A lip requires the golfer to get a ball airborne out of the sand in order to clear the bunker's edge. Hole lip: The rim of the hole on the putting green, its edge, is called the "lip." Par-6 Hole: A hole on a golf course that is expected to require six strokes for an expert golfer to play.
The rough is the longer-cut area of grass surrounding the fairway and green. To be successful, avoid the rough, which is normally allowed to grow longer the farther it is located from the greens and fairways. Hitting from the rough means players must use more club than they normally would to reach the green.
Our glossary of golf course terms is one part of our larger Glossary of Golf Terms. If you need the definition of golf course term, we explain terms relating to architecture, maintenance, turfgrasses, course setup and other areas. The grid that appears first includes terms for which we have more in-depth definitions.
Through Line: An extension of your putting line a couple feet beyond the hole. In other words, if your putted ball rolled over the hole, or just barely missed the hole, and kept rolling a couple feet, the through line is that ball's path.
To play with the right club, you have to have a better understanding of the hole you are playing, especially its parts. Each hole in a course has 5 major parts namely Tee, Fairway, Green, Rough and Hazards. Understanding these parts allow you to plan your shots right.
During a discussion among the club's membership board at St. Andrews in 1858, one of the members pointed out that it takes exactly 18 shots to polish off a fifth of Scotch. By limiting himself to only one shot of Scotch per hole, the Scot figured a round of golf was finished when the Scotch ran out.
Let's take a quick look at the four design styles for golf holes.The Redan. Perhaps one of the most widely used golf hole design styles, the Redan style comes from the 15th hole of Scotland's North Berwick Golf Links. ... Penal. Penal style golf holes are straight-forward in their design. ... Heroic. ... Strategic.
Handicap Holes Each hole is assigned a level of difficulty from one to 18, so the most difficult hole is the No. 1 handicap hole, the second most difficult is No. 2 and so on up to 18.
Used to score one under par. It began to be used in 1899 in New Jersey. It turns out that on one game day, three golfers were playing when one of them, on his second stroke, hit a bird in flight with the ball and it landed very, very close to the hole. The teammates said it was a stroke of luck for a 'birdie'.
The word 'golf' is not an acronym for anything. Rather, it derives linguistically from the Dutch word 'kolf' or 'kolve,' meaning quite simply 'club. ' In the Scottish dialect of the late 14th or early 15th century, the Dutch term became 'goff' or 'gouff,' and only later in the 16th century 'golf.
A links golf course is the oldest style of course. The word “links” is derived from ancient Scotland and refers to an area along a coast that often includes sand dunes and few, if any, trees. One reason the game originated on this type of land was because it suited play.
In other words, "casual water" is water on the golf course that isn't meant to be there by design. Casual water can be anywhere on a golf course outside the water hazard, which is now called the "penalty area." If there's water somewhere in the "general area," then it's casual water or temporary water.
Golf course fescue is usually grown in the second cut of rough or beyond (such as in unmowed native areas). When golfers think of fescue, they picture a sturdy grass that turns golden and can grow three feet high.
Handicap systems are not generally used in professional golf. A golfer whose handicap is zero is referred to as a scratch golfer, and one whose handicap is approximately 18 as a bogey golfer.
The 12th hole is the easiest of the course. It's a par four and is 373 yards. Most get to the green in two, setting up a simple putt for a birdie.
The stroke index is a method of ranking the holes on each nine of a golf course from hardest to easiest. The front nine holes are assigned odd numbers from 1 to 17, while the back nine holes are assigned even numbers from 2 to 18, with a lower number signifying a more difficult hole.
Rough. The rough is the longer-cut area of grass surrounding the fairway and green. To be successful, avoid the rough, which is normally allowed to grow longer the farther it is located from the greens and fairways. Hitting from the rough means players must use more club than they normally would to reach the green.
Being aware of and understanding the basic parts of a golf course, such as greens, fairways and bunkers, can better prepare golfers for success on the links.
Hitting approach shots out of the fairway allows players to spin the ball more than they would hitting from the rough. The way a golfer chooses to hit a shot from the fairway can change depending on the kind of grass on the course.
When reading greens before a putt, pay attention to the highest point on the surface--putts will usually roll away from that point.
To hit from the rough more easily, play the ball slightly back in the stance and grip down on the club a little. That will help the clubface make direct contact with the ball.
Green. Greens, the most closely mowed areas of grass on the course, are where the hole is located and players putt. Greens can vary depending on the conditions of the course. For example, in hot, dry conditions, a green will play faster than usual and approach shots will be less likely to hold on the green. In wet conditions, the greens will be ...
There are many different course styles including, traditional, links, desert, seaside, forested and each has something different to offer. Each golf course provides a different set of challenges depending on the design and layout of the course.
What Are the Names of the Parts of a Golf Club? Golf clubs are composed of a club head, shaft and grip. The sport of golf has been around since the 1400s. What started out as the simple use of a single piece of wood has evolved to involve technologies like graphite, steel and titanium. The modern club has changed significantly over time, ...
The Club Head. The club head is the weighted part of the club that creates impact with the ball. There are three basic types of club heads: the wood, iron and putter. Each of these results in a different type of ball trajectory and distance.
Grips are to a golf club what tires are too a car. The grip sits on the opposite end of the club and is what you use to hold it. The grip is the only part of a golf club you actually touch. Grips are primarily made of rubber. They provide stickiness so that, when a golfer swings the club, he doesn't have to worry about his grip slipping and ...
They provide stickiness so that, when a golfer swings the club, he doesn't have to worry about his grip slipping and the hand position changing at impact. He also doesn't have to worry about the club flying through the air in the follow through.
The sport of golf has been around since the 1400s. What started out as the simple use of a single piece of wood has evolved to involve technologies like graphite, steel and titanium. The modern club has changed significantly over time, but there are certain facets of the club, namely the head, shaft and grip, that remain fairly consistent year ...
Low-handicap golfers tend to use a combination of both, with steel more popular on drivers and long irons, clubs that require copious amounts of club head speed and power. Titanium golf shafts are fairly new on the market and are not in common use yet, as shaft flex variation has been slow to develop.
Links course. First up is the most famous type of golf course, the links course . The term derives from the Old English word hlinc meaning rising ground or ridge and refers to sandy area along coast.
When most people think of links-style golf, they are picturing golf that can be played along the ground with lots of undulation, plenty of dunes and little to no trees. These courses also usually feature pot bunkers as opposed to the larger sprawling American-style bunkers.
Many resorts are beginning to put in short courses including Sand Valley (the Sandbox), Pinehurst (The Cradle) and Bandon Dunes (The Preserve).
They’re called parkland courses because they look and feel like you are playing golf in a park. It’s usually the case that parkland courses are well-manicured, and are full of man-made features like dug bunkers, ponds and built-up rough. Parkland courses are often built in places that don’t have ideal conditions for golf.
Some of these courses include The Old Course at St. Andrews, Royal Troon, Lahinch, and several of the courses at Bandon Dunes golf resort. The 18th hole at the Old Course at St. Andrews. But this doesn’t tell the whole story.
The terrain is often undulating in a similar way to links and the sandy soil is similar as well. Many of the best courses in Britain are heathland courses, including Woking Golf Club, Sunningdale Golf Club, and Alwoodley Golf Club. Woking Golf Club in the UK. Woking Golf Club.
Short courses are great because they take up less land (which makes them cheaper and environmentally friendly), are quicker to play and can be playable even for a first-timer.
In simple terms, torque does two things, it helps control the club face through impact and it provides the feel of the shaft. If you are using a torque that is too high, say someone with a fast swing using a shaft with a torque of 6, you will hit low hooks. The club will feel like a whip, not in a good way.
If you think of a high speed swing, the club is under more pressure during the action and will be more prone to twisting, a low torque shaft will help the stability of the club. In order to help maximise swing speed, a higher torque will help lower swing speed golfers. You will find it easier to deliver a square clubface with a higher torque shaft ...
The flex of a shaft is a measure of how much it bends under pressure i.e. your swing. The torque is how much it resists twisting under pressure. A player with a high swing speed will require a stiffer shaft with lower torque as the shaft will be under more pressure during the swing.
A shaft with a higher torque will feel more “whippy” or smooth even if it is extra-stiff. Likewise, a regular shaft with a low torque can feel very stiff in your hands. So this is very much about the feeling of your club during your swing.
The amount of torque in a shaft is important and it is something that a custom fitting technician will have in mind as he/she fits you. One issue with these measurements is that there is no industry standard so it is hard to accurately truly compare torque across manufacturers.
Golf has a problem with “conventional wisdom” and by that I mean that a lot of “facts” people talk about just simply don’t stand up in real life. One study, by MyGolfSpy looked at some of these “facts” about torque and put them to the test.
Some say that golfers who hook the ball need low torque and players who slice it need high torque shafts. According to this study this may not be the case. It is also thought that golfers with a higher swing speed need higher torque, this is not true.
Dress codes vary in strictness depending on the policies of the golf course that you are playing. A good indicator of whether there is a dress code is the price of the course you plan to play. The higher the green fees, the more likely there is to be a dress code for golfers. In general, a collared shirt and Dockers-style shorts or slacks will get ...
Most golf courses have outlawed metal spikes. Make sure you're wearing golf shoes with soft spikes or other non-metal golf cleats; or wear a soft-soled shoe of some other type (tennis shoes, for example—never anything with a hard heel).
To recap: Yes, many golf courses—especially non-municipal courses— do have golf dress codes. If you wear a shirt with a collar and Dockers-style pants or shorts, you'll meet the dress code of 95-percent of courses. But always call ahead before playing a new course and ask for the specifics.
Golf courses will turn away golfers who show up without meeting the dress code if there is one in place (or you can choose to buy expensive pro shop golf apparel in order to bring yourself up to the course's standards).
In general, a collared shirt and Dockers-style shorts or slacks will get you onto most golf courses (additionally, golf skirts or skorts for women). Many lower-priced courses also permit denim shorts or blue jeans. But most upscale courses require collared shirts and have a no-denim rule.
The best type of grass to use on a golf course is a variety that is tough and fast repairing.
Below we introduce you to five of the most commonly used types of grass on golf courses around the world and explain their benefits and what conditions they’re best suited to.
Adding sand to golf course grass is a process known as ‘topdressing’ and is vital to the healthy growth of the grass across the course.
The type of grass used at a particular golf course largely depends on its location.
The different tee boxes correspond to different yardages, which also means different playing abilities. The tees at the back of the tee box are the longest set, the ones at the front the shortest set (you can find the yardages by checking the corresponding lines on the scorecard— blue tees are designated on the scorecard by the "Blue" line, ...
Most golf courses have at least three sets of tees—the forward tees, middle tees and back (or championship) tees. Other courses might have as many as five, six or seven sets of tees.
Mid-handicappers might choose the set of tees whose yardage is around 500-1,000 yards less than the pro tour that represents their gender or age. High-handicappers should consider the set of tees whose yardage is 1,000 to 1,500 yards less than the pros play.
The championship tees ( back tees) are for low-handicap men. The middle tees are for middle to high handicap men, low-handicap or long-hitting women, and low-handicap or long-hitting senior men. The forward tees are for middle or high handicap women and seniors, and beginners of all stripes.
There's no shame in playing from a forward set of tees if that is appropriate for your game. And golfers who play from tees that are too long for their games are only slowing down the pace of play.
When you have more torque in your club shaft it is said that your shots can be less accurate but go further and have a nice soft feel.
Shaft torque becomes increasingly important the faster you swing. Torque is the measure of how much the shaft twists during the golf swing. It may be hard to imagine this even happening, but shafts are made with that particular fact in mind. They are even made to resist it more or less, depending on your swing and what kind ...
Certainly Tiger Woods knows exactly how much torque he needs for every club in his bag , but for a beginner it won't matter much. Torque should be one of the last things you look at when trying to improve your game. Golfweeks' Adam Woodard breaks down the results from the match.
The "lie angle" of any golf club is the angle formed between the center of the shaft and the sole, or ground line, of the club when the club is soled in its proper ...
When the lie angle of your clubs is wrong for your swing or body type, you can put a great swing on the ball and still have problems with accuracy. Poorly fitting lie angles create pushes and pulls and other mishits.
If your divots are deeper on the toe side than the heel side (toe down, heel up at impact) or deeper on the heel side than the toe side (toe up, heel down at impact), that's a sign your lie angles might be too flat or too upright.
Lie angle is a factor that affects the accuracy of golf shots. Golfers who use clubs whose lie angles don't fit their body types and/or golf swings are costing themselves strokes. Matching the lie angle of clubs to the specific golfer is one of the goals of a clubfitting session.
A toe-up position at impact indicates that your lie angle might be too upright; a toe-down position (meaning the club's heel is higher than the toe) at impact indicates that your lie angle might be too flat.
Lie angles almost always range from the mid-50 degrees (in drivers) to the mid-60 degrees (in short irons). In irons, the range is typically from 59 or 60 degrees to around 64 degrees. (Lie angles on putters reach into the 70s.)