Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
| airshot | in golf, a shot that misses the ball completely but counts as a shot. |
| albatross | a score of three strokes less than PAR on a hole. |
| backswing | the first stage in a swing of a club. |
| baff | to strike the ground with the sole of the club and so send the ball up in the air. |
| baffy | a club like a brassy, but with a slightly shorter shaft and a more sloping face. |
| birdie | to complete a hole with one stroke less than PAR > BIRDIES, BIRDIEING, BIRDIED. |
| bisque | a handicap whereby a player allows a weaker opponent (at the latter's choice of time) to deduct a stroke at a hole. |
| blaster | a type of club, a sand-wedge. |
| bogey | to complete a hole in one stroke above par > BOGEYS, BOGEYING, BOGEYED. |
| brassy brassie | an old-fashioned club which had a brass sole, corresponding to a two-wood. |
| bulger | a wooden golf club with a convex face. |
| bunker | a sandpit; also, an underground bombproof shelter. On a golf course, usually the former. (Verb) to trap (a ball, transf. a player, a shot) in a bunker. |
| caddy caddie | someone who assists a golfer during a round, especially by carrying the clubs; (verb) to act as a caddy > CADDIES, CADDYING, CADDIED. |
| cadee cadie | a caddie. |
| chip | a shot which sends the ball high into the air over a short distance. |
| cleek | an old-fashioned narrow-faced iron-headed golf club, corresponding to a two-iron; (verb) to seize, hook > CLEEKS, CLEEKING, CLEEKED, CLEEKIT or CLAUGHT. |
| cleik | a kind of golf club, a CLEEK. |
| club | the instrument with which one strikes the ball in order to propel it. |
| clubface | the face of a golf club. |
| clubhead | the head of a golf club. |
| clubhouse | the premises of a sports or other club, esp. a golf club. |
| condor | a score of four strokes less than PAR on a hole. |
| divot | a small piece of turf dug up by the head of a golf club during a stroke. |
| dogleg | a golf hole with a bent FAIRWAY. |
| dormie dormy | as many holes ahead as there are holes to play. |
| downswing | the downward movement of a golf club when striking the ball. |
| driver | a golf club with a metal or wooden head used to hit the ball from the tee. |
| duff | to bungle; to mishit a ball in golf. |
| eagle | to achieve a hole in golf with two strokes less than PAR. |
| fairway | the smooth turf between tee and green, distinguished from the uncut rough and from hazards. |
| flagstick | a pole with a flag on it used to mark the position of a hole. |
| foozle | a bungled stroke; (verb) to bungle. |
| forecaddie forecaddy | a CADDIE posted up ahead to see where the balls go. |
| fourball | a type of match between four players in golf. |
| foursome | a golf match played between two pairs of players, in which each pair plays only one ball, players taking alternate strokes. |
| gimme gimmie | a golf putt conceded to an opponent because it is judged to be within safe putting distance. |
| goff gowf | golf; (verb) to play golf > GOFFS, GOFFING, GOFFED. |
| golf | (verb) to play golf > GOLFS, GOLFING, GOLFED. |
| golfer | one that golfs. |
| golfiana | a collector's term for items of golfing interest > GOLFIANAS. |
| golfing | the playing of golf > GOLFINGS. |
| gowf | see GOFF. |
| gowfer | a golfer. |
| green | the prepared ground round the golf hole. |
| greensome | a type of golf match between two pairs in which partners play the ball alternately. |
| gutta | a solid gutta-percha golf-ball, as used in the 19th century > GUTTAS. Also a small, drop-like ornament on a Doric entablature > GUTTAE. |
| gutty | a solid gutta-percha golf-ball, as used in the 19th century; (adj.) gritty, forceful > GUTTIER, GUTTIEST. |
| hazard | any obstacle on a golf course, such as trees, bunkers, water etc. |
| hosel | a socket in the head of a golf club into which the shaft is inserted. |
| iron | a golf club with a metal head. |
| jigger | a golf club, used esp formerly, with narrow lofted iron head; (verb) to shake; to confound. |
| leaderboard | a scoreboard that lists the names and scores of the current leaders in a sporting, esp golf, competition. |
| links | land used for golf |
| linksland | land near the sea used for golf. |
| linksman | a golfer. |
| loft | the amount of height that the player gives a ball; also, the degree of angle at shich a clubhead is set; (verb) to strike the ball so that it rises. |
| lofter | a golf iron for lofting. |
| mashie mashy | an old-fashioned golf club used for shots of medium length and loft, corresponding to a number five iron. |
| medalplay | a scoring system used in golf, aka stroke play. |
| minigolf | a game similar to golf played on a small course. |
| mulligan | a free extra shot sometimes allowed to a player to recover from an errant shot. |
| niblick | an iron-headed golf club with a steeply angled face, for playing out of bunkers. |
| nongolfer | someone who is not a golfer. |
| outdrive | to surpass in driving (e.g. at golf) > OUTDRIVES, OUTDRIVING, OUTDROVE, OUTDRIVEN. |
| overclub | to hit a shot too far through using a club with insufficient loft. |
| overswing | to swing excessively, as in golf > OVERSWINGS, OVERSWINGING, OVERSWUNG. |
| par | the number of strokes that should be taken for a hole or a round by good play, two putts being allowed on each green. |
| pitch | to hit (a golf ball) so that it flies in a high arc and does not roll much on landing. |
| plug | of a golf ball, to become embedded in wet ground or sand. |
| proette | a female golfing professional. |
| putt | to strike (a golf ball) with a putter so that it rolls along the ground and towards, ideally into, the hole. |
| putter | a usu short-handled golf-club with an upright striking-face, used in putting. |
| remade | a thing e.g. a golf ball made again from reused materials. |
| rough | rough ground, esp. uncut grass, etc beside a golf fairway or green. |
| sclaff | a stroke in which the sole of the club scrapes the ground before striking the ball; (verb) to play a sclaff. |
| scratch | of a golfer, having no handicap, in the sense of being expected to complete a round in PAR. This means completing a typical course in about 72 strokes. |
| scuff | to scrape the sole of the club against the ground before striking the ball, to SCLAFF. |
| shank | in golf, to strike the ball by mistake with the part of the club where the clubhead meets the shaft. |
| sole | the undersurface of a clubhead. |
| spoon | an old-fashioned wooden-headed golf club with the face slightly hollowed. |
| stimie stimy stymie stymy | a situation on the putting green, once difficult to overcome, in which an opponent's ball blocks the way to the hole, the rules now allowing the obstructing ball to be lifted and its position marked; (verb) to thwart, stump, or obstruct. |
| stimpmeter | a device that measures the speed of a putting green by propelling a golf ball down a ramp at a standard initial velocity and measuring how far it travels. |
| strokeplay | referring to a method of scoring by counting the total number of strokes played (rather than the number of holes won). No —S. |
| tee | a small plastic or wooden support for the ball, with a concave top, used when it is first played at each hole; (verb) to place a golf ball on a tee > TEES, TEEING, TEED. |
| underclub | in golf, to hit with a club that has too great loft to achieve the required distance. |
| wedge | an iron-headed golf club with a broad low-angled face, creating much LOFT. |
| wood | a golf club with a bulky head, traditionally made of wood though now usually of metal, used by the ambitious for trying to hit the ball long distances. |
| yipper | a golfer who suffers from the YIPS. |
| yips | a nervous twitching caused by tension before making a shot. |