Although I’ve played golf since I was seven, I never really thought about the unique language golfers use when talking to each other. It wasn’t until I started teaching the game that I realized how overwhelming all the jargon can be for beginners. How many of these 15 golf sayings do you know, understand and use?
Drive for show, putt for dough
Hitting a big tee shot makes you look like you know what you are doing, but in the end, the golf ball needs to end up in the hole. As much as golfers know this, it still gets hard to wrap our minds around the idea that putting is the most critical part of the game. (This phrase is attributed to South African Bobby Locke, winner of four Open Championships.)
Grip it and rip it
“Grip it and rip it” is a term widely associated with John Daly, who authored a book titled Grip It and Rip It: John Daly’s Guide to Hitting the Ball Farther Than You Ever Have Before. If you check out our article on the longest drivers on the PGA Tour over the last 35 years, you’ll see exactly how the “grip it and rip it” mentality shaped Daly’s career.
Never up, never in
If you don’t get the ball to the hole, it has no chance of going in. Whether it’s putting, chipping or your approach shot to the green, if you aren’t up, you can’t get it in.
The more you practice, the luckier you get
Some of the greatest golfers in the game have used this saying. Of course, a bit of luck is involved in playing great golf but putting in the practice is a big part of it.
Golf is a game of inches
While a couple of inches either way might make or break a putt or make the difference between ending up in a penalty area or not, it’s often said that the most important inches in golf are the ones between your ears. Golf is as much a mental game as a physical one and the sooner you embrace that, the easier it becomes to play your best. (This saying is attributed to the legendary Bobby Jones.)
Play it as it lies
Play the ball as it lies. When you see your golf ball in a divot, buried in the rough or plugged in the sand, the rules of golf say to play it as it lies.
The most important shot in golf is the next one
This saying is for golfers who tend to get ahead of themselves on the course. Don’t worry about your shot coming down the 18th hole or how you will handle getting over the water hazard on 15. Instead, take it one shot at a time, do your best and play every round with this mentality.
You can talk to a fade but a hook won’t listen
Fades tend to have more backspin, higher ball flight and a softer overall landing. When you’re watching your fade and yelling for it to hang on, there’s a chance it might. A hook, on the other hand, has forward spin and plenty of roll. Hooks travel a long way. (This saying is often attributed to Lee Trevino.)
Keep it in the short grass
No matter where your golf ball is located – the fairway, the green or the approach – you’ll want to keep it in the short grass. G easier when playing from shorter grass.
It’s not how, it’s how many
Have you ever noticed that on a scorecard, there is no section to write down how your ball got to the hole? If you took three ugly shots to get to the green and rolled down a 50-footer for par, it’s still a par. Sometimes, you won’t hit the prettiest golf shot, but the point is to get the ball in the hole.
If you can’t play well, play fast
Most golfers don’t care if you are a good or bad player. However, if you’re a slow player, it’s going to annoy everyone in the group. Even if you are having a rough day on the course, keep up the pace of play.
You miss 100% of the putts you leave short
Similar to the “never up, never in” comment, if you don’t get your putt to the hole, it won’t go in. Duh. You want your miss to be somewhere in the 12-inch space directly past the hole, never short.
Golf is a four-letter word
This one is self-explanatory. We’ve all had those days on the course where we wonder what keeps us coming out there and we might use some other four-letter words to express our frustration.
The hole gets smaller the longer you stand over the ball
This saying is not as common as others on this list but it’s a great one. If you tend to stand over your ball for too long, you’ll make the game harder. Develop a pre-shot routine where you are ready to hit but don’t be afraid to pull the trigger.
Never follow a bad shot with a stupid one
We all hit bad shots. After a bad shot, get the ball back into play and move on. Attempting a hero shot between the trees, over the water, etc., from a tricky location almost always leads to disaster. A bogey is a score you can recover from but a triple is a lot harder to battle back from.
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