Wit & Wisdom of Golf

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Recovery Shot - Any shot whose primary purpose is to get the ball out of a hazard or away from an obstacle and back into playable position on the fairway. The most important thing to remember when playing recovery shots is not to be greedy. It's far easier to forget to include in your score a single short shot that put the ball into the middle of the fairway than to try to get away without counting a half-dozen duffs, caroms or ricochets.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Red Grange - A score of seventy-seven, named after the number worn by the football great.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Relaxation - In golf, perhaps more than in any other game, relaxation is essential. Any tension in a player's body is instantly transferred to the swing or the putting motion, and the results are invariably disastrous. Even a slightly taut muscle can misdirect the path of the clubhead, sending an expensive ball into the water. An unnecessarily stiffened joint can lead to the kind of jarring, ground-hitting stroke that causes cumulative shaft-related damage to costly clubs and can lead to possible bone injury as well. And an overly rigid grip could, paradoxically, cause a muscular twitch that might allow the club to slip from the fingers during the follow-through, perhaps maiming another player and triggering a multimillion-dollar lawsuit. So for goodness sake, try to relax!

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Reload - To hit an errant tee shot and tee up a second ball. A term also used each time the beer cart approaches, as in "Let's reload."

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Rim - The edge of the hole. A ball that goes around the cup without falling in is said to have rimmed the hole, or to have ringed, skirted, upped, lapped or looped it. It may also be said to have curled, circled or rolled around it, or to have done a tour, a circuit, a round trip, an orbit or a buttonhook. There are one or two terms for a ball actually going into the cup, but they are used so seldom that it seems like a waste of space to include them here.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Ringer - A good player who enters a competition under less than truthful circumstances, usually by claiming a handicap that is much higher than it should be. Also known as a sandbagger.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Rinse, a - What you give your ball when you clean it in a ball washer—or in the lake.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Robbed - Golfers love to complain about being robbed, usually when a putt doesn't break when it should have, or when a putt travelling at Mach 2 doesn't fall into the hole as it should have, or when a tee shot forty yards offline winds up six inches out of bounds. If you want to be cool on the golf course, don't whine about being robbed every time something doesn't go your way.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Rock, the - The pill. The ball.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Roll it - When somebody's a good putter, you say, "Man, he can really roll it." Roll can also be used when players roll the ball over in the fairway to get an improved lie.