Vocabulary 101: Golf Slangs

Golf’s been around for more than 5oo years; plenty enough time to develop a vocabulary or golf slangs of its own.  So to learn the golf language is to understand that it’s a mixture of lingo, jargon, definitions, slang, quips, puns and quotes….. all used to colorfully describe things that can and will happen while we’re playing.
For example, you can utter the word “sandbagger” in seven different languages and they all point to a guy that pads his handicap.

Vocabulary 101: Golf Slangs

“Dew Sweeper”

Is a term used to describe golfers who want to be first on the Omaha golf course and will play very early in the morning.  For tournament players it’s a mild insult. This usually means you didn’t play particularly well the previous day.  Thus the early tee time.

“Hosel Rocket”

A hosel rocket is essentially a shank. A Shank is a real bad golf shot. So “hosel rocket” is a cute way to describe a shot where the neck of the club, also known as the hosel, strikes the ball instead of the club face.  This causes a wild, spinning, erratic shot that usually travels about 45 degree off target to the right.  You will get teased if this happens to you.

“Alice”

Alice is a put down term said to a golfer who leaves a short golf putt.  This word comes from a Ryder Cup match many years ago when European golfer Peter Alliss did exactly that to lose his match; prompting someone from the gallery to shout “Nice Putt Alliss” and that started the reference to leaving short putts short which really is so bad it should be called something worse.

Here are few more Omaha golf course slangs or terms

• “Amelia Earhart”    A term used to describe a shot that looks good taking off, but then becomes lost.
• “Pole Dancer”    Often said when a golf ball hit onto the green strikes and bounces around the flagstick.
• “James Joyce”    A putt that’s hard to read.
• “Military Golf”   Successive shots that go: left, right, left, right.
• “Laurel & Hardy”  A thin shot followed by a fat one.
• “Captain Kirk”   A shot that has just gone where no shot has gone before.
• “Christmas Present”   Your ball… just found by your opponent, lying under an evergreen tree.
• “Danny DeVito”     A tough 5 foot putt.  Also called a De Palma.
• “Foot Wedge”      When a balls lie is improved by nudging with one’s foot.  Usually done in the rough. A low level form of cheating.
• “Mouth Wedge”   A player who talks way too much, sometimes needles other players and in general acts like a big know it all.  Someone will eventually say “why don’t you put your mouth wedge back in the bag”.

Can’t imagine what new golf slangs will be discovered in the next 500 years, but it’s a sure bet there will be some!

Bent Tree Golf Club Omaha & Council Bluffs

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