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face
1. (also "clubface") the striking surface of the club head 2. the sloped surface of a bunker that is (usually) toward the player
Example: The ball will go the way the club's face if decent contact is made. 2. The shot was right on line, but ended up buried in the face of the bunker.
face balanced
a method of weighting a putter so that when the shaft is balanced on the finger the face points generally upward
Example: Some putters are face balanced and some are not; which is better is mainly a matter of personal preference.
face progression
the distance from the center of the shaft or hosel to the blade, or leading edge, of the club face
Example: Face progression is different than offset.
fade
a gently curving shot from left to right (right-handed player)
Example: A soft fade is a valuable shot to know when the greens are firm and dry.
fairway
the closely mown area between the tee and green
Example: The fairway is generally preferable to the rough, as the shorter grass makes clean contact more likely.
fairway bunker
a sand or deep grass hazard situated in, or adjacent to, the fairway
Example: Jeb tried to "cut the corner" of the dogleg, but was his ball found the fairway bunker on the opposite side.
fairway wood
a wood other than the driver, or 1 wood
Example: Getting good performance out of the fairway woods requires a decent amount of skill and precision.
fall line
the natural and most direct downhill course of a given slope, the path water would take, or that gravity would dictate, down a slope without obstacles
Example: In theory a putt directly up or down the fall line would be straight.
false front
a slope back towards the fairway on the front section of a putting green, usually where the ball will roll back off the green, effectively making the "true" front of the green beyond the slope, where the ground is more level
Example: The green on the 9th hole at Augusta National is one of the well-known false fronts in golf.
fan
(also "whiff") missing the ball completely
Example: A skilled golfer will sometimes exaggerate when they make poor contact by saying that they fanned/whiffed it.
fat
(also "chunky, fat, thick, heavy, laying the sod over it, hairpiece, hitting the big ball [the Earth] before the little ball" and many more) hitting the ground before the ball, usually resulting in the ball not going as far as intended
Example: That ball would have cleared the water if you hadn't hit it fat / chunky / thick.
feathery
early type of golf ball made with a leather cover and stuffed with goose feathers
Example: A feathery was about the same general weight as modern balls.
feel
(also "touch") the sensation of, or level sensitivity for, playing shots in golf
Example: She had great feel/touch for soft pitches and bunker shots.
Fensome
(also "St. Andrews Foursome") an alternate shot tournament format with two two-man teams in each foursome, each player hits a tee shot, then the best tee shot of each two-man team is selected and the other ball is picked up, the second
shot is played by the team members in pre-determined order (odd/even, etc.) (more on tournament formats)
Example: Fensome is one of many alternate shot tournament formats.
ferrule
a decorative "cap" where the shaft inserts into the club head to make the transition from the head to the shaft smoother, more tapered or finished (some clubs have ferrules, others are designed without them)
Example: Sometimes the ferrule gets loose and works its way up the shaft a little bit.
fescue
type of grass usually used for rough, mainly found in coastal regions
Example: He hit his rescue from the fescue.
finish position
(also just "finish") the last position, or end, of the swing
Example: The finish position/finish can indicate much of what happened in the swing.
flag
usually, but not always, a fabric banner atop the pin or flagstick to make the location of the hole visible
Example: At some courses the depth of the hole's location is indicated by color coding the flags (e.g., red means the front third of the green, white means the middle third and blue means the
rear third).
flagstick
(also "pin, stick") a slender pole, usually about 7 feet in height, with a flag on it placed inside the cup to mark the location of the hole
Example: Some golf courses provide a "pin sheet" that is a drawing of where the hole is located on each green. At some courses small flags or balls positioned below the flag on the
flagstick indicate the position of the pin/hole on the green (front, middle, back). At some courses the depth of the hole's location is indicated by color coding the flags (e.g.,
red means the front third of the green, white means the middle third and blue means the rear third). And some courses do nothing at all, leaving one to guess or simply look and judge as well as possible.
flange
the back edge of the sole (bottom) of an iron club (usually most associated with the sandwedge)
Example: The sandwedge's flange allows the depth of the clubhead's penetration into the sand to be more controlled.
flare
(also "block, push") a shot that is typically high and a push (to the right for a right-handed player)
Example: Todd hit a flare off the tee on the first hole and subsequently missed the green, but still recovered nicely with a par.
flat stick
another name for the putter
Example: She is very handy with the flat stick.
flat
a relatively shallow or more horizontal swing plane or lie angle
Example: Shorter players usually have a flatter swing plane than taller players.
flex
(also "frequency") the relative strength (stiffness or softness) of a club shaft
Example: Golf club shafts come in different flexes: L (Ladies), A (Senior), R (Regular), S (Stiff) and X (Extra-Stiff) are the most common, but they are also measured by numerical
frequency.
flex point
(also "kick point") the point of maximum bending of a club's shaft, measured with the club in a horizontal position by securing the grip end of the club and hanging a standardized weight just above the club head
Example: All else being equal, a lower flex point/kick point will produce a higher trajectory and vice versa.
flier
(also perhaps "flier lie, flyer, shooter, jumper") a shot that flies further than desired as a result of decreased backspin, usually resulting from long grass (but also could be water) between the ball and clubface at impact 2. a lie that
causes the ball to fly farther than intended
Example: She suspected that it had been a flier/shooter/jumper when her 7 iron shot airmailed the green.
flip
1. the active pushing or throwing of the club with the hands and wrists (usually used in reference to the club head getting past the hands) 2. implies a very short or insignificant distance remaining for an approach shot (usually used
together with the word "wedge")
Example: 1. Billy Joe flipped it on his short approach shot, causing a pull and another missed green. 2. She hit such a monster tee shot on the last hole that all she had left to the green
was a flip wedge.
flop shot
a soft-landing, relatively vertical shot from close to the green (usually played with a sandwedge or lob wedge)
Example: Her only chance of getting the ball to stop anywhere near the hole was to hit a flop shot.
Florida scramble
a modified scramble tournament format in which the same player's shot may not be selected on two consecutive shots (more on tournament formats and games)
Example: A Florida scramble demands somewhat more strategy than a regular scramble.
fluffy
("fluffy lie") when the ball is sitting up in longish grass with a lot of air underneath it and a lot of grass surrounding it
Example: She would have difficulty judging the soft pitch because of the fluffy lie.
follow-through
(also "finish") the continuation of a golf stoke after the bottom of the swing and impact area
Example: Nancy had a nice follow-through to her swing.
foot wedge
kicking the ball (which, of course, is against the rules)
Example: He used his foot wedge to get out of the rough, and was disqualified for his trouble.
fore
used (usually yelled loudly) to warn golfers in range of the incoming flight of a ball
Example: I once heard a caddy yell, "fore!" for so long a duration that I marvelled at her lung capacity.
forecaddie
(also "spotter") persons situated in the general landing area of holes to help quickly identify a ball's position
Example: Forecaddies are most commonly seen in major golf tournaments.
forged
(as in "forged irons") a process of manufacturing clubheads where 100% stainless steel is stamped or hammered and ground into shape, with or without heat
Example: Forged irons have a softer feel than cast irons, as a general rule.
forward press
a (usually slight) movement of the hands and arms forward (in the direction of the target) to initiate or trigger the backswing
Example: Armand had a more noticeable foward press on his short iron shots.
foursome
1. four players playing together in a group 2. a match in which two 2-person teams compete against each other with each side only playing one ball (more on tournament formats and games)
Example: My weekly foursome plays at noon on monday. 2. Foursome matches can be fun, but also pressure packed, because you don't want to let your partner
down.
Four-Ball
a match in which two 2-person teams compete against each other using the one best score from each side -- commonly and mistakenly referred to as "Best-Ball," which is actually one player competing against the better ball of two or three other
players (more on tournament formats and games)
Example: Our Four-Ball tournament was more fun than the others this year.
free drop
(also "free relief") dropping the ball without penalty in any number of situations allowed by the rules of golf (more on rules of golf)
Example: Ground under repair and casual water are two situations in which the rules of golf allow (a) free drop/free relief.
frequency
(also "flex") a measurement of the relative flexibility, firmness, tension or strength of a club shaft
Example: Golf club shafts can be measured by numerical frequency, but are commonly organized into L (Ladies), A (Senior), R (Regular), S (Stiff) and X (Extra-Stiff)
flexes.
frequency analyzer
a device that measures the flex, or frequency, of a golf club's shaft by holding the grip end of the club fast while the club head end is bounced, or vibrated, and the cycles per minute (CPM) counted
Example: To truly know the flex of your shafts you'd need to have them tested on a frequency analyzer.
frequency matched
different club shafts that are of consistent flex as measured by a frequency analyzer
Example: Excellent quality precision golf clubs are often frequency matched to a very small tolerance
fried egg
a lie (usually in a sand filled bunker) in which the ball is half buried and thus resembles a fried egg
Example: A shot from a fried egg lie might play similarly to a buried lie or a relatively clean lie, depending on its severity.
fringe
(also called "apron, collar, frog hair") the short grass that separates the putting green
from rough or fairway
Example: Though I missed the green with my approach shot the ball was just on the fringe/frog hair/apron/collar.
frog hair
(also called "apron, collar, fringe") the short grass that separates the putting green
from rough or fairway
Example: Though I missed the green with my approach shot the ball was just on the frog hair/apron/fringe/collar.
from the tips
(also "playing from the tips") playing each hole from its longest possible yardage (from the farthest back place you can stand on the farthest back teeing ground) so that you play the entire course at its longest possible yardage
Example: His ego was so disproportionately huge that he would only deign to play a round of golf if it was from the tips.
front nine
(also "front, front side") the first 9 holes (1-9) of an 18 hole golf course
Example: She played much better on the front nine/front/front side than on the back.
full finger grip
(also "baseball, ten finger" grip) a method of holding the club using all ten fingers on the grip with no overlapping or interlocking fingers
Example: The relative position of the hands to the club's face is the same in a full finger/baseball/ten finger grip as it is in the other more popular overlapping and interlocking grips.
The ABC's of Golf 
