Golf Lingo

   Today I learned about golf and its many confusing and silly terms. Here’s a few I’ve learned today:

Handicap

This is the first word I learned, seeing as I’m a novice. Basically, it’s for balancing the game and evening out the playing field by allowing golf players of mixed ability to compete with one another. I actually found this very enjoyable, and was pleasantly surprised to hear of this rule when I first started playing. Before I came to play the game I was afraid that my opponent was going to trounce me, without me standing a single chance. He did, but I still felt that game was fair, bizarrely.

Best shot

This was an event going on whilst I was toodling around on the course at my own pace, probably much to the annoyance of the other players. It’s a team-based tournament in which each team member takes swing, placing their balls in a desired location. Then a vote takes place, after which the rest of the team continues to play from the winning ball’s location. Some US Masters betting games actually use this format, so if you’re looking to place bets on golf, this is certainly one for you to learn.

Birdie

This is a common one that seems to be heard outside of golf a lot, but I really had no idea what it meant until I played today. It basically means that you’re under par for the current hole by one swing, which actually happened to me a lot. I thought it was something to do with hitting birds, but there you go, that’s golf.

Bunker

At first I thought this was slang for the clubhouse, but it’s not (that’s usually called the 19th hole or something along those lines). It’s a pit of something, usually sand or water that’s placed in usually nasty or annoying positions to catch poorly-aimed golfers out, such as myself. Avoid the bunkers and you’re doing something right!

So, I’ve taken a fancy to golf now and after looking at some of the current US Masters odds, it’s likely that I’ll place a bet sometime soon!