Terms from Golf that Maybe Shouldn't Be?

[crashzero]

landfill

 

[Skybolt]

I find the most of these terms are rarely used, at least where I am from. I also think that using some of these terms helps people to transition from ball golf to disc golf. Much easier for people to digest terms they already know than to use terms that describe the same thing but are different just to be different.


Tap-in - Mostly hear people say drop-in

Fairway - This one seems appropriate. Rarely ever hear any say "rough" though.

Green - "You should have a putt" or "You're putting" is what I mostly hear.

Hole - It seems like this is mostly used to describe the whole space from tee pad to basket, which I think is just fine. I never hear anyone actually call the basket a hole, they just say basket. If someone told me to go to route 5 to start my round I would be confused as hell.

Stroke - Only ever hear this in regards to penalties. I know that technically it isn't the right word, it is hard to get away from using it. It also seems to me like this is a change just to have a change.

 

[bradharris]

Green has no real bearing on disc golf. The circle is the official putting area defined by the rules. Green is a term that is only used casually (I hear "fast green" often), so I don't feel like arguing that one any more.

Now on to the word "putt". Do you know the history of this term in ball golf? My assumption is that "putt" was derived from "putting" which is actually the conjugation of the verb "to put". Instead of pronouncing it the same way, the pronunciation seems to have evolved and the word putt came out of it.

I think "put" is the best way to describe the disc golf putting motion. Particularly for push putters, it's not a full throw, and it definitely is not a lob. But the idea is that you're trying to put the disc in the basket, so the term putting seems to apply however you choose to pronounce it.

 

[VictorB]

Coming from golf (with the sleeves of balls that cost about as much as a single disc, but which are lost FAR more frequently and tend to curve to the right for most righties a LOT more often! ), I'm discovering that a LOT of the terms in DG are just taken right from golf itself.

Sometimes these terms seem to be taken without any real consideration for what they are.

For example:

Tap-in - Shouldn't this be called a "flip-in" or a "drop-in" or something? You're not "tapping" anything in.

Fairway - Really? How about calling it the "Route" or the "Path" or something like that? Often it's indistinguishable from the surrounding area except that it's slightly less full of trees. You could say you're "off path" or "off route" rather than "off the fairway" or "in the rough."

Green - There's no clearly defined area as with golf. Why not call it "the Circle" since the rules call for a 10m circle?

Hole - There's no hole. Why do we call it the fifth hole? Why not the "fifth basket" or the "fifth route" or something?

Stroke - It's a throw. Even a "shot" is okay. No strokes.

Oddly, I'm okay with calling some discs "Drivers" and others "Putters." And I'm even more okay with calling others Mid-Range or "Approach" discs.

So my goal with this thread is not to bash DG one little bit. Not at all. I think the above is cute. I might not use those terms, but I don't have a problem with anyone who does.

I'm just surprised that some DGers didn't come up with their own terms, that they borrowed SO heavily from golf, even when the terms didn't necessarily make the most sense.

That said, too, lots of them are okay. Tee is fine, as is par. Penalty, out of bounds (not really used the same - internal OB is frowned upon in golf - but that's okay).

What terms can you think of that I might have forgotten that come from golf but might not make sense? What word(s) would you use instead?

P.S. I realize these terms probably aren't changing. I just find this "borrowing" of phrases curious.

Disc golf is still GOLF, just using frisbees. You're thinking about it too hard, these terms are fine for disc golf.

 

[Cgkdisc]

I hear tap out more than tap in such as, "You can tap out if you wish while I get to my disc."

 

[mcrow]

I think it's as simple as this:

The term "Green" in golf is a shortened version of "putting green". So, it is appropriate in disc golf to use the term "green" as is means "Putting Green". Any area of the course that is within putting distance of the whole is the green. Both have change in slope , though it is more easily seen when a disc golf green is sloped. Instead of having different speeds due to the grass conditions (wet, dry, short or long), disc golf will often have objects in the green that affect the path of the disc. There are also greens in both sports that dictate how you approach them, sometimes you lay up and sometimes you go at the pin and that's largerly due the placement of the green.


Fariway is simply the easiest, most advantageous, path to the hole. There are clearly best ways to the hole in both sports. The rough in golf is long grass, the rough in disc golf might be tossing your disc into a bush or behind a bunch of trees.

A tap-in, in disc golf is any put that's close enough to be reach out and tap the chains with the disc. that's fairly similar to golf tap-ins.

Hole, the basket in disc golf is a hole. It isn't in the ground but the basket has a round opening in the top where the disc goes in, in order to count the hole completed.

Stroke can be defined as a single completed movement of the limbs and body, which fits both sports.

 

[IHearChains]

The term "stroke" seems to be commonly used in penalty discussion, as in "he got stroked for a courtesy violation". Imagine the alternatives...

"he got thrown for a courtesy violation" -- sounds like a wrestling move
"he got shot for a courtesy violation" -- that seems like overkill

 

[Jay Dub]

The term "stroke" seems to be commonly used in penalty discussion, as in "he got stroked for a courtesy violation". Imagine the alternatives...

"he got thrown for a courtesy violation" -- sounds like a wrestling move
"he got shot for a courtesy violation" -- that seems like overkill

:clap:

Funny!

 

[New013]

hole - an opening through something; gap; aperture

a basket has a hole... shut up.

 

[ZAMson]

ball golfers worry about all the wrong stuff. i've honestly never ever heard these concerns from a disc golfer.

but i can now proudly say that i use the rogue terms Frisbee and Stroke liberally

 

[jtrod]

Disc golf has been around since the 70's and obviously many of the term are the same as "Golf". However there have been some terms or guidelines that have been changed or removed from Disc Golf due to the differences in the game:

"Tiger"
"Spikeless Shoes required"
"Are we playing from the Blue, White or Gold tees?"
"Hole in 1 is an "Ace" in Disc Golf"
"Collared shirts required"
"$125.00 for 1 round"
"Keep cart off green"
"The 90 degree rule"
"Members Only"
"Head Covers"

 

[bradharris]

Green has no real bearing on disc golf. The circle is the official putting area defined by the rules. Green is a term that is only used casually (I hear "fast green" often), so I don't feel like arguing that one any more.

Now on to the word "putt". Do you know the history of this term in ball golf? My assumption is that "putt" was derived from "putting" which is actually the conjugation of the verb "to put". Instead of pronouncing it the same way, the pronunciation seems to have evolved and the word putt came out of it.

I think "put" is the best way to describe the disc golf putting motion. Particularly for push putters, it's not a full throw, and it definitely is not a lob. But the idea is that you're trying to put the disc in the basket, so the term putting seems to apply however you choose to pronounce it.

I looked it up, origin of the word "putt" from dictionary.com

1743, in Scottish, special use of put (q.v.) in sense of "putting, pushing, shoving, thrusting" (c.1300); associated with the putting in shot putting. Putter "golf club used in putting" also is first attested 1743.

"pushing, shoving, thrusting" seems like a pretty good description of a putt in disc golf.

 

[Johnny Depth]

I always refer to my throwing arm as a club and the discs as golf balls

 

[ForTheGlory]

Well... If we're trying to distance ourselves from ball golf why do we use 18 holes as a course standard? Why not 25 or some other random number?

And how come we want every hole to be a par 3? How about a 3 "hole" course with all par 17's?

And why call it a course? It's more of a forested area or even just a park.

"Hey guys, I'm going to play Disc and Chains at the local frisbee park. Anybody want to spin plastic with me?"

 

[scarpfish]

Maybe the OP has a legit beef. I'm gonna stick to the terminology that is being currently being used. If the terms change through natural use, I'll change with them.

Its a whole lot easier than being a lexicon nazi.

 

[bradharris]

Another term that doesn't translate: tee.

Tee is used in multiple sports (baseball, football, golf) to refer to an apparatus that holds a ball to be struck. In golf, the "tee box" is the area in which you can place your ball on a tee. The term has carried over to disc golf even though no tee is actually used.

 

[digital]

i hit a good tree and it landed in the middle of the route...not root. route.

 

[Dave242]

I guess we are in good company with the most popular sport in the country where things are borrowed from a related sport in which it is rooted....and where other things make no sense:
The use of the foot, is a minor part of the game
Rugby touches down for a touchdown
Scrimmage is borrowed from rugby's Scrummage
A Tackle is not allowed to tackle (except on turnovers)
Quarterback, fullback, halfback do line up as such usually

 

[bradharris]

A Tackle is not allowed to tackle (except on turnovers)

A defensive tackle can.

Quarterback, fullback, halfback do line up as such usually

But the Quarterback is on the opposite side as the nickel and dime backs.

 

[mcrow]

I guess we are in good company with the most popular sport in the country where things are borrowed from a related sport in which it is rooted....and where other things make no sense:
The use of the foot, is a minor part of the game
Rugby touches down for a touchdown
Scrimmage is borrowed from rugby's Scrummage
A Tackle is not allowed to tackle (except on turnovers)
Quarterback, fullback, halfback do line up as such usually

Actually, tackle can meen simply taking on a problem or opponent or to seize or take down. In the run game, a tackle will most certainly seize and take down an opponent, therefore "tackle". A "pancake" block is pretty much a tackle and that's the aim of all OL on a running play. Given that early football was exclusively running the ball, it makes sense.