GOLF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does golf mean? 

• GOLF (noun)
  The noun GOLF has 1 sense:

1. a game played on a large open course with 9 or 18 holes; the object is use as few strokes as possible in playing all the holes

  Familiarity information: GOLF used as a noun is very rare.

• GOLF (verb)
  The verb GOLF has 1 sense:

1. play golf

  Familiarity information: GOLF used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GOLF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A game played on a large open course with 9 or 18 holes; the object is use as few strokes as possible in playing all the holes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

golf; golf game

Hypernyms ("golf" is a kind of...):

outdoor game (an athletic game that is played outdoors)

Domain member category:

toe (hit (a golf ball) with the toe of the club)

tee off (strike a ball from the teeing ground at the start of a hole)

heel (strike with the heel of the club)

putt (hit a putt)

putt (strike (a golf ball) lightly, with a putter)

shank (hit (a golf ball) with the heel of a club, causing the ball to veer in the wrong direction)

toe (drive (a golf ball) with the toe of the club)

carry (cover a certain distance or advance beyond)

hole up (score a hole in one)

eagle (shoot in two strokes under par)

caddie; caddy (act as a caddie and carry clubs for a player)

ace (play (a hole) in one stroke)

par (make a score (on a hole) equal to par)

eagle ((golf) a score of two strokes under par on a hole)

drive (strike with a driver, as in teeing off)

hole; hole out (hit the ball into the hole)

slice (hit a ball and put a spin on it so that it travels in a different direction)

hook (hit a ball and put a spin on it so that it travels to the left)

sclaff (strike (the ground) in making a sclaff)

sclaff (strike (a golf ball) such that the ground is scraped first)

tee; tee up (place on a tee)

chip (play a chip shot)

birdie (shoot in one stroke under par)

double birdie; eagle (shoot two strokes under par)

double bogey (to shoot two strokes over par)

bogey (to shoot in one stroke over par)

dormie; dormy (in match play a side that stands as many holes ahead as there are holes remaining to be played)

greenside (adjacent to a putting green)

par ((golf) the standard number of strokes set for each hole on a golf course, or for the entire course)

approach; approach shot (a relatively short golf shot intended to put the ball onto the putting green)

chip; chip shot ((golf) a low running approach shot)

driving iron; one iron ((golf) the long iron with the most nearly vertical face)

club-head; club head; clubhead; golf-club head ((golf) the head of the club which strikes the ball)

golf course; links course (course consisting of a large landscaped area for playing golf)

golf equipment (sports equipment used in playing golf)

driving range; golf range (a practice range for practicing golf shots)

heel ((golf) the part of the clubhead where it joins the shaft)

plus fours (men's baggy knickers hanging below the knees; formerly worn for sports (especially golf))

toe ((golf) the part of a clubhead farthest from the shaft)

wedge ((golf) an iron with considerable loft and a broad sole)

whip ((golf) the flexibility of the shaft of a golf club)

loft ((golf) the backward slant on the head of some golf clubs that is designed to drive the ball high in the air)

address (the stance assumed by a golfer in preparation for hitting a golf ball)

scratch ((golf) a handicap of zero strokes)

card; scorecard ((golf) a record of scores (as in golf))

apron ((golf) the part of the fairway leading onto the green)

divot (a piece of turf dug out of a lawn or fairway (by an animals hooves or a golf club))

divot ((golf) the cavity left when a piece of turf is cut from the ground by the club head in making a stroke)

greenskeeper (someone responsible for the maintenance of a golf course)

medal winner; medalist; medallist ((golf) the winner at medal play of a tournament)

stroke ((golf) the unit of scoring in golf is the act of hitting the ball with a club)

birdie ((golf) a score of one stroke under par on a hole)

bogey ((golf) a score of one stroke over par on a hole)

double-bogey ((golf) a score of two strokes over par for a hole)

double eagle ((golf) a score of three strokes under par on a hole)

address (adjust and aim (a golf ball) at in preparation of hitting)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "golf"):

professional golf (playing golf for money)

round; round of golf (the activity of playing 18 holes of golf)

medal play; stroke play (golf scoring by total strokes taken)

match play (golf scoring by holes won)

miniature golf (a novelty version of golf played with golf balls and putters on a miniature course featuring many obstacles)

clock golf (a form of golf in which you putt from positions arranged on the circumference of a circle around the hole)

Derivation:

golf (play golf)

• GOLF (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they golf    ... he / she / it golfs   
Past simple: golfed   
Past participle: golfed   
-ing form: golfing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Play golf

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "golf" is one way to...):

play (participate in games or sport)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

golf (a game played on a large open course with 9 or 18 holes; the object is use as few strokes as possible in playing all the holes)

golfer (someone who plays the game of golf)

golfing (playing golf)

 Context examples 

He came on the pretence of playing golf.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Tendinitis of the elbow is a sports injury, often from playing tennis or golf.

(Elbow Injuries and Disorders, NIH)

They may occur as one large stone or as many small ones, and vary from the size of a golf ball to a grain of sand.

(Cholelith, NCI Dictionary)

Your sports may range from tennis to rock climbing, golf to hiking.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

A question about moderate activities such as moving a table, pushing a vacuum cleaner, bowling, or playing golf.

(Moderate Activities Such As Moving a Table, Pushing a Vacuum Cleaner, Bowling, or Playing Golf, NCI Thesaurus)

It was after tea on a summer evening, and the conversation, which had roamed in a desultory, spasmodic fashion from golf clubs to the causes of the change in the obliquity of the ecliptic, came round at last to the question of atavism and hereditary aptitudes.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At first I was flattered to go places with her because she was a golf champion and every one knew her name.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

At her first big golf tournament there was a row that nearly reached the newspapers—a suggestion that she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

That was for the golf tournament. She had lost in the finals the week before.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Usually her voice came over the wire as something fresh and cool as if a divot from a green golf links had come sailing in at the office window but this morning it seemed harsh and dry.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)