Man had been trying for 400 plus years to perfect the golf swing. Yet not one person has found it yet. Here are a few ways of hitting a small ball.
1. Drilled
A putt hit with power into the hole.
2. Daisycutter
Short on height but achieves a great distance.
3. Wormburner
Similar to the above, not much height but goes far. Otherwise known as a Sally Gunnell; an ugly runner, but goes a long way.
4. Rattled
A putt hit with authority that finds the back of the hole.
5. Howler
An easy putt missed that costs a win. A nan could have putted that.
6. Nailed
A driven, straight shot that finds its intended target.
7. Thumped
A high and powerful drive.
8. Smashed
Continuing our current theme of superlatives for the big hitters.
9. Lashed
An unorthodox drive consisting of ‘more power than anything’.
10. Flop shot
You need to ‘cut the legs from under the ball’ to ‘throw it high into the air’ to land the ball where ‘there isn’t much green to work with’.
11. Bombing it
A huge drive that flies like a missile.
12. Lag putt
A putt to get near the hole or in the ‘bin lid’. No intention of holing.
13. Clutch putt
A putt at a crucial moment, i.e. to win a tournament.
14. Duff
A duff shot is to mess up. Can be to top, fat, miss or drive the ball into the ground.
15. Fluffed
The fluff shot is to duff a shot at a cruical time.
16. Fat shot
Fat shot hit the ground before the ball, creating a sod. Opposite of…
17. Thin shot
Thinning is hitting the ball on or below the equator of the ball, causing a low trajectory and more distance than required.
18. Air shot
A swing that completely misses the ball. Try saying ‘that was a practise’.
19. Smotes
To hit back with equalling or better drive than your playing partner.
20. Punch shot
An intentional thin shot.
21. Bump/Chip and run
Short in finesse but gets the job done, perfect for amateurs for around the green.
22. Splashing it out
A superb chip out of the sandtrap.
23. Checking chip shot
A pitch shot with a little backspin, showboat stuff.
24. Lob shot
A shot showing deft spin control. Stopped it stone-dead.
25. Audacious chip
A bold and reckless shot.
26. Perfect chip
A chip that all but finishes in the hole, so not that perfect.
27. Flared
A long drive that has missed the fairway, usually accompanied with a direction i.e. flared left/right.
28. Wild
An ungainly swing that could send the ball anywhere.
29. Hack
A hacker is a derogatory term for a rubbish golfer. To hack is to swing furiously usually to escape the rough with the sole purpose to ‘get back onto the fairway’.
30. Rip it
Ripping is a clean, well struck drive or long iron.
31. Murder it
To murder a golf ball is to want to hit the thing so hard to almost ‘knock the paint off it’. But often murdering results in a poor drive or the duff shot.
32. Shank
Hitting ball with heel of club. Swing goes outside / over the top of the ball.
33. Sunday best
A proper ‘stand up’ drive, best suited for the final day.
34. Tickled
A delicately hit putt just hard enough to find the hole.
35. Thrashed
A tamer variation of thumped but still full of power.
36. Flung
A delicate chip onto the dancefloor, like throwing underhand.
37. Swung
A prudent chip or pitch swung around a tree or bunker.
38. Pressure putt
Reserved for a ‘grandstand finish’ on the 18th on a Sunday or to force a playoff.
39. Game changer
This shot has the potential to turn a round ‘on its head’ or to revive a flagging round.
40. Pin-high
An approach shot that has missed the green but level with the flag.
41. Chasing it through
An impeccable shot with faultless follow through and an excellent finishing position.
42. Sprayed
A good drive that just missed the short grass.
43. Tippy-tippy
A series of putts that miss the hole until finally the ball drops or the putter is snapped.
44. Fade
Intentional gentle left-to-right flightpath. Opposite of a draw.
45. Necky fade
A far more severe fade required to get past a hazard.
46. Draw
A right-to-left ball flight, far less severe than a hook and hit intentionally.
47. Hood
A hooded strike is to close the clubface for a low trajectory flight.
48. Low slinger
A low shot with a long iron, may not be intended but gets the ball down there.
49. Flubs
Driven into trees or bushes. Will have to take a drop.
50. Tap-in
An easy putt. Can showboat by putt one-handed or on one foot or by using the back of the ‘flat stick’.
51. Stiff
To knock the shot close to the hole from the tee or fairway.
52. Wayward drive
A drive that misses the intended fairway but is recoverable.
53. Stinger
A low punch shot with a 3-wood. Perfect if not swinging well or there are ‘over-hanging trees’.
54. Drained
An exceptionally long putt that sinks in the hole.
55. Died in the hole
A putt where the ball drops into the hole seemingly with its last roll or breath.
56. Spinning chip
A terrific chip that spins back to the flag.
57. High and hand some
A big drive, more height equals more distance.
58. More height than anything
Quashing the theory above, this shot travels more distance in the air than land it covered.
59. Long splash shot
A big hit from a fairway bunker.
60. Riposte
Can come after a fellow competitor tremendous drive or approach, or after a poor hit.
61. Undercooked
A tame or misjudged putt.
62. Flayed
To swing viscously, whip or lash.
63. Push
Starts right and stays on right trajectory in a straight line.
64. Pull
Starts left and continues on left trajectory.
65. Slice
Starts left of target and curves right of target.
66. Snap hook
Shot that fiercely curves right to left straight from the bat.
67. Too cute
A chip that ends up short of the target.
68. Blade it
Similar to thinning, hitting the equator with the leading edge.
69. Top
Hitting the ball above the equator, creates topspin.
70. Skull
A severely thinned shot with an iron, often shooting through the green.
71. Poz-A (Position A)
The perfect shot to be in a position to attack the green. Most commonly found on doglegs.
72. Split the fairway
A fabulous drive right down the middle.
73. Driven
Into the deck. Is to hit the ball off the tee into the ground losing distance, accuracy and respect.
74. Mammoth
Like the creature, big and powerful, but less hairy.
75. Up and down
Technically this is to take two shots from off the green to sink the ball.
76. Double hit/kiss
A phenomenal and tricky shot to pull off intentional. Hitting the ball a second time in the follow-through. Penalised with a one stroke penalty.
77. Duck hook
A big right-to-left arc, similar to the snap hook, only the duck loses height quickly.
78. Yips
An involuntary flick or jerk of the putter whilst swinging (no cure as of yet).
79. Canned
A lengthy putt.
80. Still some meat left on that bone
A putt left short. Opposite of…
81. Too much meat behind that
82. Powered
In reference to putting, the ball is hit too had and jumped over the hole.
83. Stopped stone-dead
A chip that does not roll or bounce once on the green.
84. Flier
This to hit sweetly out of the rough. Often too sweet and flies past the green.
85. Came out hot
A fierce, over hit putt. Can be referred to approach shots too.
86. Gouge out
To hit a ball that has nestled down in the rough.
87. Run out steam
Not enough force required to sink a putt, can also be used to describe a players round that has faltered.
88. Mullered
Originally from soccer lexicon, coined from the German striker Gerd Muller’s ability to score long range efforts.
89. Spanking
Bring joy to golfers and sadomasochists.
90. Hot and low
A low flying iron shot.
91. Crashed
A more or less indecorous version of mullered.
92. Knockdown shot
Perfect shot to play when in between clubs.
93. Blast out
This a good bunker shot where a lot of sand is thrown up.
94. Crunch it
Crunching a long iron is dig out a good strike from the fairway.
95, Dragged
Similar to pull but the putting equivalent.
96. Brazilian
Shaved the edge.
97. Joe Pesci
Ugly five footer; downhill.
98. Lipped out
The most frustrating of all, hits the rim of the cup but doesn’t drop.
99. Rammie Rimmer
A titillating putt that circumnavigates the edge of the hole before dropping.
100. Swoosh
How swoosh became an adjective is anyone’s guess, but this is an accepted description of a perfectly hit drive that makes the ball fizz.
101. Snotter
A difficult shot to pull off intently, much harder than the Russian ladies weightlifting team. A drive that beats them all.
Hopefully you won’t hit all of these shots in one round.
golfburn 