The short answer. Golf has two vocabularies. The official one is in the Rules of Golf, published by the R&A and the USGA, and every term below marked Official points to its rule. The unofficial one is whatever your group has agreed on the first tee. Where the two disagree, the Rules apply in competition and the group applies everywhere else.
How this glossary works
Each entry is labelled Official (it is in the Rules, with the rule number) or Unofficial (common usage, not a rule). Where there is a Club Notice design for the term, it is linked. Entries are grouped by the six departments the shop is organised around.
Rules and Relief
Embedded ball
Official, Rule 16.3. A ball is embedded only if it is in its own pitch-mark from your previous stroke and part of it is below ground level. In the general area, you may take free relief: drop a ball in a relief area that extends one club-length from the spot right behind where it was embedded, no nearer the hole than that spot, and still in the general area. There are exceptions, including sand in parts of the general area not cut to fairway height. Unofficial: a "plugged lie" or "fried egg." More in embedded ball: when you get free relief. Design: Embedded.
Relief area and reference point
Official, Rule 16.1. When free relief is allowed, the relief area is measured from a reference point. For relief from an abnormal course condition, the reference point is the nearest point of complete relief, and the relief area is one club-length from it, no nearer the hole. Unofficial: "nearest, not nicest," the reminder that the point is found by measuring, not by choosing the best lie. More in nearest point of relief: how to find it and take free relief. Designs: Relief Area, Reference Point.
Loose impediment
Official, Rule 15.1. A natural movable object not fixed to the course, such as a leaf, twig or stone. You may remove loose impediments anywhere on the course without penalty, with one caution: if removing one causes your ball to move, the ball is replaced and you take a one-stroke penalty. Design: Loose Impediment.
Lost ball
Official, Rule 18.2. A ball is lost if it is not found within three minutes of starting to search for it. The player then takes stroke-and-distance relief: one penalty stroke, and play from where the previous stroke was made. Design: Search Period Expired.
Provisional ball
Official, Rule 18.3. A second ball played to save time when the first might be lost outside a penalty area, or out of bounds. Before the stroke, the player must announce that it is a provisional, using the word "provisional" or otherwise making it clear. Saying you are hitting another ball is not enough. Design: Provisional Announced.
Unplayable ball
Official, Rule 19. A ball the player decides to treat as unplayable. Only the player can make that decision, and it can be made anywhere on the course except in a penalty area. It costs one penalty stroke and gives three options: stroke and distance, back on the line, or lateral relief within two club-lengths. In a bunker, back-on-the-line relief outside the bunker is also allowed for two penalty strokes in total. Unofficial: an "unplayable lie." More in unplayable lie: your three options and the penalty.
Group Protocol
Honour
Official, Rule 6.4. The right to play first from the teeing area. In match play it passes to the winner of the previous hole. In stroke play it passes to the player with the lowest gross score on the previous hole. In match play, after the tee, the ball farther from the hole is played first; stroke play allows more flexibility (see ready golf).
Ready golf
Official, Rule 6.4b (stroke play). Playing out of turn, safely, is both allowed and encouraged when it saves time, as long as it is not done to gain an advantage over other players. In match play, the order of play is not flexible in the same way. Design: Ready.
Gimme
Unofficial. A putt conceded by a playing partner so that it need not be holed. The Rules allow concession in match play only (Rule 3.2b): an opponent's next stroke, a hole or the match can be conceded, and a concession cannot be declined or withdrawn. In stroke play, no concession is allowed and you must hole out (Rule 3.3c). More in gimme putt etiquette.
Mulligan and breakfast ball
Unofficial. A mulligan is a replayed stroke, without penalty, agreed by the group. A "breakfast ball" is the same offer made on the first tee. There is no such provision in the Rules, which are built on the principle of playing the ball as it lies (Rule 1.1 and Rule 9). They exist by agreement only.
Shot Management
Bump and run
Unofficial (technique). A low chip, usually played with a less-lofted club, that lands short of the green and runs the rest of the way. Design: Bump and Run.
Lay-up
Unofficial. A shot deliberately played short of a hazard or a difficult area, usually with a shorter club, to leave an easier next shot. Design: Lay Up.
Short side
Unofficial. Missing the green on the side where the flag is close to the edge, which leaves little green to work with for the next shot. Design: Short Side.
Good miss
Unofficial. A miss that ends in the position that leaves the easiest next shot. Design: Good Miss.
Backstop
Unofficial. A slope, bank or other feature behind the target that keeps a ball from running through. Design: Backstop.
Equipment Office
Sunday bag
Unofficial. A light carry bag holding a reduced set of clubs, used for casual rounds. Design: Sunday Bag.
Headcover
Unofficial (equipment). A cover that protects the head of a club, most often a driver or fairway wood, from knocks and weather. Design: Headcover.
Round Operations
Home course
Unofficial. The course you play most often, and know well enough to have a history with. Design: Home Course.
Back nine
Unofficial. The second half of an 18-hole round, holes 10 to 18. Design: Back Nine.
Starter
Unofficial (role). The person at the first tee who manages tee times and sends groups off. Design: Starter's List.
Dress code
Unofficial (club policy). A club or course's rules on what may be worn on the course and in the clubhouse. These are set by the club, not by the Rules of Golf. Design: Dress Code.
Questions
What is the difference between a rule and an etiquette point?
A rule is in the Rules of Golf and carries a penalty. Etiquette is the behaviour a group expects, and it has no penalty beyond a long look from your playing partners.
Are the Rules of Golf the same everywhere?
The R&A and USGA publish one set of rules for the whole world. Committees can add local rules for a course or a competition.
Where can I read the Rules?
The R&A publishes them at randa.org, and the USGA publishes the same rules on its site.
Last reviewed 6 October 2026 against the 2023 Rules of Golf. Rules are cited from the R&A pages for Rules 1, 3, 6, 9, 15, 16, 18 and 19. This is a plain-English summary, not the official text.
