If you’re going to take up golfing, you have got to talk the talk and walk the walk. We have a complete guide teaching you the best way to learn how to play golf so you can get your game started on the right foot.

But as far as the golf course terminology goes, we decided it was fitting to compile all the slang terms you’re going to need to know so you can keep up and fit in – even as a complete beginner.

You’ll pick up on most of these by simply spending enough time on the course or hanging out with golfers. But to jumpstart the learning curve and help you fit in faster, read below as we cover the basic golf terminology for beginners. And stay tuned to the very end where we cover more advanced golf terminology slang.

The Basic Golf Course Terminology for Beginners

Below, we’ve listed the most basic golf terminology for beginners. You’ll hear (and need to use) at least a few of these during your first round, or even your first time on the range. Let’s dive in:

• Tee: The starting point for a hole on the golf course. There are various tee boxes on any given hole, varying in length/difficulty. The different tee boxes are indicated by tee markers – which can be stone, plastic, wood, or some other identifier.
• Fairway: This is where you’ll aim your tee shot – because the fairway is the most desirable location beside the green itself. The area is mowed nicely to leave you good lies and the best chance of hitting a good next shot. You can think of this as the grass path that takes you from the tee box to the hole itself.
• Rough: Long grass that lines either side of the fairway and surrounds greens. Rough is tougher to hit out of, and on some courses, can result in lost balls. You’ll want to avoid this area, and if you do end up in it, just know you’ll need to take more club to each the hole.
• Bunker/Sand Trap: A sandy pit/trap located somewhere on the hole which can be hard to escape from without making contact with sand first. There are greenside bunkers located near the green and fairway bunkers out in the fairway.
• Green: The green is where you’ll find the hole – and where all your putting is done. It’s marked by a flagstick and has the shortest cut grass. It’s much smoother than anywhere else on the course due to frequent cutting and rolling by maintenance crews.
• Cup or Hole: The circular cutout at least 4 inches deep (sometimes up to 6) where you must sink your ball in order to finish off a given hole or round of golf with par (or better).
• Flagstick/Pin/Pole : An upright metal rod placed directly overtop of each cup that has a flag attached towards its top end; this makes it easier for players who may not have an ideal vantage point while approaching their approach shots onto greens so they can more easily line themselves up correctly before executing their swing(s). Some golfers like to putt with the flagstick in, while some take it out.
• Par: The measure of strokes, or number of shots, a golfer should take to finish off the hole. Each hole on a golf course has a specified par – there are par 3’s, par 4’s, and par 5’s. These vary in terms of distance. Par 3’s, for example, require three shots from tee-to-cup. If you make a par, it means you are even – and shot exactly what you needed to on that hole. No better, no worse.
• Bogie: A bogie occurs when you shoot 1 stroke over the specified par. Back to our par 3 example, recording a 4 would mean you got a bogie. There are double bogies, triple bogies, quad bogies, and after that…you just write down the number you got and try to forget about it. It’s likely you’ll rake in the bogies (or worse) at first – but over time, you’ll start to catch the occasional birdie…
• Birdie: A term used when one player scores 1 shot under par on any given hole – for example, if a hole is a par 5 and they make it in 4 shots, it means you got a birdie. We still remember our first birdie – it’s a special moment. But not nearly as special as your first eagle…
• Eagle: A term used when one player scores 2 shots under par on any given hole – for example, if a hole is a par 5 and they make it in 3 shots, it means you got an eagle. This is incredibly rare and should be celebrated with abandon! My first eagle actually didn’t even involve my putter – it was a par 4, and I holed out my second shot from 130 yards. What a feeling!
• Albatross: I’m still chasing this one – as are most golfers. This really only occurs when you make a 2 on a par 5, as it is 3 strokes under par. One of my best friends made one of these on a short 5, holing out his second shot from over 200 yards away. Insane. And to paint a picture of how rare it is, less than 10% of all golfers will ever hit a par 5 in two shots – and the chance of that second shot trickling into the hole is even slimmer.
• Ace or Hole-in-One: The most elusive accomplishment in golf is the ace, also known as a hole-in-one. This is where your tee shot on a par 3 (or a par 4 for particularly long hitters) goes directly into the hole from the tee box. I also do not have one of these yet – at least not during a real round…I’ve got a fraudulent ace I made when playing illegally on a par 3 at the course my buddy lives on. I can’t count it in good faith, but you can bet I’ve still got that ball in my bag for good luck!
• Mulligan: A term used to describe a “do-over” shot on any given hole – usually by the same player who just hit the original shot and missed. Not every group allows for mulligans, so make sure you know what’s allowed before you take your first shot! Starting out, take all the mulligans you want – as long as you’re not playing for money or any sort of prize. The goal is to get better and have fun, after all.
• Approach shot: This is your shot toward the green – usually your second shot on a par 4 or third shot on a par 5. The goal here is to get the ball on the green so you can get right to putting, rather than missing and having to chip onto the green.
• Chip shot: A short shot made from around the green, used to get the ball onto the green after you’ve missed your approach shot. You’ll usually use a wedge of some sort to get the ball up and rolling without having to worry about it rolling too far away from the hole.
• Fore: A warning call used when someone may be in harm’s way of a golf shot. The ball can travel quite far, and it’s important to let people know if you think your ball is going to be close to anyone. This is something you’ll probably be calling out a lot as a beginner. And if you ever hear a fore while you’re on the course, cover your head or hide behind a tree!
• Handicap: A handicap is a numerical measure of your golfing ability, and it allows golfers of different skill levels to compete on a fair basis. The lower the handicap, the better golfer you are – scratch golfers (golfers who shoot exactly par on every hole) typically have the lowest handicaps.
• Chunk: Also known as hitting a shot “fat”, this is where you get under the ball too much and don’t get the full distance on your shot. You end up getting too much earth and will be short.
• Thin: Also known as blading a shot, this is where you don’t hit enough of the ground – you hit the ball too high up with the lower grooves on your club and get no loft. Oftentimes, this happens with wedges and your ball goes soaring over the green – super frustrating.
• Topping: When you hit a ball so thin that you barely catch any of it – and the ball pops up and immediately drops back down, usually going only a couple of yards. This is something all new golfers struggle with, and is usually the result of lifting your shoulder or premature extension.
• Shank: Hitting the ball off to the side of the club, usually results in a poor shot. It goes sailing left or right, oftentimes resulting in your ball going OB and being forced to take a drop.
• Slice: We struggled with a slice when first starting – this is where your shot goes hard left to right as a right-handed golfer. At first, the shot looks good, until it turns in direction and starts cutting the wrong direction out of play.
• Draw: A shot shape that many try to achieve – this is where your ball gently moves from right to left in the air as a right-handed player.
• Cut: The shot shape most players end up compromising for – this is a gentle version of the slice where your ball just cuts a little bit from left to right.
• Drop: When your ball goes OB (out of bounds) and you either cannot find it or can’t play it from where it’s located, you’ll go back to where your ball went OB and drop a new ball. You’ll take a stroke penalty for this. For example, if your 1st shot went OB, you’d take a drop (add one stroke for the penalty) and now be hitting your 3rd shot.
• Lie: this is a way to describe how your ball sits at its resting spot, either in the fairway or the rough. Lies can be good or bad, and influence how easy your next shot would be. A fairway lie is best, while a bad lie in the rough can make it impossible to hit the green in regulation.
• Play through: this is a courteous thing to do when you’re playing slow and someone behind you has to wait on you. Oftentimes, foursomes will let individuals or twosomes play through so that the overall pace of play can be kept up.
• Pace of play: The overall speed at which golfers complete the course. It’s important to play ready golf and try not to take too much time looking for balls or talking. The average pace of play is right around 4 hours a round.

More Advanced Golf Terminology Slang

The golf course terminology above is enough to get you through a round without feeling lost or out of place. As you become more familiar with golf terminology, you’ll start to hear a lot of other slang words thrown around throughout your rounds. Here are a few you should get comfortable with if you want to fit in among the experienced golfers out there:

• Green in Regulation (GIR): A term describing whether or not the player was able to hit the green in the specified number of strokes for that particular hole (par). If you are playing a par 4 and manage to get your ball on the green in two shots, then you have reached the green in regulation.
• Gimmie: When your putt is so close you don’t even have to actually putt it in – just pick it up and count the stroke. This is a gracious allowance given by another player in the group when they are playing casual golf and not keeping a scorecard or keeping track of handicaps. Essentially, if you can easily make a putt without having to worry about missing it – then your partner may give you what’s called a “gimmie”. It’s polite and shows good sportsmanship at its finest! Typically, this range for beginner golfers is somewhere within 1-2 feet at most. But as you get really good, your gimme range may grow a bit.
• Sandbagger: A person who exaggerates their skills so that they appear better than they actually are; this usually results in them being placed in lower levels during tournament play, which gives them a greater chance of winning.
• Loft: The angle of the clubface in relation to the ground. Generally speaking, drivers have lower lofts than irons. This typically means that a driver will have less backspin and roll more once it lands on the ground compared to an iron shot. To get a shot higher in the air, you’ll use a club with more loft.
• Lip out: A term used when the ball rolls around the cup but does not fall in – usually due to a poor putt.
• Push or Pull: A type of missed shot – a push for a righty is when you hit a shot straight left, while a pull is hitting a shot straight right. For lefties, the direction is the opposite.
• Short-sided: This is a situation that occurs when you leave yourself in a tough spot near the green. You miss the green on the same side as the flag, leaving you with much less room to chip on and get near the flag.
• Pin-high: this is where you miss your shot at the green, but are at least in line with the flag – you got the distance right but not the aim.
• Waggle: When you’re getting ready to hit a shot and get a feel for the club by doing a mini backswing before actually relaxing and initiating your backswing.
• Mashed potato: A term used when a player hits the ball with a lot of force and it goes far beyond where they were aiming for. This can happen due to over-swinging or just bad luck.
• Snowman: A funny way to express an 8 on the scorecard, until you realize that it means your score is skyrocketing. Just draw a face and a hat to make yourself feel better.
• Divot: When you hit a nice shot and compress the golf ball, getting just enough earth underneath the club, you’ll shoot up some grass along with your ball – this grass that goes flying is known as a divot. It’s proper etiquette to replace divots or fill them with sand to keep the course in good shape.
• Lawn trout: this is one we’re trying to really get to stick – and it’s where you hit a nice shot with a wedge and your grass wedge just flies through the air. In a perfect situation, it almost resembles a fish jumping in the water. Just be sure to go pick it up and put it back, taking care of the course!
• Break: this is the amount to which your ball will travel left to right on the putting surface. The goal is to calculate how much a putt breaks and adjust your aim accordingly – so you can still make the putt even if it’s not dead straight.
• Carry: an indication of how far the ball travels in the air. It doesn’t account for how far the ball rolls out. And in some cases, you’ll have to “carry” a certain distance to avoid water, a bunker, etc.
• Dormie: when playing match play, dormie is an occurrence where one of the parties has their back against the wall and must win to progress the match. For example if you and I are playing match play and I have a 2-hole lead going into hole 17, you’d have to win the next two holes to have a chance at a playoff hole – you’d be dormie.
• Match Play: a type of golf where players compete against one another hole by hole instead of competing for the lowest total score. Think of it as a more interactive and competitive version of golf.
• Stroke Play: the most common type of golf, where players compete to get the lowest score over a given amount of holes. It’s an individual competition and the individual scores matter a lot more than match play.
• Scramble: a fun format for team play – all players hit the ball and then you choose the most optimal ball to play for your next shot.
• Best Ball/Better Ball: a type of team golf where you play one ball per hole and the best score is taken from each respective team.
• Playoff: A playoff is a sudden-death set of holes used to determine the winner at the end of tournament play. It’s usually just one hole and whoever makes it in fewer strokes wins.
• Honors: Whoever gets to hit first on the tee box has honors. Usually, honors are awarded to whoever had the lowest score on the previous hole.
• The Turn: After the first 9 holes of an 18 round, you “make the turn” and start heading back home on most courses. The turn is the middle point between the front 9 and back 9.
• Up and Down: This is where you get onto the green and in the hole in 2 shots. You get “up” with a chip or pitch shot, and “down” with a single putt.
• Unplayable: When you see your ball but can’t get it. Maybe it’s in a bush, maybe it’s in a gutter. Depending on the circumstances, you may get free relief or you’ll have to take a penalty and drop your ball.
• Free rl

Wrapping Up Our Beginner’s Guide to Golf Terminology Slang

We’re going to call it quits there – you’ll no doubt encounter other golf terminology slang out there depending on who you play with, as different groups come up with their own slang as well. But, this is all the basic golf course terminology you need as a beginner to feel confident out on the course.

As you can tell, golf is filled with terms and slang that might be confusing at first. But if you stick with it and put in the time to learn all of these words, soon enough they’ll become second nature. Just like anything else in life, practice makes perfect – or at least close to it!

If you really want to hit the ground running, our beginner’s guide on how to start golfing is a great resource. You can also learn the best age to start golf if you’re wondering if it’s too late (spoiler alert – it’s not!).

Or, discover the best starter golf clubs in our blog. You can also figure out the average cost of golf lessons to determine if golf lessons are worth it or not.

We’re here to provide informational resources to help you love the great game as golf as much as we do – have fun out there!