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Glossary of Golfing Terms - A

This page of our glossary of golfing terms is for golfing terms which begin with the letter 'A'.

• Above ground - A ball is said to be 'above ground' when it is not in a sand trap, other hazard or in the rough.
• Ace - This is another name for a 'hole in one'.
• Address - The position taken by a player relative to his ball when ready to play a stroke (he 'addresses' the ball).
• Advice - A golfer may accept information, but advice such as the choice of club or how to play a stroke can only be given by his partner and their caddies. An infringement of this rule is penalized by loss of hole in matchplay and by two strokes in strokeplay.
• Aggregate score - The score made over more than one round of play, or by two or more players playing as partners.
• Air shot - A golfing term for a stroke in which the club head does not make contact with the ball. This is counted as one stroke.
• Albatross - A score on a single hole of three under the par; usually a two on a par five or a hole in one on a par four. Also called a Double Eagle.
• Alignment - How the player's body is aligned in relation to an imaginary line to the target.
• All fIat - A golfing term used of any stage in matchplay when the scores are level. More commonly known as being 'all square'.
• Alternates - Players selected or qualified to take the place of others who may withdraw from a strokeplay or team event.
• Amateur - The term for a golfer who plays the game as a non-profit-making sport as opposed to professionals who play to earn money.
• American tournament - The term used for a type of competition in which each golfer plays against all the others.
• Ambrose - A system of team play in which each player takes a tee shot, after which the most favorable ball position is chosen. All of the team's players then take a shot from this new position, and so it continues. It is also known as a Texas Scramble.
• Angle of Approach - The angle at which the club head hits the ball.
• Approach - A shot played from a distance (in the rough or on the fairway) to the green.
• Approach putt - An approach putt is played from a long distance when the player does not expect to hole out but wants to make the next putt a certainty.
• Apron - The name for the narrow area of grass surrounding the green that is cut shorter than the fairway, but not as short as the green itself.
• Arc - The path the club head takes during a golf swing.
• Architect - The designer of a golf course.
• Architecture - The design of a golf course.
• As it lies - A player is must play his ball from the position in which it has come to rest after his previous shot unless otherwise specified by the rules of golf or local rules.
• At rest - A ball is said to be 'at rest' when it has stopped moving.
• Attack the hole - A player is said to 'attack the hole' when he plays the hole aggressively rather than cautiously.
• Attended - The flag stick is said to be 'attended for a player' when a caddie or another player is holding it, or is ready to remove it from the hole if required.
• Away - The player furthest from the flag stick is said to be 'away', and plays first.