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    • Golf dictionary

    Glossary of golf terms

    Our golf dictionary covers the main terms used in golf. The first step in demystifying the game is to understand the language and terminology that golfers commonly use.

    Term

    Definition

    hacker
    Colloquial term for a poor quality golfer; someone who tends to hack up the ground when playing.
    half
    In a Match Play competition, a hole is "halved" if each player scores the same number of strokes (net) at that hole. A match is halved (drawn) when both opponents have won an equal number of holes in the complete match.
    handicap
    The number of strokes a player is given to adjust his/her score to that of the standard scratch score for the course ebing played. The handicap system allows players of different standards to compete against each other on a theoretically equal standing. The system is usually based on the average scores of a player set against the standard score for their home course. When players play in handicap competitions, they receive extra strokes or have strokes deducted, depending on their handicap, which enables the calculation of their net score for that competition.
    handicap player
    A golfer who has a recognised handicap awarded and maintained by a golf club.
    hanging lie
    A hanging lie occurs when the ball comes to rest on a sideslope and is below the level of the golfer's feet when the golfer addresses and hits the ball. Some golfers and commentators also use the term for a ball that is on a sideslope above the level of the player's feet.
    Harry Pithouse Trophy
    Awarded to the European PGA Tour Caddie of the Year (from 2006).
    Harry Vardon Trophy
    Awared to the European PGA Tour's leading money winner, who heads the Order of Merit at the end of each season. (See Tournaments section in Encyclopedia).
    haskell (ball)
    Name of the first one-piece rubber cored ball, invented in 1898 by Coburn Haskell. It replaced the "guttie" ball and was universally adopted by 1901. The Haskell ball comprised a solid rubber core wrapped in rubber thread encased in a gutta percha sphere. Haskell balls were mass-produced and more affordable than the guttie. When William Taylor first applied the dimple pattern 1905, maximising lift while minimising drag, golf balls took on their modern form. Only in 1972, when Spalding introduced the first two piece ball was the basic Haskell design improved upon.
    Havemeyer Trophy
    Presented annually to the winner of the United States Amateur Championship. The trophy is named after Theodore Havemeyer (1839–97), an American businessman and first president of the U.S. Golf Association (USGA). He was also co-founder of the Newport Country Club, which in 1895 hosted the first U.S. Amateur and first U.S. Open championships.
    hazard
    A feature on a golf course which makes the playing of a shot from the hazard more difficult. The two principal hazards which occur naturally, or are designed into golf courses, are sand bunkers and water hazards.
    heel
    Part of the golf club where the club head is attached to the shaft.
    hole-in-one
    A shot from the tee that goes into the hole; also called an "ace."
    hole (on the green)
    A defining characteristic of golf is putting the ball into a hole in the ground. The 4.25 inch (108 mm) diameter hole, made mandatory by the R&A in 1893 and used throughout the world today, was based on the hole-cutting machine used at Musselburgh Links (The Old Course) and invented by Musselburgh man Robert Gray.
    hole out
    To put the ball in the hole, which can be done putting from the green, playing an approach from the fairway or making a hole in one from the tee.
    hole (tee-to-green)
    A golf hole is the general term used to describe the playing area between the teeing-ground and, at the other end of the hole, the putting green. The vast majority of golf courses comprise 18 holes, but 9 and even 12 hole courses are also commonly found.
    holiday course
    A golf course usually found in popular holiday locations (e.g. seaside resorts) and designed with the full range of players and golfing abilities in mind (e.g. suitable for family golf). Such courses will not usually contain the more penal elements of tougher championship golf courses.
    hollow tining
    Also know as core aeration, hollow tining is the process of removing small plugs of turf from the green or fairway. This essential maintenance process eases compaction (the squeezing of air out of the soil) and sub-surface thatch (the accumulation of dead grass and roots). The process allows air, water and fertilizer to penetrate to the root zone of the grass. Hollow tining is generally carried out at the start and end of the growing season, and is often followed by "top dressing." An alternative to hollow tining (where small cores are taken) is slit-tining, which simply puts small slits into the ground to relieve compaction and allow aeration.
    honour
    The player or team "with the honour" tee off first at a hole, having won or taken the least number of strokes on the previous hole.
    hook
    A golf shot that curves sharply to the left (for a right handed player), caused by the application of counter-clockwise spin to the ball, either deliberately or unintentionally. The opposite of a slice.
    hosel
    Socket on an iron-headed club that serves to connect the iron club head to the shaft.
    hustler
    [See "bandit"].
    hybrid (club)
    Hybrid clubs are a relatively recent phenomenon, blending the attributes of woods and irons to create golf clubs that are more forgiving to use. Hybrids, also called rescue clubs, are generally used in place of high-numbered woods (e.g. 4 and 5-woods) and low-numbered irons (e.g. 2, 3 or 4 irons). Some club makers produce entire sets of hybrids that replace the full range of normal irons, from 1-iron to pitching wedge.

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      Tournaments

      124th US Open: the No.2 Course at Pinehurst once again plays host to this most illustrious championship (June 13-16). Wyndham Clark defends his title, having won at Los Angeles CC in 2023.

      79th Women’s US Open: the second women’s major championship of the season gets underway at Lancaster CC in Pennsylvania. It’s the second time the championship has been held here.
      (May 30-June 2).

      Who's Who

      Nelly Korda: won the Mizuho Americas Open (May 16-19) at Liberty National GC, continuing her extraordinary form in LPGA events. This was her sixth win in seven starts in 2024.

      Xander Schauffele: recorded his first major championship win, and second record-equalling low score of 62 in a major. Only he, Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry have achieved this feat in a men’s major championship.

      Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

      Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

      Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

      Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

      Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

      Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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