Golf terms explained

Golf has a language of its own, and most of it turns up somewhere in dailygolf. Here’s what the words mean, in plain English, and how each one works in the game.

A to C

Ace

Another name for a hole in one. In dailygolf an ace earns 30 skin points on top of the points for the score itself.

Albatross

Three under par on a hole: a 2 on a par 5, or a hole in one on a par 4. It’s rarer than a hole in one, and in dailygolf it’s worth 60 skin points. Americans sometimes call it a double eagle.

Approach

A shot played toward the green, usually the second shot on a par 4 or the third on a par 5. Approaches are where club choice matters most. The strategy guide lists how far each club flies.

Backspin

Spin that makes the ball rotate backward as it flies. It gives the ball lift, so it climbs, and makes it stop quickly when it lands. Wedges spin the most and a full sand wedge even pulls back after landing. The driver spins the least and runs on. Into the wind, a lot of backspin makes the ball balloon and fall short.

Birdie

One under par on a hole: a 2 on a par 3, a 3 on a par 4 or a 4 on a par 5. A birdie earns 10 skin points and gets a circle on the scorecard.

Bogey

One over par on a hole. A double bogey is two over and a triple bogey three over. The scorecard marks a bogey with a square and anything worse with a double square.

Bunker

A hollow filled with sand, placed to catch wayward shots. A pot bunker is a small, deep one, common on seaside courses. From sand in dailygolf, the sand wedge still gets 90% of its usual distance and every other club only 62%.

Carry

How far the ball flies through the air before it first touches the ground. The white ring on the course shows where a full swing’s carry ends on a calm day, and the club box shows the carry from the lie you’re on.

Cart path

A paved path for golf carts. In dailygolf you get a full shot off a path, but a ball that lands on one bounds a long way along it.

Chip, chip-in

A chip is a short, low shot from just off the green that runs most of the way to the hole. Holing one is a chip-in, worth an extra 5 skin points when the hole ends under par.

Classic

dailygolf’s name for a famous hole rebuilt by hand, such as the island green at TPC Sawgrass. About one course in three has one. The Classics covers all twelve.

Clubs

The tools in the bag. Woods (including the driver) are for distance, irons for accuracy, wedges for short shots with lots of spin, and the putter for rolling the ball on the green. dailygolf gives you eleven clubs and a putter: driver, 3 wood, 3 hybrid, the 5 to 9 irons, and the pitching, gap and sand wedges. A hybrid is a cross between a wood and an iron.

Cut

A gentle curve from left to right for a right-handed golfer (right to left for a left-hander). In dailygolf a cut is one of the three ways an overswing can go wrong.

D to H

Dogleg

A hole that bends left or right partway along, like a dog’s hind leg. Cutting the corner shortens the hole but brings the trees, water or rough on the inside of the bend into play.

Driver

The longest club, used from the tee on par 4s and par 5s. In dailygolf it carries 250 yards and rolls about 17 more on the fairway. It’s also the club that curves the most when your swing drifts.

Eagle

Two under par on a hole: a 3 on a par 5, a 2 on a par 4, or a hole in one on a par 3. It earns 30 skin points and a double circle on the scorecard.

Even (E)

A score equal to par. In dailygolf your course total is shown against par 12, so 12 strokes is E, 11 is −1 and 14 is +2.

Fairway

The strip of short grass between the tee and the green. It gives the cleanest lie and the most control, so most tee shots aim for it. Many dailygolf fairways fork into two routes and join up again.

Flag, pin

The flagstick that marks where the hole is on the green. In dailygolf, the small flag on the power meter marks the power that would get the club in your hand to the pin.

Flyover

The camera sweep along each hole before your first shot, from the green back to the tee. Tap to skip it. You can look over the hole again any time with V or the map button.

Fringe

The band of slightly longer grass around the edge of the green. It plays almost like a clean lie. Putting from the fringe is often safer than chipping, and dailygolf sizes the putter for the extra grass.

Green

The very short, smooth grass around the hole, where you putt. Greens have slopes, and dailygolf shows them with a grid of arrows that drift downhill. Greens are soft, so spinning shots stop on them quickly.

Hazard

Trouble on a course, usually water. In dailygolf a ball in the water costs one stroke, and you play on from a drop beside where it went in.

Hole in one

Holing your tee shot, almost always on a par 3. It goes on the scorecard as 1 with its own mark and earns 30 extra skin points.

Hook

A shot that curves sharply to the left for a right-handed golfer (to the right for a left-hander). Long clubs hook and slice the most. In dailygolf it comes from drifting sideways on the flick, or from an overswing.

L to P

Lie

Where the ball is sitting and what it’s sitting on. A good lie is the fairway or the tee. A bad one is deep rough or sand. dailygolf’s lie box shows the share of a normal shot you’ll get, and the guide has the full table.

Links

A course on sandy ground by the sea, with few trees, firm turf and plenty of wind. The Old Course at St Andrews is the most famous. A golf course of any kind is sometimes called “the links”, too.

Mulligan

A do-over: replaying a shot as if the first never happened. Mulligans aren’t allowed in real competition, but friends often give each other one. In dailygolf everyone gets one per course. It puts the ball back where you hit it from, and neither the stroke nor any penalty counts. You have to use it before your next swing.

Out of bounds (OB)

Ground outside the course, usually marked with white stakes or a fence. A ball out of bounds costs a stroke, and in dailygolf you hit again from the same spot. The landing ring turns red when it’s over out of bounds.

Overswing

A dailygolf term. Pulling the power meter past 100% (it goes to 112%) is an overswing. The ball hooks, cuts or slices, you never know which, and it usually comes up short. The further past 100% and the longer the club, the worse it gets.

Par

The number of strokes a good golfer is expected to take on a hole, counting two putts. Holes are par 3, 4 or 5 depending mostly on length. The daily course has one of each, par 12 in all.

Pick up

To stop playing a hole and take a set score for it. dailygolf picks you up once you reach par + 5, so nobody gets stuck on a hole.

Plays like

The distance a shot really plays once you allow for the rise or fall to the target. A pin 10 yards above you plays about 10 yards longer. dailygolf shows this as the “Plays” figure under the distance to the pin.

Putt

A stroke with the putter that rolls the ball along the ground, usually on the green. In dailygolf the putter is sized for each putt, so the flag on the power meter marks the stroke that reaches the hole. The wind doesn’t touch a putt.

R to Y

Reading the green

Working out which way a putt will curve, and how much. Putts break downhill. In dailygolf the slope arrows drift downhill, faster and warmer in color where the slope is steeper. Aim above the hole on the high side. The arrows can be switched off with S.

Rough

Longer grass beside the fairway. It grabs the club and takes spin off the ball. From the rough in dailygolf you get about 88% of a normal shot, and from deep rough about 72%, and the ball runs further after it lands.

Scorecard

The record of your strokes on each hole. dailygolf’s scorecard circles holes under par and puts a square round holes over par, and shows where you used your mulligan.

Skins

In real golf, a skins game is a match where each hole is worth a prize to whoever wins it outright. In dailygolf, skins are the outfits, balls and clubs you buy with points earned for holes under par.

Slice

A shot that curves sharply to the right for a right-handed golfer (to the left for a left-hander). It’s the most common miss in real golf. The driver slices the most.

Stroke

Every swing at the ball counts as a stroke, whether it goes one foot or 300 yards, and so does every penalty. Your score on a hole is your strokes plus penalties.

Tee, tee box

The tee box is the flat area where each hole starts, and a tee is the little peg the ball sits on for the first shot. In dailygolf you start on the driver from the tee on par 4s and 5s, and a 7 iron on par 3s.

Up and down

Getting the ball into the hole in two strokes from off the green: a chip, pitch or bunker shot, then one putt. It’s how good players save par after missing a green.

Wind

In dailygolf the wind is shown in miles per hour in the top right, with an arrow for its direction. It blows harder higher up, so high, spinning shots feel it most. A headwind costs more distance than a tailwind adds. The guide has the numbers for every club.

Yardage

Distance in yards (a yard is about 0.91 meters). dailygolf measures holes and full shots in yards and putts in feet.

Updated October 4, 2026.