Although I’ve been playing golf since I was seven years old, I never thought about the unique language that golfers use when they talk to each other. It wasn’t until I started learning the game that I realized how overwhelming all the jargon can be for beginners. How many of these 15 golf sayings do you know, understand and use?
Ride for show, putt for batter
Hitting a big shot it makes you look like you know what you’re doing, but in the end, the golf ball has to end up in the hole. As much as golfers know it, it’s still hard to wrap their minds around the idea that putting is the most critical part of the game. (This phrase is attributed to South African Bobby Locke, winner of four Open Championships.)
Grab it and rip it
“Snap and tear” is a term popularly associated with John Daly, who wrote a book titled Grab and Rip: John Daly’s Guide to Hitting the Ball Farther Than Ever Before. If you look at our article on longest drivers on the PGA Tour over the past 35 years, you’ll see exactly how the grab-it-and-tear-it mentality shaped Daly’s career.
Never up, never in
If he doesn’t get the ball to the hole, he has no chance of getting in. Whether it’s a putt, a tee shot or your approach shot to the green, if you’re not OVERyou can’t get it IN.
The more you practice, the luckier you get
Some of the greatest players in the game have used this saying. Sure, some luck goes into playing great golf, but practice is a big part of it.
Golf is a game of inches
While a few inches either way can make or break a putt or make the difference between ending up in a penalty area or not, it’s often said that the most important inches in golf are the ones between your ears. Golf is as much a mental game as it is physical, and the sooner you embrace that, the easier it becomes to play your best. (This quote is attributed to the legendary Bobby Jones.)
Play it like you lie
Play the ball the way it lies. When you see your golf ball in a split, buried in rough ground or embedded in the sand, the rules of golf say to play it as it lies.
The most important shot in golf is the next one
This saying is for players who tend to come forward on the court. Don’t worry about whether your shot is going to land on the 18th hole or how you’ll handle the water hazard on the 15th. Instead, take it one shot at a time, do your best and play every round with this mentality.
You can talk to a fade, but a shot won’t listen
Fades tend to have more backspin, higher ball flight and an overall softer landing. When you’re staring at your fade and screaming for it to continue, there’s a chance it might. A kick, on the other hand, has forward spin and lots of spin. Hooks travel a long way. (This quote is often attributed to Lee Trevino.)
Keep it in the short grass
No matter where your golf ball is—the fairway, green, or approach—you’ll want to keep it in the short grass. It’s easier when you play from the shorter grass.
It’s not how, it’s how much
Have you ever noticed that on a score card, there is no section to write how your ball got to the hole? If you took three foul shots to get to the green and rolled a 50-footer for par, it’s still a par. Sometimes, you won’t hit the prettiest golf shot, but the point is to get the ball in the hole.
If you can’t play well, play fast
Most golfers don’t care if you are a good or bad golfer. However, if you are a slow player, it will annoy everyone in the group. Even if you have a rough day on the course, keep up the pace of the game.
You miss 100% of the shots you leave short
Similar to the comment “never up, never in”, if you don’t get your shot in the hole, it won’t go in. Duh. You want your miss to be somewhere in the 12-inch space, directly behind the hole, never short.
Golf is a four letter word
This is self-explanatory. We’ve all had those days on the course where we wonder what gets us out there and could use a few more four-letter words to express our frustration.
The longer you stay on the ball, the smaller the hole becomes
This quote isn’t as common as the others on this list, but it’s great. If you tend to stay on your ball for too long, you will make the game more difficult. Develop a pre-shot routine where you’re ready to shoot, but don’t be afraid to pull the trigger.
Never follow up a bad shot with a fool
We’ve all hit bad shots. After a bad shot, put the ball back in play and continue. Attempting a hero shot between trees, over water, etc., from a tricky location almost always leads to disaster. A bogey is a score you can recover from, but a three is much harder to come back from.
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