Wit & Wisdom of Golf

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Strait Jacket - Confining garment that some golfers have found to be necessary after long periods spent attempting to master the stance.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Stroke - Any forward movement of the club that is made with the intention of hitting and moving the ball and is observed by another golfer.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Stymie - A ball whose path to the hole is blocked by another ball is said to be "stymied," and under current rules the impeding ball is marked and moved. At one time, such shots had to be played by making the ball hop over or curve around the impediment, but a notorious, deliberately laid stymie during extra holes of the 1951 English Amateur Championship led to a modification of the rule, first in Britain and then, a little later, in the U.S. Other important rule changes and the circumstances under which they were made:

LIMIT SET ON TIME SPENT SEARCHING FOR LOST BALL: "The Lang, Lang Combing of the Glen," 14th hole, Loath Links, October 11, 1871-April 8, 1872

UNORTHODOX SWINGS AND CLUBS DISALLOWED: Lacrosse player Francois Foisette wins the Canadian Open, 1899

"ELIGIBLE PLAYER" MORE FULLY DEFINED: Kabu, a chimpanzee, wins the Calcutta Open, 1901

PLAY STRICTLY PROHIBITED FROM LIES BEYOND THE BOUNDARY of A COURSE: "The Mashie Incident," British-Chinese border skirmish, Hong Kong, 1909

FOURTEEN-CLUB MAXIMUM ESTABLISHED: "Relatively Bloody Saturday," the Caddy Strike of 1926

DISCONTINUANCE OF TOURNAMENT PLAY PERMITTED: "The Battle of the Glorious Leg-of-the-Dog 15th," third round of the Spanish Open, Valencia, 1937

BALL REMOVED FROM COURSE BY DOG DECLARED UNPLAYABLE: A.S.P. C.A. v. U.S.P G.A., 31. U.S. 564, 1948

PENALTY FOR ACCIDENTALLY KNOCKING BALL OFF TEE Executive Order #l, President Gerald Ford, 1974

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Sudden Death - Term for the situation that exists when a match is tied at the end of 18 holes and the player who feels the least amount of confidence about beating the opposition in extra-holes play suddenly remembers the death, earlier in the day, of a beloved aunt.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Suck back - A ball that hits the green and then reverses direction due to backspin is said to have sucked back. As far as amateur golfers are concerned, this phrase is useful only as a spectator, since amateurs rarely generate enough back-spin to get a ball to suck back.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Sucker pin - A pin that is cut so close to a hazard that only a sucker would fire right at it.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Swing - A full golf swing consists of the backswing that carries the clubhead up to the topswing point, the downswing that brings the clubhead to the point of impact, and the follow through. If the ball dribbles a few feet forward or hooks or slices violently into the woods or rough, the follow-through can be extended into the foresling-a graceful, lateral motion that sends the club spiraling into the underbrush. Alternatively, the follow-through may be stopped and the club brought up sharply in a vertical arc until the clubhead is behind the back, pointing at the ground, then swept smoothly up into the more classic topfling, which combines the power and accuracy necessary to send even the heaviest club into a distant water hazard.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Swing doctor - A teaching professional. Consult with caution; often the cure is worse than the disease.

[Stan Nehilla]

Golf Dictionary

Take-away - The initial part of the backswing. The name derives from the fact that a properly executed, ground-scraping, slow, backward sweep of the club with the clubhead pressed firmly onto the ground will "take away" most impediments interfering with the lie.

[DC#1]

Good one Stan. LOL