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logo figDICTIONARY OF GOLF TERMSlogo fig

with Italian translation

brought to you by FEDERGOLF LOMBARDIA

R

  • R & A – The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews who oversee golf in Europe, Asia and the Commonwealth
  • Range – An area set aside for practice. Campo pratica.
  • Ranger – A course official who ensures prompt play on a golf course.
  • Rating Marker – A sign next to the tee which indicates the point from which the holes yardage is measured.
  • Reading the Green – The act of determining the preferred path the ball must take in order to go in the hole. Leggere il green.
  • Recovery Shot – To bring the ball back into a favourable playing position from an unfavourable one such as a hazard. Colpo di recupero.
  • Referee – An official who interprets the Rules of Golf during a match or competition. Arbitro.
  • Regular shaft – A golf club shaft with an average amount of torque.
  • Release – To hit the ball such that it rolls on impact with the green. Also refers to movement of golfer’s hands during a swing.
  • Relief  – To lift and drop the ball without penalty in accordance with the rules. Droppaggio gratuito.
  • Reverse Overlap – Gripping the club with the little finger of one hand placed over the index finger of the other.
  • Rimmed – A shot which circles the lip of the hole without dropping in. Ricciolo.
  • Rough – The high grass area adjacent to the fairway and green.
  • Round – 18 holes of golf. Giro.
  • Round robin  – A tournament in which everyone gets to play everyone else.
  • Royal and Ancient – Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews – golf’s primary governing body.
  • Rub of the Green – An unexpected bounce of the ball after it hits the ground. Sometimes helpful, normally not.
  • Rule – Official R&A rule or local rule. Regola.
  • Rules of Golf  – As published by the R&A. Regole del golf.
  • Run – The distance that the ball continues to travel after it’s initial impact with the ground. Rotolo.
  • Running iron – An iron used to make short shots which roll. Ferro a correre.
  • Run-up – To hit the ball along or close to the ground toward and onto the green.

S

  • Sand Trap – A sand bunker. Trappola di sabbia.
  • Sand Wedge – An iron club designed to lift balls out of sand hazards.
  • Sandy – When a golfer still makes their par after escaping from a sand hazard.
  • Sclaff  – When the club strikes the ground well behind the ball.
  • Scoop – To scoop the ball into the air rather than loft it. Scodellata.
  • Scorecard – The card on which a golfer records his score during play. Score.
  • Scotch foursome – Where players play in teams of two taking alternate shots. Each hole is started alternatively as well.
  • Scramble – Team competition where players play from the position of the best ball of a team member after every stroke or drive. Lousiana.
  • Scratch – A player without handicap meaning that he can complete the course on par.
  • Scratch Player – A golfer who does not require a handicap, such as a professional.
  • Second Ball – Situation in which a player is obliged to play with two balls because of a question over the legality of the first ball which cannot be settled by a referee or other members of the group. The player’s score is that for whichever ball is deemed legal at a post match adjudication. Seconda palla.
  • Selective Perimeter Weighting – Equal weight over the toe and heel of the club head.
  • Semi-Private Course – A club with members but also allows non-members to pay and play. Campo semi-privato.
  • Set – The number of golf clubs carried (maximum is 14).
  • Shaft – That part of the club between the head and the grip.
  • Shag Bag – A bag used to store balls whilst practising.
  • Shagging – To collect balls from a practice area.
  • Shank – To strike the ball with the part of the club head where the heel is joined to the shaft.
  • Short Game – Chipping, Pitching and Putting. Gioco corto.
  • Shot – An attempt to hit the ball. Colpo.
  • Shotgun Start – Tournament in which the field start from different holes at the same time rather than queuing up at the first tee. Partenza shotgun.
  • Sidehill lie – When the ball comes to rest on a slope.
  • Single – An unaccompanied golfer.
  • Sink a putt – To hit the ball into the hole. Infilare un putt.
  • Sit – Expression aimed at the ball to encourage it to stop rolling. Stop!.
  • Sit Down – A term which the golfer says to the ball to encourage it to land or stop rolling. Giù!.
  • Skull – Hitting the ball above it’s centre, thus making it fly very low to the ground. Toppata.
  • Sky – When the club head only just strikes the very bottom of the ball causing it to fly straight up into the area. Normally happens when the ball is on a tee or in the rough. Palombella.
  • Slice – To induce too much backspin onto the ball causing it to travel through the air following inside to out swing. Opposite is Hook.
  • Smile – Colloquialism for a lacerated golf ball; a cut in the ball is normally caused by a thinned shot. Palla che ride.
  • Snake – A long putt which travels over the undulations of the green. Siringa.
  • Snap Hook – To severely hook the ball.
  • Snipe – To hook the ball such that it drops quickly.
  • Sole – The underside of the club head. Suola.
  • Sole plate – The metal underside of a wood’s club head.
  • Speed of Play – The time it takes to play an 18 hole ground. Velocità di gioco.
  • Spike Mark – A tuft of grass caused by spiked shoes. Segno dei chiodi.
  • Spike Wrench – Instrument used to remove spikes from golf shoes. Chiave.
  • Spoon – Another name for a 3 wood.
  • Square stance – When your left and right feet are level and at right angles to the ball when you take your stance.
  • Stableford – Point scoring competition. One point for a bogey, two points for a par, three for a birdie, four for an eagle and five for an albatross.
  • Stance – To place your feet in preparation for a swing. Mettersi sulla palla.
  • Standard Scratch Score – The score a scratch golfer should get when playing a course in normal conditions.
  • Starter – An official who determines where and when golfers tee off.
  • Stick – The pole in the centre of the green with a flag attached. Asta.
  • StimpMeter – An instrument used to measure the speed of a green by applying a known force to the ball and measuring the distance travelled.
  • Stipulated Round – To play the number of holes of the course determined by the committee during competition. Giro convenzionale.
  • Stony – When a ball comes to rest near the flagstick.
  • Straight Flight – A ball travelling in a straight line during flight.
  • Stroke – An attempt to hit the ball. The stroke starts on a players downswing. Colpo.
  • Stroke Counters – Gadget to keep track of strokes. Conta-colpi.
  • Stroke Hole – A hole where in match play an opponent receives a shot. It is determined by the stroke index of the hole.
  • Stroke Index – An assessment of a holes difficulty used to award shots during strokeplay / matchplay conditions. Indice di difficoltà.
  • Stroke Play – Where the winner of a match or competition is the player who used the least number of strokes (after handicap deduction) to complete the course. Gara a colpi.
  • Stymie – When an object such as a tree lies between a player’s ball and the green.
  • Sudden Death – Where additional holes are played after a tie. The winner is the first player to win a hole outright.
  • Summer Rules – The normal local rules of the course apply (i.e. allowances made for the winter weather are removed).
  • Surlyn – Tear resistant plastic outer of modern golf balls (by DuPont Corp).
  • Swale – A depression in the terrain.
  • Sweet Spot – The preferred spot on the club face with which to strike the ball.
  • Swing – The action of hitting the ball.
  • Swing weight – A measure of a club’s weight.

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