Golf Terms: Links Courses

Aeration is the process of "punching" little holes in putting greens to help them stay healthy and grow.

The rough describes the longer grass that golfers must hit out of if they miss the fairway and hit their shot off-target.

A special type of bunker that is commonly found on links golf courses and is characterized by its steep "walls" that are tough to hit over.

An amateur golfer is anyone who does not earn money from competing in golf tournaments.

A headcover is a "glove" made of soft material that you put over your golf clubs to keep them clean and protected from various weather conditions.

You may hear older golfers say, "I'm just trying to shoot my age today". This is generally a good thing.

A divot is the mark made on the fairway or tee box when you hit a full golf shot and the club displaces grass behind the ball.

When you hit a "green in regulation", this means you landed your ball on the putting surface in the designated number of strokes based on the par.

A free drop is when a golfer gets to move their golf ball without taking a penalty stroke. Most commonly, this happens when taking relief from a cart path.