Tee Talk — Decode the Course

Golf lingo can be tricky, but it’s way more fun once you know what it all means. Let’s dive in

THE LAYOUT

A standard golf course has 18 holes, each with its own unique layout

• Tee Box: The starting point for each hole - as a beginner start at the red tees for ladies

• Fairway: The area between the tee and the green, where the grass is cut short.

• Rough: The longer grass surrounding the fairway

• Green: The area surrounding the hole where the grass is cut very short, making it easier to put

• Bunker/Sand Trap: Hazards filled with sand

• Water Hazard: Self explanatory

• Flagstick/Pin: Designates where the hole is located

The Terminology

Before we dive into terminology, let’s acknowledge something important: golf is absurd, and so is the language we use to describe it. If you’ve never seen Robin Williams’ stand-up bit on the invention of golf, do yourself a favor and watch it—he captures just how ridiculous this game truly is.

Now that you've seen that very educational video, we can move forward.

Scoring Terminology

PAR: Each hole on a golf course is assigned a par, which represents the number of strokes a skilled golfer is expected to take to get the ball into the hole. The term par isn’t just used for individual holes — it also describes what a skilled golfer is expected to shoot over the entire round. When someone says a course is a par 72, that means the total of all 18 holes adds up to 72 strokes.

Each hole will fall into one of these three categories:

Par 3 (shortest holes)

Par 4 (medium length holes)

Par5 (longest holes)

Think of par as the baseline. Every other scoring term simply explains how your score compares to that number.

Eagle: 2 strokes under Par (You shot a 3 on a Par 5)

Birdie: 1 stroke under Par (You shot a 2 on a Par 3)

Par: Hopefully you haven't already forgotten this one

Bogey: 1 over Par (You shot a 4 on a Par 3)

Double Bogey: 2 over Par (You shot a 7 on a Par 5 - Yep we've all been there)

*Other terms include Ace (Hole in one) and Albatross / Double Eagle (3 under Par), but many of us never have the honor of reporting these scores

At first, all you need to do is count your score and write it on the scorecard. But you will definitely want to become familiar with these terms, it'll eventually come naturally.