Myrtle Beach Golf Dictionary

Understanding all the golf jargon that goes along with a vacation can be a little confusing; and knowing the difference between green aeration and verticutting can make a big difference in your next vacation. Here you will find all the terms that may come up during your next golf vacation to Myrtle Beach.

If you don't see the term you are looking for, click here and we will define it for you.

90-Degree Rule

When in effect, golfers should keep their carts on the cart path until they are even with a golf ball in the fairway.
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When in effect, golfers should keep their carts on the cart path until they are even with a golf ball in the fairway. Only then should the cart leave the path, turning sharply (90 degrees) to drive straight across to the golf ball. After playing the shot, the cart should be driven directly back to the cart path. This helps the golfer get to the ball quickly while still maintaing the quality of the fairway.

Aerification

Aerification is a process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting by removing ½-inch cores (plugs) from the green.
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Aerification is a process that creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting by removing ½-inch cores (those plugs you sometimes see near a green or in fairways) from a compacted green. This allows for an infusion of air and water to the green's root system. The spaces are then filled with sand “topdressing” that helps the soil retain air space and makes it easier for roots to grow downward.

Like so many things, the quality of a good putting green is more than skin deep. In fact, the condition of a green has a lot to do with what goes on below the surface. In order for grass to grow at 3/16-inch, it must have deep, healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they get the oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles.

Aerification achieves three important objectives. It relieves soil compaction, it provides a method to improve the soil mixture around the highest part of a green’s roots and it reduces or prevents the accumulation of excess thatch.

Air Shot

When a player intends to play a shot but misses the ball completely, no contact with the club and golf ball was made.
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Albatross

Former name for the term "Double Eagle" which is defined as the score for a hole made in 3 strokes under par. A British term.
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Alternate Ball Format

This term indicates a form of play where players alternate hitting each other's ball on each stroke until the hole is finished.
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For example, after teeing off, player 1 hits player 2's ball and vice versa. This process continues throughout the round of golf.

Amateur Golfer

A golfer who plays without any monetary compensation.
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Angle of Approach

The angle or degree at which the club moves downward, or upward, toward the golf ball as the player comes down.
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Difference Between Links and Stadium Courses

Links golf courses are seaside courses that look like the east of Scotland
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Links golf courses are seaside style courses that look like the east of Scotland where the game of golf originated (Hamilton). They are grassy open expanses, with rolling hills, deep roughs and no trees.

A stadium golf course can be any style but consists of areas where large numbers of viewers can see the action. Sawgrass at the TPC in Jacksonville is a good example of a "stadium" course.

Par

"Par" is the predetermined number of strokes it takes a player to get from the tee into the hole.
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"Par" is the predetermined number of strokes it takes a player to get from the tee into the hole. Each golf course has different degrees of difficulty, so each course would have a different par.

Round Of Golf

The activity of playing 18 holes of golf; "a round of golf takes about 4 to 4 1/2 hours"
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The activity of playing 18 holes of golf; "a round of golf takes about 4 to 4 1/2 hours"

Shanking

Shanking also called a "hosel rocket",
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Shanking also called a "hosel rocket", is the term used when the ball comes in contact with the hosel on the extreme heel part of an iron.The contact feels harsh and unsatisfying and will send the ball at right angles to the intended target.

Slope Ratings

Slope rating (a term trademarked by the USGA) is a measurement of the difficulty of a course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating.
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Slope rating (a term trademarked by the USGA) is a measurement of the difficulty of a course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating.

Course rating tells scratch golfers how difficult the course will be; slope rating tells bogey golfers how difficult it will be.

The minimum slope is 55 and the maximum is 155 (slope does not relate specifically to strokes played as course rating does). The slope rating for a course of average difficulty is 113.

Like course rating, slope rating is done for each set of tees on a course, and a course may have a separate slope rating for certain tees for women.

Verticutting

This process improves green performance by cutting into the green vertically to help the grass focus it's energy in growing up and not out.
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Normally, when a greenskeeper mows, the blades cut the turf horizontally, taking off the top of the crown to reduce its height. Verticutting blades, which can be fitted on most mowers, rotate in the opposite direction and cut down into the green. The goal is to reduce the number of stolons on leaf blades that grow laterally. This helps the grass on the green focus it's energy in growing up and not out.

The best part of verticutting is that you've probably played on a green that has just been verticut and didn't even realize it. Because the process just makes small cuts into the green, it does not interfere with playability or quality.

Do you have a golf term you would like defined that's not shown here? Complete the brief form below and we will add it to our dictionary.