• Ace: a hole in one

• Action: to put backspin onto the golf ball.

• Address: taking a stance and placing the clubhead behind the ball. If the ball moves after a player has addressed the ball, there is a one-stroke penalty.

• Aim: the direction in which your target lies and the direction you intend for your ball to go.

• Aim line: an imaginary straight line, level with the hole, on which the player intends to strike his putt. An aim line is chosen, after reading the green, to allow for breaks or curves which are expected before the ball falls into the hole.

• Albatross: a hole played three strokes under par.

• Alignment: the position of a player's body in relation to the target line of the ball.

• All Square: in match play, a match is all square (tied) when both players or teams have won the same number of holes. It is abbreviated "AS" on the scorecard.

• Ambrose: a system of team play in which each player takes a tee shot, after which the best ball position is chosen. All the team's players then take a shot from this new position, and so forth. This is also known as a Texas Scramble.

• Angle of Approach: the angle at which the club head strikes the ball. This affects the trajectory that the ball will travel and spin.

• Approach Shot: a golf shot that is made from a distance on the rough or fairway, toward the green.

• Apron: the grass surface around the green that separates it from the fairway.

• Attend the Flagstick: when a player holds and removes the flagstick for another player.

• Back nine: holes 10 through 18 on a golf course.

• Backspin: the spin given to a ball when struck with a sloping clubface, a wedge for instance. Also called bite or action.

• Ball-marker: any small object, such as a coin, used to indicate where a player's ball is on the green.

• Ballmark Tool: tool used to repair an indentation on the green caused by the ball on an approach shot.

• Bare Lie: when the ball lies directly on hard ground without any grass to buoy the ball up.

• Barkie: achieving a score of par or better on a hole after the ball hits a tree on the same hole.

• Baseball grip: grip style with all 10 fingers on the club. Also known as the "Ten-Finger Grip".

• Best ball: where a single player or team plays a match against a team consisting of either two or three players.

• BIGGA: the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association is the professional association dealing with all matters of golf management from a greenkeeper's viewpoint.

• Birdie: a score on a golf hole that is one less than par.

• Bite: heavy backspin applied to a ball that causes it to stop quickly instead of rolling forward when it lands.

• Blade: a term used to describe one type of iron made by forging the metal rather than from a cast mold. Also, describes a shot struck "thinly" with an iron in the middle of the golf ball.

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

• Block: a shot played severely to the right; as opposed to slices, which curve from left to right, a blocked shot goes directly right. Similar to the "push".

• Bogey: a hole played one stroke over par.

• Bounce: technically, the measure of the angle from the front edge of a club's sole to the point that rests on the ground when addressing the ball. Clubs (usually wedges) with a higher bounce angle will resist digging into the turf.

• Break: the amount of lateral slope one must account for on a putt. In the United Kingdom, it is known as "borrow".

• Bump and run: a low-trajectory shot that is intended to get the ball rolling along the fairway and up onto the green. Similar to a chip shot, but played from a greater distance.

• Bunker: a sand trap

• Caddie: a person paid to carry a player's clubs and offer advice. Players are responsible for the actions of their caddies.

• Carry: how far the ball travels through the air.

• Cart: 1) the four-wheeled electrical vehicle for use in transporting players from hole to hole. 2) A hand-pulled cart for carrying a bag of clubs, also now available in powered versions controlled by remote.

• Casual water: any temporary standing water visible after a player has taken his stance. Snow and ice can also be taken as casual water, as well as water that overflows the banks of existing water hazards.

• Chip: 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.

• Chunk: a swing that results in the clubhead hitting the ground several inches behind the ball, resulting in a large "chunk" of ground being taken as a divot. Also called a "fat" shot".

• Clone: an umbrella term for generic brand golf clubs.

• Closed Face: when (in relation to the target-line) the clubface is angled toward the player's body, ie angled left for right-handed players.

• Closed Stance: when a player's front foot is set closer to the target-line. Used to draw the ball or to prevent a slice.

• Club: a tool for the player to hit the ball. 14 clubs are allowed by the rules.

• Clubface: the surface of the club head which is designed to strike the golf ball. Players should strive to hit the ball with the center of the clubface to maximize distance and accuracy.

• Clubhouse: this is where play begins and ends. The clubhouse is also your source for information about local rules, the conditions of the course, upcoming events and other essential information for the avid golfer. Normally, you can also purchase balls, clubs, clothes, and other golfing equipment at the clubhouse.

• Come-backer: a putt required after the previous putt went past the hole.

• Compression: the measurement for expressing the hardness of a golf ball, normally 90 compression. Harder balls (100 compression) are intended for players with faster swings but may also be useful in windy conditions.

• Condor: a four-under par shot, a hole-in-one on a par 5 .  Might also be called "a triple eagle".

• Course: a designated area of land on which golf is played through a normal succession from hole #1 to the last hole.

• Cross-handed: putting (and, occasionally, full-swing) grip in which the hands are placed in positions opposite that of the conventional grip. For right-handed golfers, a cross-handed grip would place the left hand below the right. Also known as the "left-hand-low" grip, it has been known to help players combat the "yips".

• Cut or the cut: after the first two rounds of a stroke play tournament, a select number of players will have earned the right to play the rest of the tournament for a chance to win the championship, by having a score at or lower than this number. The cut is usually a fixed number of players (e.g. 70), plus anyone tied for that place. In some tournaments, anyone within a fixed number of strokes (e.g. 10) of the leader are also included in the cut. Those missing the cut normally earn no official money for the tournament.

• Cut Shot: same as a fade, a cut curves from left to right, but is generally higher in trajectory and more controlled than a standard fade. The "high cut" is a staple among PGA Tour players.

• Dance Floor: slang term for the green.

• Dead: TV-broadcaster slang for a shot in which there is no favorable outcome possible.

• Divot: the chunk of grass (either fairway or rough) displaced when an iron or wedge shot is played. The indentation on the green caused by the ball on an approach shot is called a pitch mark, not a divot. It is common golf etiquette to replace the divot when possible, or fill it with a provided seed mix.

• Dormie: in match play, a player is dormie when leading by as many holes as there are holes left to play (i.e. 4 up with 4 holes to play is called "dormie 4"). The player who is down must then win every remaining hole to save the match and force its continuation into extra holes (if a winner must be determined) or halve the match (in a team competition such as the Ryder Cup).

• Double Bogey: a hole played two strokes over par.

• Double Cross: a shot whereby a player intends for a slice and hits a hook, or conversely, intends to play a draw and hits a slice. So called because the player has aimed left (in the case of a slice) and compounds this with hitting a hook, which moves left as well.

• Double Eagle (or Albatross): a hole played three strokes under par.

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

• Drive: a tee shot of great length, usually done with a driver (a type of golf club).

• Driver: this is typically the golf club that is used for the longest distance from the tee. This club has little loft so it can "drive" the golf ball a long distance and allow it to roll a long ways.

• Duck Hook: see snap hook.

• Eagle: a score on a golf hole that is two less than par.

• Explosion: a bunker shot that sends the ball, and accompanying sand, (hopefully) onto the green. Also known as a "blast".

• Fade: a shot that, for a right-handed golfer, curves slightly to the right; often played intentionally by skilled golfers. An overdone fade usually becomes a slice.

• Fairway: this is the area of a golf hole between the tee and the green. It is closely mown in compared to the rough making it easier to strike the golf ball cleanly.

• False front: a green that has such a significant slope at the front that approach shots are likely to roll back off. A false front is best avoided; wiser shots played to more level portions of the green are more likely to "hold" (i.e., eventually come to rest on) the green.

• Fat shot: a poor shot in which the club is slowed by catching too much grass or soil, resulting in a short and slow ball flight.

• Flier: a type of lie where the ball is in the rough and grass is likely to become trapped between the ball and the clubface at the moment of impact. Flier lies often result in "flier shots", which have little or no spin (due to the blades of grass blocking the grooves on the clubface) and travel much farther than intended.

• Flop shot: a short shot, played with an open stance and an open clubface, designed to travel very high in the air and land softly on the green. The flop shot is useful when players do not have "much green to work with", but should only be attempted on the best of lies. Phil Mickelson is a master of the flop shot.

• For the Car Bounce: any ball that is advanced toward the green by virtue of the ball striking a cartpath, or highway running alongside a fairway, and remains or returns in bounds.

• Fore: "fore!" is shouted as a warning when it appears a ball may possibly hit other players or spectators.

• Fourball: in match play, a contest between two sides each consisting of a pair of players, where every individual plays their own ball throughout. On every hole, the lower of the two partners’  scores counts and is matched against the opposition's score. (Fourballs are the opening matches played on the Friday and Saturday mornings of the Ryder Cup.) In stroke play, a fourball competition is played between several teams each consisting of 2 players, where for every hole the lower of the two partner's scores counts toward the team's 18 hole total.

1. • 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. (Foursomes are the afternoon matches played on the Friday and Saturday of the Ryder Cup). 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.
   

2. • Front nine: holes 1 through 9 on a golf course.
   

• Gimme: is a shot that the other players agree can count automatically without actually being played (under the tacit assumption that the putt would not have been missed). "Gimmes" are not allowed by the rules in stroke play, but this is often practiced in casual matches. However, in match play, either player may formally concede a stroke, a hole, or the entire match at any time, and this may not be refused or withdrawn. A player in match play will generally concede a tap-in or other short putt by his or her opponent.

• Goldie Bounce: when the ball strikes a tree deep in the rough and bounces out onto the fairway.

• Green or putting green: the area of specially prepared grass around the hole, where putts are played

• Green: this is where the golf hole resides. The grass is very short and very smooth. Once the golf ball is on the green, it is typically putted toward the hole.

• Greensomes: is a variation of foursomes, where each side consists of 2 players. Both players play one tee-shot each from every tee. A choice is then made as to which is the more favorable of the 2 ball positions, the other ball being picked up. Thereafter the players play alternate shots. So if A's tee-shot is selected, the playing order from the tee will be A-B-A-B etc until the ball is holed out. If player B's tee-shot is selected, the playing order will be B-A-B-A etc. The team with the lowest score wins the hole.

• Green in regulation (GIR): a green is considered hit "in regulation" if any part of the ball is touching the putting surface and the number of strokes taken is 2 less than par, i.e. with the first stroke on a par-3 hole, second stroke on a par-4, etc. Greens in Regulation percentage is a statistic kept by the PGA Tour.

• Grounding the club: to place the clubface behind the ball on the ground at address. Grounding the club is prohibited in bunkers or when playing from any marked hazard.

• Ground Under Repair (GUR): an area of the golf course that is being repaired. A free drop is allowed if the ball lands in an area marked "GUR"

• Golden Ferret: term used to describe holing out from a greenside bunker.

• Halved: in match play, a hole is halved (drawn) when both players or teams have played the same number of strokes. In some team events, such as the Ryder Cup (though not in the Presidents Cup), a match that is level after 18 holes is not continued, and is called "halved", with each team receiving half a point.

• Handicap: the Handicap is a number or rating of a golfer's ability designed to allow players of different skill levels to compete.

• Handsy: a term used to describe a player with too much wrist movement in their putting stroke causing inconsistent putts.

• Hardpan: a lie consisting of very hard turf.

• Hazard: any bunker or permanent water including any ground marked as part of that water hazard. Special rules apply when playing from a hazard.

• Hole: can refer to each section of a golf course from the tee to the green as well as the actual hole or cup in the ground where the golfer is trying to hit the ball into. There are typically 18 holes on a given golf course or round. 4.25 inches in diameter.

• Hole In One: getting the ball directly into the cup with one shot.

• Hole In One Insurance: insurance for a prize for getting a hole in one during a tournament.

1. •Hook: a shot that curves quickly to the left (for a right-handed golfer). Usually this is a miss-hit and not something the golfer is trying to do.
   

2. •Hosel: the crooked area where the clubhead connects to the shaft. Hitting the ball off the hosel is known as a shank.
   
   
   • Interlocking grip: grip style where (for right-handed players) the pinkie finger of the right hand is hooked around the index finger of the left. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods use the interlocking grip.
   • Inward nine: the back nine holes, so named because older links courses were designed to come back "in" toward the clubhouse after going out on the front nine.