Glossary/Terms H-L

HACK - To chop violently at the ball. To make bad shots. To play bad golf.

HACKER - An unskilled golfer. Same as "duffer"

HALF - Used in match play when score is tied on a hole. Each side credited with a half.

HALF SHOT - A shot played with a less than full swing.

HALVED - When a match is played without a decision. A hole is "halved" when both sides play it in the same number of strokes.

HANDICAP - The number of strokes a player may deduct from his actual score to adjust his scoring ability to the level of a scratch golfer. It is designed to allow golfers of different abilities to basically compete on the same level.

HANDICAP CERTIFICATE - A document issued by the player's home club or golfing association that indicates his current handicap.

HANGING LIE - A ball resting on a downhill slope.

HAZARD - A hazard is any sand trap, bunker or water on the course that may cause difficulty.

HEAD - The part of the club that makes contact with the ball. Usually made of wood, iron or some substitute material.

HEEL - The part of the club head nearest the shaft.

HEEL SHAFTED PUTTER - A putter with a shaft connected at the heel of the head, promoting a more arc-like putting stroke.

HICKORY - Wood from a native North American tree used at the beginning of the 19th century to make club shafts. Use continued until the 1920's.

HIGH TOE - A putter form that gives the appearance of a more upright lie, fooling the eye.

HIT - To play a shot or stroke.

HOG'S BACK - A ridge of ground or a hole having a ridge on a fairway.

HOLD - To hit the ground and stay in place with little roll or bounce.

HOLE - A 4 1/4" (108 mm) round receptacle in the green - at least 4" (100 mm) deep. Also refers to one of the nine or eighteen areas between the tee and the green.

HOLE HIGH - A ball that is even with the hole but off to one side.

HOLE IN ONE - A hole made with one stroke. Same as "ace".

HOLE OUT - To complete the play for one hole by hitting the ball into the cup.

HOME AND HOME MATCH - match A match made up of rounds played on the home course of each participant or group.

HOME GREEN - The last hole green.

HOME PRO - A professional who holds a position at a golf club, teaches, and plays only in local events.

HONOR - The privilege of hitting first from the tee. Usually assigned at the first tee. After the first tee, the privilege goes to the winner of the last hole.

HOOK - To hit the ball in a manner that causes it to curve from right to left in the case of a right-handed player or left to right for a left hander.

HORSESHOE - A putt that skims around the back half edge of the cup and rolls back towards the putter.

HOSEL - The hollow part of an iron club head into which the shaft is fitted.

HUSTLER - A golfer with greater ability who purposely maintains a higher handicap in order to win more bets.

HYBRID CLUB - This type of club is new in the last few years and is a cross between an iron and a fairway wood. Hybrids usually replace longer irons (3, 4, 5, 6 irons) or fairway woods.

JAIL - Help, I'm in jail! Stated when you are faced with a very difficult shot.

JERK - To hit the ball from a bad lie, rough or sand, with a downward cutting motion causing the clubhead to dig into the ground beneath the ball.

JIGGER - An iron with moderate loft and a short shaft. No longer in use. Present equivalent is the 4 iron.

JUNGLE - A slang term for heavy rough.

IMPACT - The moment when the ball strikes the club.

IN - The second nine holes as opposed to out - the first nine holes.

INERTIA (Moment of) - The measurement of an object's resistance to twisting around a given axis when it is struck by another object. A higher Moment of Inertia means greater resistance to twisting. Golf clubs with more weight around the perimeter of the club head generally have higher inertia.

INLAND - In play Within the course (not out of bounds).

INSIDE - Being nearer the hole than the ball of your opponent.

INSIDE THE LEATHER - A method used to measure a gimmee; with the putter head in the hole, if a ball lies closer than the bottom of the grip, the putt may be conceded. Of course, only traditional-length putters may be used.

INTERLOCKING GRIP - A type of grip where the little finger of the left hand is intertwined with the index finger of the right hand for a right handed player. The converse applies to a left hander.

INTENDED LINE - The line you expect the ball to travel after hit.

IRON - Any one of a number of clubs with a head made of iron or steel. See definitions for individual clubs "two iron" etc.
Impact - The moment in the swing when the club strikes the ball.

KICK - Another term for bounce. Usually an unpredictable or erratic bounce.

KILL THE BALL - To hit a long shot.

LAG - To putt the ball with the intention leaving it short to ensure being able to hole out on the next stroke.

LATERAL HAZARD - Any hazard running parallel to the line of play.

LAY UP - To play a shorter shot than normally might be attempted. Would be done to achieve a good lie short of a hazard rather than trying to hit the green in one less shot.

LAYOUT - The manner in which the holes are placed on the golf course when designed.

LEADER BOARD - Sign where scores are posted during a tournament.

LEARNING CENTER - A complete practice and instruction facility, which may or may not be on the site of a golf course.

LIE - The position in which the ball rests on the ground. The lie can be good or bad in terms of the nature of ground where is rests, the slope, and the level of difficulty in playing it. The number of strokes a player is to have played during the hole.

LINE - The correct path of a putt to the hole when putting. Also when on the fairway, the correct direction in which the ball to be played toward the putting green.

LINE OF FLIGHT - The actual path of the ball.

LINE UP - To study the green in order to determine how the putt should be played.

LINKS - Originally meaning a seaside course, it is now used to mean any golf course.

LINKSMAN - A golfer.

LINK UP 2 GOLF - Link Up 2 Golf is a group lesson program covering all you need to know to start playing the game. The program includes eight hours of on-course group instruction over a 4- to 5-week period on etiquette, speed of play and proper behavior.

LIP - The top rim of the hole or cup.

LOB SHOT - A shot that goes straight up and comes almost straight down with very little spin or forward momentum. Useful when there is not much green to play to.

LOCAL RULES - A set of rules for a club determined by the members.

LOFT - The elevation of the ball in the air. Also means the angle at which the club face is set from the vertical and is used to lift the ball into the air. It is measured precisely as the angle between the face and a line parallel to the shaft.

LOFTER - An obsolete highly-lofted club that was the predecessor of the Niblick.

LONG GAME - Shots hit with the woods and long irons.

LONG IRONS - The relatively straight-face and longer hitting irons.

LOOKING UP - The act of prematurely lifting your head to follow the flight of the ball, which also raises the swing center and can result in erratic ballstriking.

LOOSE IMPEDIMENTS - Any natural object that is not fixed or growing. This can include loose stones, twigs, branches, molehills, dung, worms and insects.

LOW BALL AND TOTAL - A four-ball team bet in which the best ball of each team wins a point and the lowest total of the partners wins another point.

LPGA - The Ladies' Professional Golf Association.