A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Rabbit
An amateur golfer with little success. A touring professional who has no tournament exemptions and must compete in qualifying rounds for chances to play in tournaments.
Rake
Used to remove your footsteps in a bunker after you used it.
Range
A place on the course to practice driving and fairway shots. Sometimes there is an area for pitches and sand-shot practice.
Range Ball
Type of ball used at a driving range facility. The balls may be used balls or may be specially made, difficult-to-cut balls purchased by upscale ranges for durability. Usually range balls are marked in some way; typically by a red stripe and/or name encircling the ball.
Ranger
A golf course employee whose duty it is to keep the pace of play at an acceptable time. A ranger typically drives the course in a motorized cart, identified in some way (flag, sign, etc.), encouraging slow groups to speed up or to allow other groups to play through.
Rap
To firmly hit a putt.
Reading the Green
Determining the path which the ball will take on its way to the hole by analyzing the contour and texture of the green.
Recover
To play back into a satisfactory position on the fairway or onto the green from an undesirable position, such as a hazard or rough, on the course.
Red Numbers
Term given to under par scores in a tournament.
Regular Shaft
A shaft with normal flex.
Release
The point in the downswing where you uncock your wrists.
Relief
Under the Rules of Golf, moving (either placing or dropping) a ball in order to make a normal stroke at it. Relief may be with or without penalty depending upon the situation. Common items from which relief is taken are trees, water and obstructions.
Resort
Type of golf course catering to the guests of the resort with which it is associated. Resort courses may sell limited memberships and may allow public play at specific times.
Reverse Overlap
For a right-handed player, a putting grip in which the index finger of the right hand overlaps the little finger of the left and the converse for a left-handed player.
Rhythm
In golf, as in music, rhythm is a flowing, uninterrupted movement. Both music and golf are terrible without it.
Rifle A Shot
To hit the ball far and hard.
Rim
To run round the edge of the cup.
Rim Out
To run around the edge of the cup and fail to fall in.
Road Hole
The 17th hole at St. Andrews. Reputed to be the most difficult hole in the world.
Roll
Curvature of the face on a wooden club in vertical mode.
Roll-on-a-Shot
Turning the wrists too much at impact.
Rough
Type of grass, bordering fairways, that is higher and generally more coarse than the grass in the fairway. Rough may also be present near green, tees and bunkers depending upon the particular course; it may vary in height from one are on the course to another and from course to course as well. (See "First Cut" and "Second Cut.")
Round
Term applied to a typical round of golf, generally 18 holes, but sometimes 9.
Royal And Ancient
One of the two governing bodies of golf, along with the USGA. Often called the "R & A", it is headquartered in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Rub Of The Green
A term given to a ball affected in some way by an outside agency (See "Outside Agency.") A rub of the green occurs if a ball is headed out of bounds and hits an animal, deflecting it back in to play.
Rubber-Core Ball
The golf ball that revolutionised the game at the turn of the twentieth century. Also known as the Haskell ball.
Rules Of Golf
There are so many that a lot of golfers carry the 128-page rule book in their bag. If you break a rule in golf, even accidentally, the best thing that can happen to you is that you have to add penalty strokes to your score. The worst is that you are disqualified.
Run
The distance the ball rolls on the ground or when it lands on the ground.
Run-Up Shot
An intentionally low shot designed to roll on to the green, usually played with a lower lofted iron such a #6 iron or lower.
Running Iron
A club that is used for making short running shots.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z