Why are golf terms named after birds? (2023)

What does a bird mean in golf?

A birdie is a term for a score of one-under-par. That means that you are on the green in fewer shots than it takes to complete 18 holes (or nine, depending on which golf course) and have scored below your handicap index number.

Birdie comes from the American slang 'bird' which meant something wonderful. The term birdie, to describe a score that is one under par for the hole, became widespread in the 1910s. Whereas bogey is a British contribution to the language of golf, birdie is pure American.

1 = Strike. 2 = Double. 3 = Turkey or Gobbler. 4 = Hambone. 5 = Recently heard referred to as yatzee or five bagger.

Birdie: In the 19th century, the term "bird" was the equivalent of "cool" or "excellent" - golf scholars believe this is where the term came from. An Atlantic City, New Jersey, course claims that the term originated there in 1903. The meaning being a score of one under par.

Local golf slang for the opposite of a FARM. If your tee shot on a par four or par five hole fails to come to rest in the fairway, you get credit for one Squirrel (because your ball is said to be "with the squirrels".

Golfers only yell fore, although it's easy not to know what golfers are saying if you're just starting. While golf is typically a quieter sport, you will hear the term fore being yelled out if the golfer believes someone is at risk of being hit by their ball.

First of all, have you even heard of a condor? We're not talking about the bird (a vulture), but the absolute rarest shot in golf. It's a "1" on a par 5, which believe it or not, has actually happened a handful of times. As of late, there have been 5 recorded condors in history.

The terms are interchangeable as they are referring to the same terrible shot! Basically, a duck hook is when the ball turns sharply and quickly into the ground shortly after impact. For the right-handed player, a duck hook starts straight for a few feet or yards, and then dives to the left.

' In 19th-century American slang, 'bird' refereed to anyone or anything excellent or wonderful. By analogy with 'birdie,' the term 'eagle' soon thereafter became common to refer to a score one better than a 'bird.

Bogey, according to Eric Partridge's slang dictionary, is Royal Air Force usage from early in World War II meaning ''an aircraft suspected to be hostile. '' American aviators picked it up from the R.A.F. veterans; in 1945, Newsweek used the term to mean ''in radar code, an unidentified enemy aircraft.

Is a bogey an actual bird?

For birders, it's the Bogey Bird, also referred to as the Nemesis Bird. Nemesis birds aren't those critters that were nearly missed on the first attempt, or simply proved to require more effort than anticipated.

It actually refers to the number '8', which coincidentally looks like a snowman. Should a player record that score on a single hole, then it is given the name of 'snowman', much like a golfer gets a birdie or an eagle.

(comical) happy birthday to you.

So three birdies in a row is either called the hat trick or a turkey.

Albatross. An albatross is—you guessed it—a term for three under par. Like the bird itself, achieving an albatross in golf is rare indeed.

QUINTUPLE BOGEY. Completing a hole having struck the ball five more times than par, such as taking an nine on a par four hole.

The 'Wolf' is always the last player to tee off. At each hole, the players rotate the tee-off order (on the first hole 1,2,3,4 and on the second hole 2,3,4,1 and on fifth hole 1,2,3,4 again) so that each player becomes Wolf once every four holes.

A - A "banana ball" is a shot that bends to the right, often even way to the right, for a right-handed player and the other way around for someone who plays left-handed. "Banana Ball" is a colloquial name for what we otherwise call a slice.

Gorilla was the guy that hit the furthest but was outside the first cut. The snake was a three (or more) putt, the camel was whoever hit it into the sand, and the frog is the guy that hits it into the water.

What does frog mean in golf?

"Fore!", originally a Scots interjection, is used to warn anyone standing or moving in the flight of a golf ball. The etymology of the word in this usage is uncertain.

For cabbage is the word given to the deep rough, the thick vegetation that swallows balls whole and refuses to let them out of their vice-like grip.

Ham And Egg

This is by far one of the silliest common golf terms, which is why we love talking about it. If a team of players is ham and egging, one player performed quite admirably on the hole while the other participant finished far above par.

Believe it or not, yes. According to liveabout.com, it has occurred five times, with three of them coming on sever doglegs or horseshoe-shaped holes where the listed yardage could be mitigated by going at the green as the crow flies. A pair of par-5 aces, however, were made on mostly straight holes.

Woods are classed as either drivers or fairway woods, so the 2 wood might be too close to a driver's loft for a club golfer to feel it gives them an advantage when carrying one.

Flub: A terrible shot which causes a loss in scoring. Foot Wedge: Where the golfer uses his “foot” to push the ball into a better position.

Updated on 07/05/19. "Rabbit" is a golf side bet that is a game for a group of three or a group of four golfers. In Rabbit, the object is to "catch the rabbit" — which a golfer does by winning a hole (having the low score of the group) — and to still have possession of the rabbit when the front nine ends.

Chicken Winging is a term used to describe the appearance of the lead arm on players who bend their lead elbow and cup their lead wrist through impact. The lead arm resembles the wing of a chicken, hence the name. Normally, the lead arm is extended through impact to create as much width as possible.

Fun Fact: A fried egg is golf slang for a ball half-buried in a sand bunker.

Purpose of Rule: Rule 11 covers what to do if the player's ball in motion hits a person, animal, equipment or anything else on the course. When this happens accidentally, there is no penalty and the player normally must accept the result, whether favourable or not, and play the ball from where it comes to rest.

Is a birdie in golf a good thing?

It may be one of the more common scoring terms used in the game of golf, however, scoring a birdie is not as common. A birdie is a very good score, one that you will see very few mid-handicappers scoring and even fewer high handicappers achieving. When one is scored, it is certainly worth celebrating.

A player makes a “birdie” when he uses one fewer strokes than the par of the hole. If a player needs one stroke more than par to finish a hole, he makes a “bogey.” So, if you finish a par 4 with only 3 strokes, you make a “birdie”, but if you take 5 strokes to complete a par 4, you make a “bogey”.

Play the ball as it lies. Don't move, bend, or break anything growing or fixed, except in fairly taking your stance or swing. Don't press anything down. You may lift natural objects not fixed or growing, except in a water hazard or bunker.

Leave no trace: Fix your ball marks, divots and rake the bunker. Leave the golf course as you found it, meaning leave no trash behind either. Be Aware of your Shadow: Avoid standing on the green or tee box in such a way that your shadow gets in another players putting line or line of sight as they prepare to swing.

Crows pinching golf balls

The reason Crows pinch the golf balls is that they think they are bird's eggs. You will find they take the balls to a nearby tree and then drop them.

For hole completions three strokes under par is recognized in golf as Albatross. This is also known as “double eagle” in relation to the “birdie” and “eagle” theme. More on albatross in golf here. The reasoning for the name is that albatross is a very rare bird and so is scoring three under par.

Terms exist for even rarer events — "ostrich" for 5 under par (-5) and "phoenix" for 6 under par (-6) — but no one has ever made these shots. Some consider them impossible — they require a hole-in-one on a par-6 or par-7 hole — because these holes themselves are very rare.

Condor is an unofficial name for a hole score of four strokes fewer than par (four under par, −4). A condor is also known as a double albatross, or a triple eagle.

So the term quintuple bogey is used to mean that a golfer has played a hole in 5-over par, or, to put it another way, needed five strokes more than par to complete play of the hole. So what are the specific scores that make a quintuple bogey? These: On a par-3 hole, a score of 8 is a quintuple bogey.

According to this version, the term was named after a locker room attendant at the club named John A. 'Buddy' Mulligan, who worked at the club during the 1930s and was known for replaying shots, particularly on the first tee.

What does 5 4 mean in golf?

Here's what we mean: Let's say you've won five holes and your opponent has won four. The score is not shown as 5 to 4; rather, it's rendered as 1-up for you, or 1-down for your opponent. If you have won six holes and your opponent three, then you are leading 3-up, and your opponent is trailing 3-down.

An ace of a par 5 – typically one of the longest holes on any golf course – is known as a “condor.” Through 2021, there are only six known official condors in the world.