It’s time for some more golf terms for beginners. Previously, I have done editions on club anatomy, ball flight patterns, the golf course, and bad shots. The swing itself is a fairly simple action with a LOT of complexity in the actual movements. Sometimes beginners don’t even understand what it means to stay on plane. For this installment, we’re going to take a look at the idea of swing plane and some of the concepts surrounding it. Swing Plane Once you understand what it is, it seems so simple. But, visualizing it is tough. If you remember the word plane from your geometry class in school, you’ll recall that it’s simply a flat surface, like a pane of glass. In golf, we refer to plane as the flat “surface” (at address) starting from the ball and moving up through the hands and behind the player. Here’s a photo I doctored up to show it: The white line represents the imaginary pane of glass we’re talking about. It extends back toward the camera and forward toward

This is a latest in a series of posts to help beginners understand the vocabulary of golf. Previously I covered ball flight patterns, club anatomy, and bad shots. This time, I’m going to cover the golf course. We’ll cover everything you’re likely to see out there. I think you’ll be surprised at the length of this list by the time we reach the end. Golf seems like a simple game and in basic principle it is, but the fact that courses span nearly 200 acres or more means that there can be a lot going on out there. The Happy Path Teeing Ground – This is where it all begins. Also called the tee box or just the tee, it’s the start of every hole. Sometimes there are multiple tees on each hole. Typically, the grass on the tee box is fairly short. Fairway – After you tee off, the fairway is where you want to be. Sometimes referred to as the short grass. Fairways are always present on par fours and fives, but par

This is the newest installment in a series of golf vocabulary posts to help players (mainly beginners) understand the words used in the game.

Previously, I did editions covering words that are used to describe ball flights and the anatomy of a golf club. Today, I’m going to tread on territory that no golfer likes to face: bad shots. We’re not talking slices and hooks here. We’re talking about really bad shots.

In the previous edition of this series of posts on golf terminology, we talked about words that describe ball flight. This time, I’d like to break down the anatomy of the golf club. Sometimes when I describe something relating to a club, I get questions about the terms that are typically used. After a while, all the words seem simple to understand, but really, how is a new player supposed to have any idea what a “hosel” is? Again, this glossary is mostly for newer players to help with an understanding of the basics of the golf club. Seasoned veterans will probably know most of this. Let’s jump right in and talk about the various parts of the golf club and go over definitions that describe it all. Here’s a look at an iron: That image shows the basic parts of a golf club. In this case, an iron. It consists of: Shaft – Long tubular piece of steel or graphite the connects the grip and the club head. Club head – The part of