Aphrodite Hills > Golf Trivia Home > Golf Dictionary S - T

More on the Golf Dictionary, we're getting there!

U

Ugly - Anything bad that happens to you on the course, especially when you hit a poor shot, is ugly. So when you hit an incredibly bad shot, don't curse, just say, "Man, that was ugly," and everyone will nod with understanding.

Umbrella - The only long, stick-shaped object with a shaft and a handle routinely found in golf bags that is just as useless in getting the ball into the hole as a putter is.

Unplayable Ball - The rules of golf make the player "the sole judge" of whether his or her ball is unplayable, and most players use this judicial power to waive the usual penalty for moving the ball in light of their standing in the community.

Up and Down - Holing out from off the green in two strokes: an approach shot and a single putt. It is more common for players to go "up, across, beyond, next to, around and down" or "up, way over, under, into, through, along, onto, beside and down."

V

Vardon Grip - The almost universally used golf grip, in which the little finger of the right hand overlaps the forefinger of the left. Its invention is attributed to the legendary golfer Harry Vardon, a true innovator in the game who also developed an over-the-neck muzzlegrab for dislodging a ball from the jaws of a dog, a one-armed stranglehold for persuading recalcitrant golfers to recompute the totals on their scorecards, and a two-handed throatgrasp for throttling a caddy.

Victory lap - The circle a putt makes around the rim of the cup before falling in.

W

Waggle - To swing the club back and forth in short, sweeping motions above the ball after addressing it and before beginning the backswing. Another preparatory motion players often make is a "forward press," a slight shifting of weight to the left leg accompanied by a partial bending of the right knee just prior to starting the backswing. In extreme cases, particularly when a crucial stroke is about to be made, players may, even before setting up for the shot, make an "upward address" by fully bending both knees until they touch the ground, then tilting the head forward and clasping the hands together, fingers fully interlocked.

Warm-up Exercises - Although golf is not as physically demanding as most other sports, it certainly doesn't hurt to loosen up one's muscles before a round. Here are a few simple exercises designed to get you ready for the day's play:

· Hold out your arm, make a fist, and shake it back and forth, then open the fist, palm facing inward, extend the middle finger, and pump your hand up and down.

· Kick at the ground„ then stomp on it, first with your right foot, then with your left, then jump up and down.

· Take off your hat, grasp it in your hand, throw it on the ground, pick it up, and repeat.

· Raise your arms over your head, fists clenched, wave them vigorously and let out as loud a scream as you can, holding it for at least 15 seconds.

Watery grave - Where your disobedient balls go every time you try to carry a water hazard.

Weekend warriors - Golfers who play infrequently, so called because the only time they can play is on weekends.

Wind - Natural motion of the air. There are four basic winds that golfers have to contend with: a headwind; a wind that blows squarely in their faces; a wind that blows from the green toward the tee; and a wind that blows from a point directly in front of them to a point directly behind them.

Winter Rules - Local rules that permit balls to be lifted, cleaned and replaced in a preferred, i.e., more favourable lie without penalty during periods when adverse weather conditions make proper maintenance of the fairways impractical. Most golfers generally adhere to winter rules from the 1 st of November until Halloween.

Woods - 1. Type of golf club used to drive the ball a long distance. 2. Where the ball lands after being driven a long distance.

Wrist - In golfers, the swollen joint that connects a sore hand to an aching elbow and a painful shoulder.

X

X What you put on your scorecard when you do not finish a hole. A common optical illusion makes it look like a four or a five.

X-outs - A series of Xs are printed over the brand name of some golf balls to indicate that, because of minor imperfections, they are "x-outs," or "seconds," and are cheaper than a properly manufactured ball. Golf balls are a lot less expensive than they were in the early days of the game, when the handmade, goosedown-stuffed, leather-covered "featherie" or the rubber "guttie" represented a sizable investment, but it can still be painful to lose one. Thus, golfers who routinely fire balls into water hazards or the woods will, when confronting these hazards, switch to an x-out ball or, in descending order of value, a "range ball" (one purchased in bulk from a driving range), "smilie" (a ball with a deep cut in it), "filchie" (a ball taken from another golfer's bag) or "spuddie" (a small potato).

Y

Yank - A putt that is pulled to the left.

Yard - One of the basic units of measurement in golf. Some others are: the stroke (1.4 swings = 1 stroke); the minute spent looking for a lost ball (1,145 seconds); a 30-foot putt (divide by 5 if preceded by the phrase "I sunk" and by 10 if preceded by the phrase "I missed"); the club-length in determining whether a putt is a gimme (the length of the clubhouse along its longest axis, not including stairs or porches); and liquid measure at the 19th hole (one drink = two drinks).

Yips A nervous disorder that afflicts golfers on the green. An inability to take the putter back, coupled with twitchy hands and the complete absence of nerve, constitutes a case of the yips. No golfer has ever permanently conquered this condition.

Z

Zone, the When everything you do is right, and you know it's right before you do it, that's the zone. The number of times you get to visit the zone, and the amount of time you spend there, is in direct proportion to your ability. So if you want to get in the zone, you'd better visit the practice tee first.