Golfing Colloquialisms Thread!

[ColeMc]

My post count doesn't reflect how often I find myself reading these forums, but I check in probably once a day and more often than not I come across a new golfing term that I've never heard before.  Most of the words relate to swings and the resulting ball flight or more accurately, miss-swings and the result.

The latest one was "chilli-dipper".  I can't remember what thread it was in, but it made me laugh and got me thinking about all the golfing terms people use.

You've obviously got the common ones that most people are aware of and could agree on a definition, e.g. hook, slice, fade, push etc and as depicted in my understanding by this lovely diagram I found.

Then you've got things like 'the yips', shanks, tops, whiskeys, worm burners and I thought it would be interesting for people to post their own golfing words AND the definition, might even lead to some light debate and maybe we'll all learn something!

[Ernest Jones]

I like calling the sand traps cat boxes. I'm actually a pretty good bunker player but the term has always stuck.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

- "Hit it on the forehead" (aka Skulled) - when you hit a shot thin to the point that you contact the ball with the leading bottom edge of the club resulting in a shot that usually runs low to the ground.

[RayG]

"Bermuda"- Lip out of at least 90* My friends and I came up with this one, so we claim it as our own. Many years ago, we were playing either The Belmont or (then) Castle Harbor in Bermuda (can't remember exactly, 30 years ago!). We were chatting with the pro at the desk, and my friend noticed a small index card taped to the desk that read something like: "Any ball that changes direction when passing the hole means that more than half the ball is over the hole. Therefore it is breaking the law of gravity and is considered holed" We laughed and thought that it was pretty neat. Wouldn't you know that each of us had at LEAST 3 90* lipouts for the round. So since then we shout "BERMUDA!" when it happens. We don't count them ,though. We kind of have fun with it with other types of lipouts. Lesser degrees of a lip out might be a "BAHAMA" or a "HAITI", a full 180 is a "CUBA!" We have a good time with it, and it breaks the ice with folks we might be playing with when we relate the story of how it started. Another is "Woody": a ball that clanks around the woods and winds up in the middle of the fairway. Also the person that did it gets the moniker for the rest of the day.

[sofingaw]

My buddies and I have one as well. There are lots of ducks here in FL year round. On all the courses I play. Any given round, you will definitely see some. Well, I was set to tee off on a par 4, and there's several ducks at the forward end of the tee box. My buddy knows I'm wild off the tee, and says 'Look out for those ducks'. I say 'They're FINE!' WHIZ one low and left past a duck!!!! 'LOOK OUT DUCK!!!' -We said it almost in unison. Now any shot that approaches a duck, or any bird (surprisingly, lots, haha) gets a rousing LOOK OUT DUCK!!!! Even poor shots with no waterfowl present will get a 'Look out duck' or maybe a 'Look out squirrel!' No confirmed kills yet. Which is good :)

[Spyder]

Son of a B!

This is the term that I use quite often on the course for a wide array of things. Definition withheld...

The only funny one that I heard in the past year or so was "Stripper Whisper" when you barely miss a putt. It's just such a tease when you lip one out or leave it a half of a rev from falling.

[BugDude]

Many years ago I was playing with two hilarious old guys from England when one of them hit a low rockey 2 inches off the ground.  He said (in an English accent), "Oh, I hit a bit of a daisy cutter!"  I said "what?"  and he replies, "It looks like I hit a bit of a daisy cutter."  I said, "Hey man, over here we call that a Worm Burner."  These old guys went around the rest of the day saying "Worm Burner" in a very animated and eccentric manner.  It was hilarious.  At one point they let their cart roll backwards down a hill and they were chasing after it.  I also tend to scoop my ball up with my putter, pick up the flag with it, and step on my wedge so the grip flips up.  They said, "You do all of these little tricks with your clubs.  You learn these?  Do you practice?"  I said, "No, I'm just too lazy to bend over."  It was one of the most entertaining days of golf I've ever had.

[saevel25]

Lets see...

F!@# - ball that goes at least 50 yards off course, preferably into a hazard or OB

OH S!@# - Ball that goes anywere from 20-50 yards off course, could end up in trees, or hazard, or a bunker

TURN THE OTHER WAY - Ball heads the direction you don't want to and you think yelling at it will make it go the other way

SIT ON IT - Ball that looks really good in the air, then ends up way short :p

GOLFPHER - When i see a gopher on the course :p

YOU BAS!@#$ED - When the ball doesn't break and stays straight

LOL - any other strange event that just causes a golfer to loose there mind and laugh out loud in an insane manor

[BugDude]

When you skull a ball when trying to hit over water and it skips across the top of the water and ends up dry on the other side, we call that a "Mudskipper."

[BostonBrew]

Originally Posted by Spyder

The only funny one that I heard in the past year or so was "Stripper Whisper" when you barely miss a putt. It's just such a tease when you lip one out or leave it a half of a rev from falling.

Hahaha, I like that one.

[tristanhilton85]

I've heard "worm burners" also referred to as "snake rapers"

I thought that was pretty funny.

[boil3rmak3r]

One complete rotation of a rolling golf ball travels almost exactly the length of a dollar bill. Test this by taking a buck and wrapping it around a ball! When someone leaves a putt just short, we'll sometimes translate that to currency. *guy leaves a putt 2 inches short* - "20 more cents and that was in."

[HastyElephant]

Originally Posted by tristanhilton85

I've heard "worm burners" also referred to as "snake rapers"

I thought that was pretty funny.

I actually heard a guy call this a "rabbit raper."

[boogielicious]

Originally Posted by BugDude

When you skull a ball when trying to hit over water and it skips across the top of the water and ends up dry on the other side, we call that a "Mudskipper."

Similar is a "Jesus" ball or shot - a ball that skips out of a water hazard.

[Flashfyr3]

Originally Posted by RayG

"Bermuda"- Lip out of at least 90*

My friends and I came up with this one, so we claim it as our own. Many years ago, we were playing either The Belmont or (then) Castle Harbor in Bermuda (can't remember exactly, 30 years ago!). We were chatting with the pro at the desk, and my friend noticed a small index card taped to the desk that read something like:

"Any ball that changes direction when passing the hole means that more than half the ball is over the hole. Therefore it is breaking the law of gravity and is considered holed"

We laughed and thought that it was pretty neat. Wouldn't you know that each of us had at LEAST 3 90* lipouts for the round. So since then we shout "BERMUDA!" when it happens. We don't count them ,though. We kind of have fun with it with other types of lipouts. Lesser degrees of a lip out might be a "BAHAMA" or a "HAITI", a full 180 is a "CUBA!"

We have a good time with it, and it breaks the ice with folks we might be playing with when we relate the story of how it started.

Another is "Woody": a ball that clanks around the woods and winds up in the middle of the fairway. Also the person that did it gets the moniker for the rest of the day.

We call a "woody" a tree wedge, usually as part of "Hey, nice tree wedge man!" at the fortuitous bounce.

[turtleback]

Elephant's ass - a shot that is high and stinks.

Gangrenous turtle - a group ahead of you that is slow and stink.

[boogielicious]

Originally Posted by turtleback

Elephant's ass - a shot that is high and stinks.

Gangrenous turtle - a group ahead of you that is slow and stink.

Excellent!

[RPMPIRE]

Originally Posted by turtleback

Elephant's ass - a shot that is high and stinks.

Gangrenous turtle - a group ahead of you that is slow and stink.

Also known as a "hippie"