Glossary of Golf - F

F

Fade

A shot that, for a right-handed golfer, curves slightly to the right, and is often played intentionally by skilled golfers. An overdone fade will appear similar to a slice.

Fairway

The area of the course between the tee and the green that is well-maintained allowing a good lie for the ball

Fairway hit (FH)

A fairway is considered hit if any part of the ball is touching the fairway surface after the tee shot on a par 4 or 5. Percentage of fairways hit is one of many statistics kept by the PGA Tour.

Fairway markers

Fairway markers indicate the distance from the marker to the center of the green. Some fairway markers give the yardage. Most are color-coded as follows: yellow=250 yards, blue=200 yards, white=150 yards, red=100 yards. These colors are not standardized and may vary based on the specific course layout.

Fat

A stroke in which the club makes contact with the turf long before the ball, resulting in a poor contact and significant loss of distance.

Flag-stick

A tall marker, often a metal pole with a flag at the top, used to indicate the position of the hole on a green. Also called the "pin". An additional smaller flag, or other marker, is sometimes positioned on the flag-stick to indicate the location of the hole (front, middle, or back) on the green.

Flier

A type of lie where the ball is in the rough and grass is likely to become trapped between the ball and the club-face at the moment of impact. Flier lies often result in "flier shots", which have little or no spin (due to the blades of grass blocking the grooves on the club-face) and travel much farther than intended.

Flop shot

A short shot, played with an open stance and an open club-face, designed to travel very high in the air and land softly on the green. The flop shot is useful when players do not have "much green to work with", but should only be attempted on the best of lies.

Follow Through

The final part of a golf swing, after the ball has been hit.

Fore

A warning shout given when there is a chance that the ball may hit other players or spectators.

Fore caddy

One employed by a golfer or group of golfers to walk ahead of the players in order to spot the fall of their shots and to find their balls. More commonly used in the days of hand-made feathery balls when the cost of replacing a ball would be greater than the fore caddy's fee. Today in professional tournaments, ball spotters are normally placed at each hole for the same purpose.

Four-ball

In matchplay, a contest between two sides, each consisting of a pair of players, where every individual plays his own ball throughout. On every hole, the lower of the two partner's scores is matched against the lower of the opposition's scores. (Four-balls are the afternoon matches played on the Friday and Saturday of the Ryder Cup) In stroke-play, a four-ball competition is played between several teams each consisting of 2 players, where for every hole the lower of the two partner's scores counts toward the team's 18 hole total. The term four-ball is an informal reference to any group of 4 players on the course.

Foursomes

In matchplay, a contest between two sides each consisting of a pair of players, where the 2 partners hit alternate shots on one ball. The first player tees off, the second player hits the second shot, the first player hits the third shot, and so on until the ball is holed. Also partners alternate their tee shots, so that one member of each team will always tee-off on the odd holes and the other will tee off on the even holes. (Foursomes are the opening matches played on the Friday and Saturday mornings of the Ryder Cup.). In stroke-play, a foursome competition is played between several teams each consisting of a pair of players, where partners play alternate shots until the SINGLE ball is holed. The term foursome is a common reference to any group of 4 players on the course.

Fringe

The closely mowed area surrounding the green. The grass in between the green and the fairway.

Front nine

Holes 1 through 9 on a golf course.

Funnies

Various informal achievements, both positive and negative; these differ from traditional achievements like birdies or eagles in that the achievements are for unusual things that may happen in the course of a game. Their main use is to add interest to informal matchplay games as they enable players to win something regardless of the overall outcome of the match. They are frequently associated with gambling because money, usually small stakes, changes hands depending on which funnies occur.