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Glossary of Golfing Terms - O

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

• Obstructions - Unless declared an integral part of the course, anything artificial built or left on a course. If moveable, the player may do so; if not he is allowed to lift and drop.
• Old Man Par - A term used by Bobby Jones and simply meaning the par of a course. After some unexpected defeats early in his career in matches, he decided to play against par rather than his opponent.
• Open - An event which in principle anyone can enter but in practice there are usually restrictions. Such competitions at club level are open to non-members, while national open championships seek an international entry.
• Open stance - To stand to the ball with the front foot drawn back from the target line.
• Open to shut - Used of a wristy swing in which the clubface is allowed to open on the backswing and become square or closed at impact. As a method by good players it has long been out of fashion.
• Open up the hole - To play a tee shot so that there are no obstacles between ball and hole for the second shot.
• Out - The first nine holes of a golf course. The term derives from the early links courses where the players went 'out' for nine holes and the second nine took them 'in' to the clubhouse.
• Out-of-bounds - Usually a ball beyond the boundaries of a course. However, there are exceptions. On some seaside courses, the beach is not ruled outbounds and areas of courses such as a practice ground within the boundaries are declared out-of-bounds. In practice, a ball is out-of-bounds if it is anywhere prohibited for play.
• Outside agency - Anything which affects the flight or run of a player's ball which is not part of a match or, in strokeplay, not the player, his equipment or caddie. Examples are a referee, spectators, animals and vehicles.
• Out to in - A swing path where the clubbhead comes from outside the line of flight and moves inside at impact. If, at this time, the clubface is square or open, a slice results; if shut, the ball will be pulled.
• Over par - To score more than par for a hole or to be in that position for a round either at any point during it or the end.