Golfing Terminology

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We thought at UAEGO we should make a list of basic Golfing terms for those who may be new or not be up on the game of Golf.
Below is a small list of terms associated with Golf to help you understand what it's all about!!

Golfing Terms:
Tee Box: - Where the first shot on a golf hole is played from.
Green: - Where the final shots of a hole are played.
Fairway: - The grassed area between Tee and Green cut to a height that makes it the preferred surface to play from.
Bunker: - Sandy surface instead of grass usually found close to the green.
Rough: - Longer grass found at the sides of the fairway and around the green framing the golf hole.
Water Hazard: - Water feature found around the course and identified by yellow stakes marking its boundary.
Par: - The number of shots in which professionals should complete the golf hole in!
Par 3: - The green is a distance that can be reached in 1 shot with two more putts to complete the hole.
Par 4: - The green is a distance that can be reached in 2 shots with two more putts to complete the hole.
Par 5: - The green is a distance that can be reached in 3 shots with two more putts to complete the hole
Birdie: - The hole completed in one stroke less than par.
Eagle: - The hole completed in 2 strokes less than par.
Albatross: - The hole completed in 3 strokes less than par. (Sometimes called hole in one on a par three or double eagle on a par 5).
Bogey: - The hole completed in 1stroke more than the par.

Golf Courses:
There are normally 18 holes on a golf course and the course is split in to two nines (The outward nine and the inward nine).
Courses normally consist of a mixture of Pars on the 18 e.g; 10 x par 4s, 4 x par 3s, 4 x par 5s. This gives you a total par of 72.

Handicap:
This is a number deducted from a player’s score after a round of golf which reflects his \ her ability level. The total score (gross score) minus the players handicap equals their (nett score).
The total number of shots a player has on average more than par in a round will become his Handicap e.g.
Total score of 100 minus their handicap should finish close to the total par for the course. In this case 100 – 28 = 72. The player has played to a handicap of 28.
Standard Scratch: - Is a number which can shift up and down from the par of the course. It represent the difficulty of the course to play, courses may have the same par but change in toughness due to distance of holes played, size, slopes and speed of greens, number of hazards on the course and weather conditions.
Stroke Index: - This indicates the order of difficulty the holes are to play, stroke index 1 being the most difficult. Shots in a match play tournament would be awarded in connection with the stroke index.
Stroke play: - A game normally played over the full 18 holes where every hole must be completed with the ball holed out and the total score for all 18 holes added together. This type of competition can have more than 100 competitors.
Match play: - A game which normally has 2 or 4 players, they play each other shot by shot. The result for each hole will be win, lose or draw. The player or team who has won more holes than there are left to play has won the match.

Happy UAE Golfing!

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