Golf Glossary

Caddie Master: The golf course employee in charge of managing the caddies.

Caddy: A person who carries clubs for a golfer and provides advice regarding the golfer's club selection.

Calamity Jane: The name that Bobby Jones gave to his putter. Also putters modeled after his hickory-shafted blade putter

Can: In slang, to hole a putt.

Cap: The top end of a club grip and shaft

Carbon Steel: Softest of all steels and found mainly in wedges.

Card: A card used to record scores in stroke play. Also, to make a record of your score.

Carpet: A slang term referring to the putting green or fairway.

Carry: The length of travel by the ball after it is hit to the place where it first hits the ground

Carry-Double: A caddie employed by two players and who typically carries two bags, one on each shoulder.

Cart: A two-wheeled trolley on which a golf is fitted and pulled around the course. In some cases trolleys are battery powered. Can also refer to a golf car.

Cart Fee: Similar to a green fee, the fee required to rent a golf cart for either 9 or 18 holes.

Cast Irons: Various grades of steel used in the lost wax investment cast process. Wax is made of head and the wax is then coated with sand. Hot metal is poured into the gate and the wax melts leaving the metal head in the sand mould.

Casual Water: Any temporary accumulation of water on the course that is visible before or after the player takes his stance. Water in a hazard is not casual water.

Center Shafted: Putter in which the shaft is joined to the center of the head.

Championship Tees: Some courses have teeing areas further back than the medal tees for championship and tournament use.

Charge: To surge from behind and display superior play. Also to play or putt aggressively.

Chart the Course: Pace each hole so that you know how far you are from the green.

Chili-Dip: A shot in which a player hits behind the ball, not moving it very far. May also be referred to as a "fat" shot or a "chunk."

Chip: A short, generally lofted shot on or near the green.

Chip-and-Run: A chip shot including the run of the ball after landing. Also known as 'bump and run'

Chip-Out: A shot, generally going only a short distance, made from trouble in an attempt to get the ball back in play. Chip-outs are commonly made from trees or similar positions.

Choke: To play badly under pressure.

Chop: To hit the ball with a hacking motion

Chunk: A shot in which a player hits behind the ball resulting in a more turf being removed than desired. The resulting shot is also much shorter than desired. May also be called a "chili-dip."

Claggy: As in "I've got a bit of a claggy lie". A lie that is a bit wet and muddy - of British origin - almost a claim for casual water but not quite!

Claim: The term used in match play to denote a protest by a player regarding a possible breach of the rules.

Cleat: The spike on the sole of a golf shoe.

Cleek: Any one of many narrow-bladed iron clubs used for long shots through the green from the rough or sand. Another name for the # 1 iron. Also, a shallower faced lofted wooden club. Another name for the #4 wood.

Closed Face: When the clubface is pointed to the left of the target when you address the ball.

Closed Stance: The left foot extends over the balls line of flight while the right foot is back

Club: The implement used in golf to strike the ball. Consists of a shaft, grip and a clubhead of wood or metal.

Club Head: The hitting area of the club.

Club Pro: See "Golf Professional."

Clubhouse: The main building on the course

Clubhouse Lawyer: A self-appointed caller or arbiter of the rules

Cock: To bend the wrists backwards in the backswing.

Collar: The grassy fringe surrounding the putting green.

Collar: A closely mown area surrounding the putting green. It may be similar to the green in height (fringe) or it may be higher, similar to rough.

Colorball: A team game with teams of 3 or 4 players in which one player uses a colored ball. Team score comprises the score with the colored ball plus the best of the other 2 or 3 players. Players alternate holes playing with the colored ball.

Come Back Shot: The shot you make after you have overshot the hole.

Come off the Shot: When the body lifts up before the clubhead contacts the ball or when the shoulders turn away to early.

Committee: The collective name for those in charge of a competition or a course.

Competitor: A player participating in a stroke play competition

Compression: The flattening of the ball against the clubface at impact. Also the degree of resilience of a ball.

Concede: In matchplay, a player may give a putt to his opponent if it is close to the hole, or a hole if he feels he has no chance of a win or half. You can also award the match if you are to far behind to win.

Condor: A four-under par shot. A hole-in-one on a par 5 for example. Has occurred on a hole with a heavy dogleg, hard ground and no trees. Might also be called "a triple eagle".

Confusion: A game in which a point is awarded to the first player of the group to get to the green, one for the players closest to the pin and one for the first player to hole out. The winner is the player with the highest number of points.

Control Shot: A shot that is played with less than full power

COR: Coefficient of restitution. Measures the amount of bounce effect if the face caves in at impact.

Core: The center of the golf ball.

Coring (Also Known As Aerifing): Process of boring small holes, typically less than ¾" in diameter, into a putting green (or the fairway) in order to improve growth. The process is usually done once or twice per year.

Course: The entire area on which a game (or round) of golf is played.

Course Rating: The difficulty of a course measured by the governing body (AGU, USGA, R&A). They use a formula to obtain the results.

Course Rating: A numerical rating, usually by a recognized organization, that identifies the difficulty of a course. For example, a course rated 72.4 is more difficult than one rated at 68.5. A scratch player should expect to shoot a 68 or 69 on the course rated 68.5.

Crack: To allow one's good play to suffer when under pressure.

Cross Wind: A wind blowing across the course.

Cross-bunker: A lengthy bunker that is situated across the fairway

Cross-handed Grip: A grip where your left hand is below the right.

Cup: The container you ultimately try to get the golf ball in.

Cuppy: A deep and enclosed lie.

Cut: Type of shot, played intentionally, which curves from left to right.

Cut Shot: Shot that moves from left to right in the air.