The famous golf sport is complex with a system of many different terms that require players to remember. To help golfers understand all basic golf terms, Vietnam Daily Golf Tour will summarize golf terms should not be missed in this article.

Ace
This is commonly known as "Hole in one", the golf ball will go right into the hole when hit from the tee.

Address
"A player has 'addressed the ball' when he has grounded his club immediately in front of or immediately behind the ball, whether or not he has taken his stance." In the case, golfer is in trap, he/she just must directly take a stroke on the ball without preparation.

 Advice
This is essential advices for golfers but it must come from other golfers or your caddy. Any advice from someone else will cause you to be penalized. In the case, you will be penalized for losses in match play or penalty for 2 strokes in stroke play.

Back Door
When the golf ball rolls into the hole from the back.

Backspin
Backspin (also known in racket sports as slice or underspin), is a shot such that the ball rotates backwards (as though rolling back towards the player) after it is hit. This direction of spin imparts an upward force that lifts the ball.

Ball Mark
An indentation on a putting green caused when a usually long, high approach shot lands on the green.

Banana Ball
The golf ball flies from the left to the right to form an arc like a banana, also known as Slice (in the case of right-handed people).

Best Ball
Best Ball is a golf tournament format in which the multiple golfers who make up a team compare their scores on each hole, and the one lowest score among them - the "best ball" among them - counts as the team score. For example, if player A has a 5, player B has a 6, player C has a 4, and player D has a 5, the "best ball" and team score is a 4.



Best Shot
Counted for a team contest of 2 or more, which player has his batting ball, then will select the ball that has the best position to mark, and then the rest of the players will hit the next hit from this position. This process is repeated until the ball enters the hole, the best shot applied in all competitions but usually in stroke play.

Blast
A bunker shot that sends the ball, and accompanying sand, (hopefully) onto the green. Also known as an explosion.

Blind Hole
A shot that does not allow the golfer to see where the ball will land, such as onto an elevated green from below.

Bogey
A hole played one stroke over.

Chip Shot
A short shot (typically played from very close to and around the green), that is intended to travel through the air over a very short distance and roll the remainder of the way to the hole.

Divot
The chunk of grass and earth displaced during a stroke. The indentation on the green caused by the ball on an approach shot; more properly called a pitch mark or ball mark.

Dogleg
A hole where the fairway is straight for some distance and then bends to the left or right. These holes are so-named because they resemble the shape of a dog's leg.

Double Eagle
A hole played three strokes under par. Also called an Albatross.

Draw
A shot that, for a right-handed golfer, curves to the left; often played intentionally by skilled golfers. An overdone draw usually becomes a hook.

Dunk
Hiting ball falls into water.



Etiquette
Outside of the Official Golf Rules, Etiquette are the rules of conduct on the golf course and are considered the least polite to the other players on the course. These rules are intended to help you feel comfortable when playing. It is about taking care of the other players, keeping the speed, allowing the team to beat faster, preserving the golf course, keeping silent when others hit, standing out of sight of a player who is about to hit the ball.

Foursomes
In match play, a contest between two sides each consisting of a pair of players, where the 2 partners hit alternate shots on one ball. The first player tees off, the second player hits the second shot, the first player hits the third shot, and so on until the ball is holed. Also partners alternate their tee shots, so that one member of each team will always tee-off on the odd holes and the other will tee off on the even holes. In stroke-play, a foursome competition is played between several teams each consisting of a pair of players, where partners play alternate shots until the SINGLE ball is holed. The term foursome is a common reference to any group of 4 players on the course.

Follow-Through
The final part of a golf swing, after the ball has been hit.

Funnies
Various informal achievements, both positive and negative; these differ from traditional achievements like birdies or eagles in that the achievements are for unusual things that may happen in the course of a game. Their main use is to add interest to informal match play games as they enable players to win something regardless of the overall outcome of the match. They are frequently associated with gambling because money, usually small stakes, changes hands depending on which funnies occur.

Fried Egg
The position where the ball is half submerged in sand. It usually happens in a sand trap.



Gallery
The audience of a golf match.

Golf club
(i) An implement used by a player to hit a golf ball. A player is allowed to carry up to fourteen clubs during a round of golf. (ii) An organized group of golfers, usually owning or managing a golf course. (iii) The entirety of a golf facility, including course, club-house, pro-shop, practice areas etc.

Gorilla
The player has a long shot from the teebox and also known as a "goalie monster".

Grain (of Grass)
The direction in which the grass grows, specifically on the green (see below). Depending on the variety of grass used on the green and mowing patterns, grain can significantly influence the speed and movement of a putt.

Handicap
A number assigned to each player based on his ability and used to adjust each player's score to provide equality among the players. In simplified terms, a handicap number, based on the slope of a course, is subtracted from the player's gross score and gives him a net score of par or better half the time.

Holing Out
The final step of pushing the ball into the hole.

Honor
The person or team that won the previous hole has the honor of having the first golf kick.

Hook
A shot that initially takes a trajectory opposite the side of the golf ball from which the player swings but eventually curves sharply back towards the player. Under normal circumstances, a hook is unintentional; however, good players can use a hook to their advantage in certain situations.
Hooks are often called the "better player's miss", thanks to the fact that many of the game's greatest players (Ben Hogan, for instance) have been plagued by the hook at one time or another in their careers. A shot that follows the same trajectory but to a lesser degree is referred to as a 'draw'. A draw is often intentionally used by above-average players to achieve a certain type of spin. The curved shape ball-flight is the result of sideways spin.
A draw/ hook travels further than a fade/ slice due to the fact that the closed face reduces loft and decreases backspin.
A draw often is considered the "ideal" flight of the ball and implies that the spin is intentional, whereas a hook is an overly spun "draw" which is often a miss or out of control (unintentional).

Line
The path the ball is expected to take following a stroke. This is of particular importance on the green, where stepping on another player's line is considered a breach of etiquette.

Links
A type of golf course, usually located on coastal sand dunes.



LPGA
A U.S.-based organization that operates the world's most significant women's golf tour. From its inception, it has included female club and touring professionals in its membership—unlike men's golf in the U.S., in which club and touring professionals have been represented by different bodies since 1968.

Medal Play
Generally a synonym for stroke play but sometimes used in a more specific sense, referring to the stroke play qualifying rounds preceding a match play stage.

Mulligan
A do-over, or replay of the shot, without counting the shot as a stroke and without assessing any penalties that might apply. It is not allowed by the rules and not practiced in tournaments, but is common in casual rounds in some countries, especially the United States.
 
Pin 
Slang for flag-stick.



Playing Through
Permission granted by a slow-moving group of players to a faster-moving group of players to pass them on the course.
 
Rough
The grass that borders the fairway, usually taller and coarser than the fairway.

Rowan Match play
A form of singles match play which can be played by 3 or more players. Players begin all playing against one another until one player wins a hole outright posting the best score than all other playing partners on a hole. That player is then 1 up versus all of their combined playing partners who now form a team against the player leading and try to get the match back to all-square. In a 3 player game, after someone goes 1-up, the match then takes the form of the leading player versus the scores of the other two players.

Rub of the Green
Occurs when the ball is deflected or stopped by a third party/object, e.g. if a ball is going out of bounds and is deflected in bounds by hitting a spectator or a tree.

Sand Trap
A depression in bare ground that is usually covered with sand. Also called a sand trap. It is considered a hazard under the Rules of Golf.

Scratch Player
A player's whose handicap equals zero.

Slice
A shot that initially takes a trajectory on the same side of the golf ball from which the player swings but eventually curves sharply back opposite of the player. Under normal circumstances, a slice is unintentional; however, good players can use a slice to their advantage in certain situations. Slices are often the most common miss for below-average players. A shot that follows the same trajectory but to a lesser degree is referred to as a 'cut' or 'fade'. A cut or fade is often intentionally used by above-average players to achieve a certain type of spin. The curved shape of the ball-flight is the result of sideways spin. For that reason a "slice" does not refer to a putt.

Swing
The movement a golf player makes with his/her body and club to hit the ball. A golf swing is made up of a series of complex mechanical body movements. A perfect golf swing is regarded as the "holy grail" of the sport, and there are many approaches as to how to achieve "perfection". Although there is only one "textbook" golf swing, a perfect golf swing is unique to every individual, and, in fact, it is impossible for a human to perfectly duplicate the textbook golf swing.

Thin Shot
Usually, an unintentional, poor shot where the club-head strikes too high on the ball. When taken to an extreme but still at or below the center-line of the ball, it is known "blading" the ball. Sometimes, when the ball is lying a certain way around the green, advanced players will intentionally hit a thin shot to achieve certain results.

Through the Green
The entire area of the golf course, except for the teeing ground of the hole being played, the green of the hole being played and all hazards on the course.

Water Hole
When a lake or stream is placed in a position where the players who want to play. The golfer have to hit the ball across the water.



The list above is the golf term you should know. Vietnam Daily Golf Tour wishes you all the best !!!