All sports have their own vocabulary and golf is no different. Here is a short overview of the different words that are most commonly used in golf.
Par
Each hole, meaning from the tee to the putting green, is classified by what is called a par.
The par is the number of strokes that a skilled golfer would use to complete the play. This number is used for calculating the handicap and also for other issues.
The minimum par is 3 (one tee shot and two puts). The normal is 3 and 5 strokes.
Green in regulation – GIR
If the player hits the ball so that it still has two strokes left before the sum reaches par when it hits the green, then you have a GIR. .
Scoring
To win you need to use as few strokes as possible per round. The total number of strokes needed is usually expressed as the difference between the par and the player’s score.
Hole-in-one (ace)
This is every golfers dream! It means that the golfer sinks the ball with one stroke – from the tee box and to the cup in one.
Condor
The golfer ends up with a score that is four strokes under par. (Meaning better than par)
Albatross (Double Eagle)
The score is three strokes under par. (Meaning better than par)
Eagle
The score is two strokes under par. (Meaning better than par)
Birdie
The score is one stroke under par. (Meaning better than par)
Bogey
The score is one stroke over par. (Meaning the score is more than par)
Double Bogey
The score is two strokes over par. (Meaning the score is more than par)
Triple bogey
The score is three strokes over par. (Meaning the score is more than par)
Match play
Two players or two teams play each hole as a separate contest. The lowest score win the hole or if it is equal the hole is “halved”.
The whole game is won by the party that wins the most holes.
If one of the players or one of the team have won more than half of the holes than that team will win and the rest of the holes will not be played.
Stroke play
All the strokes count and at the end of the game or the tournament, they add all of the strokes. The player or team with the lowest score wins.