Terms in Golf

observer A person who is appointed to assist the referee in a match, to decide questions of fact and report any breach of rules.

obstruction Any artificial object that has been left or placed on the course with the exception of course boundary markers and constructed roads and paths.

Off-centre A poor hit.

offset A club with the head set behind the shaft.

one up Used in match play to mean having scored one hole more than your opponent. Also, the score of the player who is one up.

one-iron An iron club with a loft of approximately 17 degrees, lie of approximately 56 degrees and length of 39 inches. Men's clubs give a distance of between 185 and 220 yards. Also called a driving iron.

one-putt To hole the ball using only one shot on the green.

one-wood Alternate name given to the driver. open A tournament in which both amateurs and professionals are allowed to play.

open stance The left foot is dropped behind the imaginary line of the direction of the ball. This allows the golfer to face more in the direction the ball is going to travel.

out The first nine holes of an 18 hole course. The second 9 holes is going "in"

out of bounds The area outside of the course in which play is prohibited. A player is penalized stroke and distance. That is he must replay the shot with a penalty of one stroke.

outside agency Anyone who is not part of the competitors side in stroke play or not part of the match. Such as observers, forecaddies, referee etc.

overclub To use a club that gives to much distance.

overlapping grip As used by a right-handed player having the little finger of the right hand overlapping the space between the forefinger and second finger of the left hand. The opposite for a left-handed player.