What do all these words mean? A guide to golf terminology
- thebandthetees
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
Have you ever heard somebody say they got an eagle and you were like “what the heck is an eagle? Is that not just a type of bird?” We are here to provide you all the golf terms you will need to know and maybe even some you can surprise your friends with!
We will start with general golf course terms. The parts of the golf course can generally be characterized as the tee box, fairway, rough, water hazard, out of bounds, sand trap and green. Fore is also one of the most important words you will hear. Fore means that there is an errant shot and you need to take cover! Make your body as small as possible and cover your head. If you can hear someone yell fore, you want to protect yourself!
Tee Box - where you will start the hole or tee off. This is where you take the first shot of the hole and where you choose what tee box you want to play from. Most golf courses will have at least 3 tee boxes you can choose from. For example, the black tee box could be the furthest back, the blue tee box is the middle and the white tee box is the forward tees.
Fairway - the shortest grass on the hole, usually down the middle of the hole. This is the best position to be and our goal! (even though it is way harder than it should be)
Rough - the longer grass on the hole, also can run into the bush. Generally on the golf course, the rough will be thicker so it will be harder to hit out of or find the golf ball.
Water Hazard - marked by a red or yellow stake and can be a pond or creek/river running through the hole. If you hit your ball in the water hazard then you drop from the point of entry.
Out of Bounds - marked by a white stake. You must re hit from your original position when you hit it out of bounds. Most out of bounds is running along a road or houses.
Sand Trap (also called a bunker) - any sandy area on the course.
Fringe - the area or collar around the green. This is where you will chip or use your putter.
Green - The end of the hole. This is where the flagstick and hole are that you want to get your ball into for your score. This is the place where you will use your putter.
The next terms we will go through are score terms. To go through these you should understand what a handicap means. Your handicap, in simple terms, means an average of what you will shoot on the course. For example if your handicap is a 15, then on average you shoot 15 shots over par. To know what you score you need to know the par of the hole. The par means how many shots it should take to get the ball in the hole. For example, a par 4 means that two shots should be taken from the tee box to the green and two putts should be made on the green for a total of 4 meaning par. There are par 3, 4 and 5 on a golf course.
Hole in One - made in one shot, mostly done on a par 3. Rare to get one of these so it is exciting when it happens!
Albatross - making a 2 on a par 5. Also rare to get one!
Eagle - 2 under on a hole. On a par 4 this means that you made a 2. Par 5 means you made a 3.
Birdie - 1 under on a hole. On a par 4 this means that you made a 3 and a par 5 you made a 4.
Par - even on the hole. On a par 4 this means you made a 4.
Bogey - 1 over par on the hole. On a par 4 this means you would get a 5.
Double Bogey - 2 over par on the hole. On a par 4 this means you would get a 6.
Triple Bogey - 3 over par on the hole. On a par 4 this means you would get a 7.
We also wanted to take you through the clubs in your bag, what they are called and when you would use them. You can have 14 clubs in your bag and split up in there you would have a putter, wedges, irons, woods and a driver.
Putter - what you use on the green. This is the club that goes the shortest distance but arguably the most important one to be the best with!
Wedges - your shortest irons. These are used around the green, in the greenside bunkers, or short shots into the green.
Irons - can range from short to long irons, these are used from the tee box to the green. On shorter holes you can use these on the tee box and use them throughout the entirety of the hole until the green.
Woods - hybrids and fairway woods. These go longer than your irons and are easier to hit. They can be used on the tee box and up to the green. Hybrids will be smaller in size, while fairway woods will look like a small driver.
Driver - what you use on the tee box. This is the club that will go the furthest that you have in your bag.
We hope that these will help you on the course! If you have any more questions about these or have a term you heard but have NO clue what it is, please reach out! We love hearing from our readers.
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