GOLF SLANG summary
Jerry Dunn
Hi,
Thanks to everyone who sent golf slang for my book, "Idiom Savant: Slang
As It Is Slung" (Henry Holt & Co., NY, spring 1997). Here's the summary I
said I'd post.
No doubt I've made some boneheaded errors, especially in usage. Please
send any corrections or additions to me by e-mail:
I hope you can add example sentences to some definitions, to show how the
terms are properly used.
It's nice of you to help. Thanks again very much!
Cheers,
Jerry Dunn
The summary:
Golfers
airmailing the green v. hitting the ball over the green.
bite! expression an encouragement to stop oneąs ball from rolling too
far. Syn. grow teeth! sit!
does your husband play? expression said to a male opponent who strikes
his putt weakly. Syn. hit it with your purse next time.
fried egg n. a ball that lands in a sandtrap, making a round depression
with the ball in the middle.
lip out v. when a putt touches the hole but doesnąt go in.
military golf n. not being able to control the direction of your shots --
left, right, left, right.
mulligan n. a golf shot that doesnąt count on the score, allowed in
informal games after a lousy shot, especially from the tee.
on the dance floor (but not close enough to hear the music) adj. when a
ball is on the green, but still very far from the hole.
pulley n. a putt longer than the length of the flagpole.
rainmaker n. a shot popped high and not very far.
skull v. to hit the ball at or above its equator.
waggle n. back-and-forth motion of the club, caused by wrist flexing.
wiff v. to swing and completely miss the ball.
worm burner n. a shot that never leaves the ground and rolls a long distance.
Caddies
birdwatcher n. a caddy whose mind is elsewhere. Syn. flytrap.
foot mashie n. a caddyąs subtle nudge of the playerąs ball to improve the
lie. łMr. Barrett tipped me 50 bucks! Maybe it was my foot mashie.˛
goat track n. a poorly maintained course.
--
Jerry Dunn
jd...@west.net
gib...@lisco.com
jd...@west.net (Jerry Dunn) wrote:
>Hi,
>Thanks to everyone who sent golf slang for my book, "Idiom Savant: Slang
>As It Is Slung" (Henry Holt & Co., NY, spring 1997). Here's the summary I
>said I'd post.
>No doubt I've made some boneheaded errors, especially in usage. Please
>send any corrections or additions to me by e-mail:
>I hope you can add example sentences to some definitions, to show how the
>terms are properly used.
>It's nice of you to help. Thanks again very much!
>
>Cheers,
>Jerry Dunn
>The summary:
>Golfers
>airmailing the green v. hitting the ball over the green.
>bite! expression an encouragement to stop one¹s ball from rolling too
>far. Syn. grow teeth! sit!
Bite is ususlly said when you feel you have hit your ball too far, ie.
to the back of the green - see airmailing
>does your husband play? expression said to a male opponent who strikes
>his putt weakly. Syn. hit it with your purse next time.
Another one is:
Did your skirt blow up in your face, Alice?
>fried egg n. a ball that lands in a sandtrap, making a round depression
>with the ball in the middle.
Ususlly refers to a ball that is half or more buried in the sand
>lip out v. when a putt touches the hole but doesn¹t go in.
>military golf n. not being able to control the direction of your shots --
>left, right, left, right.
>mulligan n. a golf shot that doesn¹t count on the score, allowed in
>informal games after a lousy shot, especially from the tee.
>on the dance floor (but not close enough to hear the music) adj. when a
>ball is on the green, but still very far from the hole.
>pulley n. a putt longer than the length of the flagpole.
>rainmaker n. a shot popped high and not very far.
>skull v. to hit the ball at or above its equator.
>waggle n. back-and-forth motion of the club, caused by wrist flexing.
>wiff v. to swing and completely miss the ball.
>worm burner n. a shot that never leaves the ground and rolls a long distance.
>Caddies
>birdwatcher n. a caddy whose mind is elsewhere. Syn. flytrap.
>foot mashie n. a caddy¹s subtle nudge of the player¹s ball to improve the
>lie. ³Mr. Barrett tipped me 50 bucks! Maybe it was my foot mashie.²
>goat track n. a poorly maintained course.
Cow pasture - same as goat track
>--
>Jerry Dunn
>jd...@west.net
Chris Rockwell
Hey Jerry,
Good list. A few corrections and few more...
Jerry Dunn (jd...@west.net) wrote:
: airmailing the green v. hitting the ball over the green.
Also Syn. "flying the green"
: bite! expression an encouragement to stop one零 ball from rolling too
: far. Syn. grow teeth! sit!
Another syn. during putting "grow hair!"
: rainmaker n. a shot popped high and not very far.
Also Syn. "skyball"
Some others:
heel ball - a shot hit off the heel of the club
Syn. heeler "he hit a heeler"
toe ball - ball hit off the toe of the club
Syn. toe jam
thin ball - a poor shot hit on the down swing where too much ball is
hit first. Syn. "bladed" as in "he bladed the ball"
fat ball - a poor shot where the ground is hit first resulting in
a short shot. Syn. "chunk shot" as in "he chunked it"
rug - a large divot. Syn. pelt, slab
jar it - an expression meaning he hit the shot in the hole . "He jarred his
chip shot." Syn. "holed" as in "he holed the shot"
pure - a perfect shot hit clean "he pured it"
Syn. "on the screws" "on the nut" "he nutted it"
hit it stiff - hitting a shot very close to the pin.
"he stiffed it" or Syn. "he staked it"
gizz - the spin on the ball resulting in a shot that comes back
toward the player. Syn. "suck back" "on a string"
duck hook - a severe right to left curving shot.
Syn. "quacker"
yank - a putt hit to the left of the hole (for a right handed
player). Syn. "pull"
shove - a putt hit to the right of the hole (for a
right handed player). Syn. "push"
Chris