| Sand Trap |
A sand bunker. |
| 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. |
| Scorecard |
The card on which a golfer records his score during play. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Shot |
An attempt to hit the ball. |
| Shotgun Start |
Tournament in which the field start from different holes at the same time rather than queuing up at the first tee. |
| 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. |
| Sit |
Expression aimed at the ball to encourage it to stop rolling. |
| Sit Down |
A term which the golfer says to the ball to encourage it to land or stop rolling. |
| Skull |
Hitting the ball above it's centre, thus making it fly very low to the ground. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Snake |
A long putt which travels over the undulations of the green. |
| Snap Hook |
To severely hook the ball. |
| Snipe |
To hook the ball such that it drops quickly. |
| Sole |
The underside of the club head. |
| Sole plate |
The metal underside of a wood's club head. |
| Speed of Play |
The time it takes to play an 18 hole ground. |
| Spike Mark |
A tuft of grass caused by spiked shoes. |
| Spike Wrench |
Instrument used to remove spikes from golf shoes. |
| 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 . |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Stroke Counters |
Gadget to keep track of strokes. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
