Golf terms - definitions please!?

Question

Hitting the driving range for a lesson with a new friend. I don't want to sound like a dummy, so please help --
Hook
Slice
Mulligan
What do the numbers on the clubs mean?
What is the difference between a wedge and an iron?
What are the different areas of the course called?
How much closer are the ladies' tees?
Besides length, is there any other difference between mens' and ladies' clubs?
Where are you allowed to drive the cart?

Chip shot or chipping?
Lob?

These are great, keep it coming!

Answer 1

*Hook and Slice - A hook and a slice are when you hit the ball and it flies away from you and starts to curve. Hook goes left, and a slice goes right.(for a right hander, left hander is opposite) . It is caused by the club face not being very paralell to the ball when you strike the ball. It is common for a player to have a slice. Good golfers can purposly add slice or hook(draw) to their shots to make it turn when required.

*Mulligan - is when you go to tee off and you completly stuff up the shot. You can call or request from your other players a mulligan. Which means you are allowed to take the shot again with no or minimal penalty. This is a very informal way of playing so don't try it unless the people you play with will allow it. Some people even allow mulligans off the fairway, you are normally only allow one per hole but this changes sometimes to.

*Iron numbers - The number on the clubs relate to the angle of pitch/loft the club head has. This makes the ball do differnet things. For example a 3 iron may have 20 degrees loft where a 9 iron may have 40 degrees. When you hit the ball with a 3 iron it will leave at a lower trajectory than a 9, and will fly further and roll further when it hits the ground, where as when you hit a 9 it will leave at a higher angle and basically drop at a steeper angle meaning it wont roll as far. A good example is if you land in an area of trees. A player could use a 3 to keep it low and under the branches or a 9 to try and hit over the trees. The shaft lengths get shorter the higher the number. The longer the shaft the faster the club head is moving at contact and the harder you hit the ball, the short the shaft the more control you have of the club.

*Wedges - There are a few different wedges, Pitching (PW), Lob (LB), Approach (AW) and Sand (SW). They are irons but have more loft and are sometime designed a bit different. With these you can add back spin, so when the ball lands it stops on the spot or even rolls backwards if required. A sand wedge is slightly different ainthe club head as it is designed to scoop balls out of the sand.

*Areas - Tee is where you tee off and is the only place on a hole you can use a tee. Green is the putting surface, where you are only allowed to use a putter. Fairway is a mown area between the tee and the green. It is easier to hit off and the ball rolls further on it. Rough is the longer grass off the tee. It stops the ball faster and is harder to hit off especially if you want to add draw/slice. Out of Bounds (OB) is off the hole completly, if your ball goes there you are penalised with 2 shots - a hazard is a water trap or and area that is demed unplayable. you can play your ball from there if you choose or take a drop for one penalty stroke.

*Ladies tees - There is no set distance between the mens and ladies tees. they can even be at the same distance from the hole, but the ladies may be at a better approach angle to the hole. In some cases the ladies tee is behind the mens but they are allowed an extra stroke at that hole.

*ladies Clubs vs mens - Ladies clubs usually have more flex than mens which helps whip the club at the impact of the ball and gives them a bit more power- the disadvantage of this flex is if you have a strong (fast) swing the club head is harder to control so that why they have "Stiff" shafts. Older men usually play with a flex shaft to. More flex also helps you get the ball off the ground. They also have ladies balls that are designed to feel softer when you hit them and are designed for slower glof swings.

*Carts - Some courses allow you to drive a cart anywhere on the hole except on the green and in bunkers, but others only allow them to be driven on tracks/paths, as this saves the fairways- always make sure you are allowed you drive them on fairways before you do.

Best of luck - golf is challenging in a mental and technical way. Just go out and have fun. Just be sensible in relation to respecting the course and others around you and remember the better you get at golf the harder the game gets.

Have added a link to some more terms you might hear.

Answer 2

hook is when you close the club face too quick and the ball goes hard left the other term for a left moving ball flight is a draw which is one of the most desired ball flights in golf which is a slight left move on the ball for the most distance. A slice is when the club face is left open and the ball is cut across causing it to very quickly move right, if the ball is hit almost straight to the right it is called a shank and it is whe you hit the ball of the hozzle(where the shaft meets the club head) of the club. A push is when the ball is hit staright but is right of where you were intending to hit it. A mulligan is basically just a re load you can do this in practice if you hit a very bad shot just drop another ball and hit again, but in competition it is illegal and every shot must be played out. The numbers on the clubs just designate between the clubs, nubers on the irons from 1-9 irons are just to help yuo know which goes longer. 1 is the longest hitting iron and 9 is the shortest. The same goes for woods. Some times there will be degrees of loft on the loft and those just have tobe memorized for example the driver will normally range from 8-11 degrees of loft where as on the wedges yuo might see anything from a 45- 64. A wedge is a shorter hitting club that is ussed from at most (mainy pros) 150 and then in from there. In my set i have a pitchig wedge which will normally come with your irons, a gap wedge and a lob wedge(lo is the highest lofted club and goes te shortest). On the course ther are many area such as fairway, rough, tee boxes, bunkers, hazards(heather, water, bunkers, waste bunkers, in all of these you cannot ground the club before hitting your shot) the putting green and depending on the course many more. The ladies tees are ussually 500 yards closer. Mens clubs tend to be a little stiffer for the harder siwng where as the ladies have more flemsy shafts to help them get the ball air borne. Te cart can on most days be driven any where but tee boxes and greens and also must go back onto paths about 50-70 yards short of the green. Some days you will have to keep them on then paths the entire day.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

Hook: A hook is a normal problem in a golf swing where the ball (for a right handed golfer) tails excessively to the left

Slice: A slice is the opposite of a hook, where the ball (for a right handed golfer) tails excessively to the right.

Professional golfers hit "draws" and "fades" which are controlled versions of a hook and slice.

Mulligan: basically a redo or rehit typically taken without penalty.

What do the numbers on the clubs mean?
A higher number on the club indicates higher loft and shorter distance, so a 9 iron will be hit from about 100-115 yards away and will land and stop. A 3 iron, conversey will be hit a further distance and will roll further.

What is the difference between a wedge and an iron?
A wedge is a club higher than a 9 iron--pitching wedges, sand wedges, and lob wedges are each used in different situations.

What are the different areas of the course called?
The tee box is where you start hitting from and hope to land in the fairway (middle) or rough (to the sides but not in the trees). You also might land in the trees, a sand trap, or a water hazard if you golf anything like me. Finally, you should end up on the green and then in the hole.

How much closer are the ladies' tees?
Depends on the course, but usually the ladies tees are 20-40 yards closer.

Besides length, is there any other difference between mens' and ladies' clubs?
Clubs are available in so many different tensions and sizes and with so many different elements of technology that the only consistent difference between men's and women's clubs is, in fact, length.

Where are you allowed to drive the cart?
Most public courses have clear signs or paths, but a typical rule is that you drive up the sides of the hole and only straight across the middle, usually called the 90 degree rule. You will never drive the cart on the green, tee box, or sand trap, but usually anywhere on the rough or on the fairway is acceptable.

Answer 4

Hook - ball curves sharply to the side opposite of your strong hand, i.e., if you're right-handed, the ball curves sharply to the left. This is a bad shot.
Draw - ball curves slightly to the side opposite of your strong hand. This is a more desirable shot.
Slice - ball curves sharply to the side of your strong hand. Bad shot.
Fade - ball curves slightly to the side of your strong hand. Good shot.
Mulligan - you get to take the shot over with no penalty.
Numbers on the clubs indicate the loft. A 2 iron has a low loft, about 18 degrees. A 9 iron has a high loft, about 46 degrees.
A wedge is an iron, it is just the highest lofted of the irons. There are three types, a pitching wedge (which I've seen labeled as a 10 iron), a sand wedge (higher loft and "bounce") and a lob wedge (highest loft of them all). Loft for wedges can be between 48 and 65 degrees.
Parts of the course are the Practice range, practice green, tee boxes, fairways, rough, water hazards, sand traps or bunkers, fringe, and greens.
Ladies tees can be anywhere from just a yard or two closer to over 100 yards, depending on the course.
Ladies clubs are lighter and the staffs have a softer flex.
Cart rules depend on the club and the weather. The most permissive is that you can drive a cart anywhere except on the tee boxes, sand traps, and greens. Most courses have some sort of restrictions such as staying on cart paths, 90 degrees, carts not allowed in the rough, etc.

Answer 5

hook and slice are where the ball curves right or left, I think slice is right and hook is left, but I'm not sure

Mulligan is where you don't like your shot so you hit another ball and don't count your first shot, its not legal in competition but most people do it when they are just out for fun

the numbers are the different angles of the club face, the higher the number the more it angles back, this means the ball will go higher but not as far, so a 9 iron will go higher and maybe 120 yards, but a 6 iron will not have as much arc but go 170 yards. the P is for pitching wedge and is higher than 9 (like a 10) and the S is for sand wedge which is basically an 11.

A wedge is an iron that is speciffically a high number or a pitching wedge etc, typically golfers use the club with the most angled face (ie sand wedge, or if they dont have a sand wedge, a pitching wedge) for chipping short shots. An iron is any club that is not a driver or putter (ie it doesn't have a big head, just a thin hitting surface)

the areas on the course are:
green: the really short grass near the hole,
Tee: the area you hit your first shot from,
Fairway: the shortest grass between the tee and green
Rough: areas of long grass
fringe: a small ring around the green of grass that is somewhere between the green and fairway in length.
bunker: a sand trap

the ladies tees vary with every hole and every course, but typically they can be 20 to 50 yards closer to the hole, but there are no set rules for this

The difference between mens and womens clubs is just length and the stiffness of the shaft, women tend to be shorter and not swing as hard, so they use shorter clubs with softer shafts (the harder you swing, the less flex you want in your shafts), but if you get custom fitted clubs which is the best way to go, there is no difference, they are just made for your height and swing speed/style regardless of gender

cart rules vary by course, they are allways forbidden on greens and tees. on dry days they typically let you drive anywhere on the fairways, on wet days they may limit you to the path only, other days they use the 90 degree rule which means drive down the cart path to 90 degrees from your ball, then you can drive straight across the fairway to your ball and straight back to the path, this lets you drive right to your ball but limits the amount of wear and tear done to the grass.

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Answer 6

Hook- Ball that curves to the left for a right handed hitter. Ball that curves to the right for a left handed hitter.

Slice- Ball that curves to the right for a right handed hitter. Ball that curves to the left for a left handed hitter.

Mulligan - easiest terms... "redo" rehitting a ball without penalty

Numbers- The numbers on the clubs are in direct correlation to the angle or degree of loft on the face of the club. Ex... 3 iron 21 degrees... 4 iron 24 degrees... 5 iron 27 degrees... etc. The lower the number the less loft on the club the farther it goes and the harder it is to hit. Most "irons" increase in loft from 3-4 degrees.

Wedge or Iron? A wedge is technically an iron. usually "irons" in a set refer to the 3 - 9 irons and then there are 4 "wedges" that increase in loft as such

Pitching Wedge 48 degrees
Gap Wedge 52 degrees
Sand Wedge 56 degrees
Lob Wedge 60 degrees

Granted these are general numbers for degrees of loft for these clubs. These can vary by a few degrees in either direction but I'd say these are pretty standard.

Tee - Where you hit your first shot
Fairway - short grass running along the center of the hole
Rough - longer grass just outside of the fairway
Sand - called a bunker or a hazard. hazards can also be areas marked with yellow stakes/paint where a golfer is not allowed to ground their club before their next shot.
Water - simply called "the water" or "the drink"
Green - short grass where the hole is located.
Fringe or Apron - intermediate cut of grass between the green and the rough

Out of Bounds - area marked with white stakes. this requires the golfer to re-hit a ball from the location they were at when they hit it out of bounds. this will cost the player a one stroke penalty. (lost balls are treated the same way)

The distance the ladies are tee are relative to the mens tees vary greatly on each course. However as a general rule I would say they're somewhere between 80-90% in length compared to the men.

There are a couple of differences. One is that ladies clubs are "usually" designed in "ladies" colors. They will often be decorated with pink and purple and yellow accents. However that's really more cosmetic than anything else. The real difference outside of the length of the club is the type of shaft on the club. Women, in general, do not swing anywhere near as hard as men. Because of this the shaft in a ladies club is much more flexible than in a man's club. The weaker a person swings the more flex they need in their club in order to generate sufficient force and swing speed. Someone with a really hard swing like Tiger has a "stiff" shaft on his club because the clubhead speed he generates already flexes the shaft a large amount. He doesn't want anything to weak or it will bend too much during his swing.

The order of flex in golf shafts from weak to strong looks roughly like the following.

Ladies Flex
Senior Flex
Regular Flex
Stiff Flex
Extra-Stiff Flex

The cart should always be at least 15-20 yards from all tees unless there's a cart path closer to the tee. T

The cart should always be kept away from the greens. Most courses are staked as you get closer to the green and will direct you where to drive the cart. The green will have a path you should follow once you arrive.

On the course you're usually allowed to drive the cart wherever you like unless they tell you the following.

90 degree Rule - This means drive on the cart paths until you get even with your ball and then you can make a "90 degree" turn to approach your ball.. returning to the path once you've hit your next shot.

Cart Paths Only - This means you must keep the carts on the cart paths at all times.

The following to are done when the golf course has seen a large amount of rain and is too soft to handle the spinning wheels of the tires. Golf carts can do major grass damage when it's soaking wet outside.

Hope this helps.... Give the game time and I'm sure you'll grow to love it.

Answer 7

Hook=when the ball is in the air it starts to the right and swings around to the left
Slice=exact opposite of above
Mulligan=taking another ball without penalty (not legal)
The numbers mean pretty much how far they go...the lower the number the farther it goes.....a wedge is a iron....but there are a lot of kinds of wedges like 50 degree or 52 degree.
DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COURSE? There is a tee box...a fairway....rough....a fringe....a green....and water hazards and OB....
The ladies tees depend on the course
The difference is mostly the shaft flex
Your are allowed to drive the cart on the fairway, rough, cart path...NEVER ON GREEN OR WITHIN 15 FEET OF IT.....hope this helps

Answer 8

Hook - when a ball is hit with extreme side spin that it makes a turn in the direction of the golfers side ( ex rightys hook the ball left)

Slice - when a ball is hit with extreme side spin that it makes a turn in the direction away from the golfers side (ex rightys slice the ball right)

Mulligan - something called before a drive, in which the player, if he shoots a poor shot, may have a re-do at the shot. not allowed in professional play. only used amongst friends, etc.

the numbers on the clubs are just for reference. the lower the number (3,4) the less angle on the club head and more distance. the higher numbers (8,9) mean more angle and less distance (more loft)

a wedge is an iron but with a very high angle, to gain maximum loft. the traditional line of clubs go .......8,9,pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, lob wedge

tee box - where players hit their first shots from
fairway - smoothly cut area of grass tha tis the target of the tee shot
rough - outer areas in which the grass is left higher to make for a more difficult shot. stay outta the rough lol
green - area where players put
fringe - area around green where players may putt or chip the ball
sand trap / bunker - hazard in which players must hit the ball out of sand
water hazard - OUT OF BOUNDS area

ladies tees are generally about 30-50 yards closer than the average mens tees (aka the "white tees")

ladies clubs are forged for maximum forgiveness, since women have a tougher time playing than men do, and cannot hit the ball as far

Answer 9

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Answer 10

i'll try to keep this brief
hook- when your ball flies from right to left, if you do it on purpose you can call it a draw
slice- ball flies left to right, on purpose its a fade
muligan- taking an extra shot if you ddnt like your 1st, not legal, but common place
# on clubs- identify the club, each club has diff loft to go diff distance, #ers indentify which club it is
wedge- a wedge is an iron but it is used for short shots and chipping aroud the green, and bunkers
areas of the course- tee box(where the hole begins) fairway(ideal place to land from the tee and play next shot) rough(area around fairway longer grass more difficult) green (area where the hole is and where you putt) hazards(sand bunkers, water areas you try to avoid) jail (out of bounds or lost ball, places you really want to avoid)
ladies tees- varies per hole and course, very generally maybe 10-15% closer
ladies clubs- generally have more loft and more flexablle shafts but not much other difference
driving the cart- if the course has a cart path keep it on the path, if not keep it in the rough, if you must drive in the fairway, stay in the rough till you are even with your ball then drive straight to your ball and then straight back off the fairway, and as a side note if you are able to walk do so, take a pull cart if you dont want to carry your bag, but dont take a riding cart it slows down play.