Junior Golf Glossary: Key Terms Every Golf Parent Should Know
By the Golf Kids Australia editorial teamLast updated
The golf terms a parent will hear at a junior event, in a pro shop or from a coach - defined in plain English.
Golf uses a vocabulary that assumes you already know it, and nowhere is that more obvious than standing beside a junior event listening to other parents. This glossary covers the terms that actually come up, grouped by where you will hear them.
Scoring
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Par | The strokes a proficient golfer is expected to need on a hole |
| Birdie | One stroke under par on a hole |
| Eagle | Two under par |
| Albatross | Three under par - very rare |
| Bogey | One over par. Double bogey is two over, and so on |
| Ace | A hole in one |
| Gross score | The actual number of strokes taken |
| Net score | Gross score minus handicap strokes |
| Stableford | A points format used by most Australian club competitions |
| Stroke play | Every stroke counts towards one total |
| Match play | Played hole by hole; the total score is irrelevant |
| Ambrose | An Australian team format where the side plays the best ball each shot |
| Stroke index | The difficulty ranking of a hole, deciding where handicap strokes fall |
The two formats worth understanding first are Stableford and match play.
The course
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Teeing area | Where the hole starts, between the markers |
| Fairway | The mown strip between tee and green |
| Rough | The longer grass either side of the fairway |
| Green | The closely mown putting surface |
| Fringe or apron | The slightly longer collar around the green |
| Bunker | A prepared area of sand |
| Penalty area | Water and other marked trouble, staked red or yellow |
| Out of bounds | Beyond the boundary of the course, marked by white stakes or a fence |
| Links | A coastal, sandy, treeless course type |
| Parkland | A tree-lined inland course - the most common type in Australian cities |
| Sandbelt | The sandy belt through Melbourne's south-east, and its famous courses |
| Pin or flagstick | The marker in the hole |
Each of these is described in more detail in parts of a golf course explained.
Equipment
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Loft | The angle of the clubface, which controls height and distance |
| Lie angle | The angle between shaft and sole, which controls whether the club sits flat |
| Flex | How much the shaft bends - junior flex is the softest |
| Bounce | The angle on a wedge sole that stops it digging |
| Hosel | Where the head joins the shaft |
| Ferrule | The decorative collar at the top of the hosel |
| Cavity back | A forgiving iron design, standard in junior sets |
| Hybrid | A cross between an iron and a fairway wood, easier to hit than a long iron |
| Buggy | In Australia, a pull or push trolley. A motorised one is a cart |
| Half set | A reduced set, typical and sensible for a young beginner |
The full anatomy of a club is in parts of a golf club explained.
Shots and technique
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Drive | The tee shot on a longer hole, usually with a driver |
| Approach | A shot played into the green |
| Chip | A short shot from just off the green that runs to the hole |
| Pitch | A higher, longer short-game shot that stops more quickly |
| Lag putt | A long putt where the aim is to finish close, not to hole it |
| Up and down | Getting the ball in the hole in two from off the green |
| Fade and draw | A shot that curves gently right, and one that curves gently left, for a right-hander |
| Slice and hook | The same curves, but severe and unintended |
| Thin and fat | Striking the ball too high on the face, and hitting the ground first |
| Divot | The piece of turf taken by an iron shot |
| Break | The amount a putt curves with the slope |
Rules and play
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Provisional | A second ball played in case the first is lost or out of bounds |
| Relief | Being allowed to move the ball from a particular situation, with or without penalty |
| Drop | The procedure for putting a ball back in play, from knee height |
| Relief area | The measured space a dropped ball must come to rest inside |
| Stroke and distance | The penalty for a lost ball or out of bounds - one stroke, replay from where you were |
| Loose impediment | A natural loose object, such as a leaf or twig, which may be moved |
| Preferred lies | A local rule allowing the ball to be lifted, cleaned and placed |
| Local rule | A rule set by the club or Committee for that course or competition |
| Committee | The body running the course or the competition |
| Ready golf | Playing when you are ready rather than in strict order, to help pace |
The rules a junior actually needs are collected in golf rules every junior golfer should know.
Handicaps and competition
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Handicap | A number representing playing ability, used to level competition |
| World Handicap System | The global handicapping system, used in Australia since 2020 |
| Course rating | How difficult a course is for a scratch golfer |
| Slope rating | How much harder a course plays for a higher handicapper |
| Scratch | A handicap of zero |
| Pennant | Club-versus-club team competition, usually match play |
| Order of merit | A season-long ranking based on tournament results |
| Cut | The point in a multi-round event where the field is reduced |
| Shotgun start | All groups start simultaneously from different holes |
| Tee time | The booked time a group starts |
Handicaps for juniors are explained in the golf handicap explained for juniors.
Junior golf in Australia
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| MyGolf | Australia's national junior introductory program, for ages 5 to 12 |
| Junior membership | A discounted club membership category for juniors |
| Junior tees | Shorter tees, sometimes marked separately, sometimes just the forward set |
| Development squad | A state or regional group for promising juniors |
| Golf Australia | The national governing body |
| State association | Golf NSW, Golf Vic and their counterparts, who run state junior golf |
How these fit together is set out in state junior golf pathways.
Practice and coaching
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Range | The practice area for full shots |
| Short game area | Practice ground for chipping, pitching and bunkers |
| Bay | An individual hitting position at a range |
| Bucket | A quantity of range balls, sold by size |
| Fitting | A session measuring a player for clubs that suit them |
| Launch monitor | A device measuring ball and club data during a shot |
| Block practice | Repeating the same shot over and over |
| Random practice | Changing club and target every shot, closer to real golf |
| Pre-shot routine | The repeatable sequence a player runs before every shot |
Around the club
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pro shop | The retail and booking counter, usually run by the club professional |
| Club professional | The PGA professional attached to a club - coaching, retail, competitions |
| Starter | The person managing tee times on the first tee at busier courses |
| Green fee | The fee to play a round as a visitor |
| Comp day | A day the club runs an official competition |
| Nine and dine | Nine holes followed by a meal - a common social junior-friendly format |
| Honour board | The board listing past club champions |
| Halfway house | The kiosk partway around the course |
| Twilight golf | Late-afternoon golf, often discounted and shorter |
How to read the culture of a club as a newcomer is covered in understanding golf club culture.
If you hear something that is not here
If you hear something that is not here
Ask. Golf's vocabulary is genuinely opaque and every experienced golfer learned it by asking someone. Nobody at a junior event will think less of a parent for asking what a stroke index is - most of them looked it up the same way.
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