put short. "All lip, no hole," you rolled a put around the hole, but it didn't drop. A "sister in law," means you're up there but shouldn't be - you hit a bad shot close.

One thing you never want to hear on the putting green is "you are still away." This means your putt is still further away from the hole than your opponents even though you just putted. Other things you will often hear from caddies on the green, "firm, but not too firm," "downhill about 60%," "a ball inside," "don't give the hole away," and "it breaks both ways." We don't really know what any of these mean. The one thing you do love to hear is, "that's good." This means your playing partner has conceded the putt, which is always nice when you have a four footer for par.

My last note is a joke I heard from Franklin Langham, although I am sure it's an old one. We were on a commercial shoot in Las Vegas and during some down time we started hitting drives into an open fairway. When we walked out to pick up our balls Franklin (a Nike pro) says, "hey did you see that new Walmart they're building?" I say, "no where?" He says, "between my ball and yours." I fell for it hook line and sinker.

OK, that's all I have for now. Please add any you can think of.