George Bernard Shaw is not the only one who has described the outdoor sport of golf as “an activity that spoils a good walk!” But for golf aficionados, a round of their favourite sport entails a good four hours in the fresh air and walking between eight and ten kilometres – a relaxing exercise in fitness under an open sky. For all newcomers to the sport of golf – before thy first tee off – our little golfing dictionary will explain the most important terms and expressions used in the golfer’s vocabulary from A to Z.
Ace: the dream of every golfer: to tee off and hit the ball directly onto the green and into the hole, known as a hole in one.
Birdie: a player plays a hole with a score of one stroke less than par, e.g. a par 5 hole that requires only four strokes.
Bogey: a player plays a hole with a score of one stroke more than par at any hole, e.g. a par 5 hole that requires six strokes.
Bunker: an obstacle placed along the fairway, filled with sand and usually near the green.
Caddie: a golf player’s assistant who carries the golf clubs or pulls along the golf trolley and also advises the player.
Chip: a short, rather flat shot with the ball describing an arc towards the flag from very near the green.
Course Licence: also called permission to play the course. A beginner is obliged to first gather practical and theoretical knowledge of the game before starting to play the course.
Course-Rating-Value (CR): a fixed yardstick measuring the degree of difficulty of a golf course through the eyes of a player assumed to have a handicap of 0, against the backcloth of normal weather and course conditions.
DGV: Deutscher Golf Verband e.V. (The Official German Golfing Association).
Driving Range: a practice area on the golf course where beginners and advanced players can learn golf or improve their game.
Eagle: a player plays a hole with a score of two strokes under par.
E-Cart: motorised tri-cycle type “vehicle” that golfers can use to transport their golfing equipment.
Fairway: the stretch of a golf course between a tee and its green, kept free of rough grass.
Flight: colloquial expression to describe a group of players comprising a party of two to four persons.
Green: an area of lawn, mown short, around the hole and suitable only for putting.
Greenfee: the charge golf players visiting a golf course are required to pay.
Handicap: the yardstick used to indicate the skill of a golfer. It is calculated on the basis of the number of strokes required for an 18-hole course minus the course’s standard amount of shots. The lower the handicap, the better the skill of the golfer. In Germany handicaps start at 36.
Par: the course average – every golf course, depending on the lengths of its fairways, is given a figure indicating the number of strokes that should be required to complete each hole in the round. The sum total of all pars gives the overall par of the golf course.
Pitch: high-flying shot played with a nearly full swing onto the green.
Pro: abbreviation for "Professional", describing a professional player who is also qualified to teach the art of playing golf. The feminine form is known as “proette”.
Putt: the shot carried out on the green towards the hole.
Putting Green: a practice area with several holes designed for players to perfect their putting strokes.
Rough: areas of usually long grass, bushes and trees outside or adjacent to the fairways.
Score: the total number of strokes on completion of a round of golf. Results are recorded on a score-card.
Slope Values (SL): a single number indicating the difficulty of a golf course for various types of players (Matches and reconciles handicaps with course difficulty).
Tee: a small support of plastic from which a ball is struck at a teeing off area and, if agreed upon, which can also be used on the fairway.
Tee Off: every round of golf begins with teeing off, i.e. when every player carries out his first stroke in the direction of a hole. Normally the place for teeing off is clearly marked and restricted to a certain area where the player has to place his golf ball on the tee, the support of the same name, to prepare for his first shot.
Token: a kind of voucher, exchanged for a cash payment, which is required at the golf ball machine on the driving range.
Trolley: colloquial expression for the caddie cart used for transporting golf bags.
VcG: Vereinigung clubfreier Golfspieler im Deutschen Golf Verband e.V. (Association Of Non-Club Member Golf Players In The Official German Golfing Association).
