What does birdie mean in golf?

A birdie is a hole played in one stroke under par. On a par 4 that is a three.

The green is the closely mown surface the hole is cut into. In Finnish it is viheriö, or greeni in everyday speech.

What do slope and course rating mean?

Course rating is how hard a course plays for a scratch golfer, in strokes. Slope is how much harder it plays for a bogey golfer relative to that, with 113 as the average. Both are needed to convert a handicap index into a course handicap.

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Golf glossary

Finnish golf vocabulary is half borrowed English, and the borrowed word is not always the obvious one. These are the terms you meet on the course and on the scorecard, in both languages.

The terms

Par (in Finnish: Par): The strokes a scratch golfer is expected to need on a hole. Par 3, 4 and 5 are the hole types, and the holes added together give the par of the course.
Birdie (in Finnish: Birdie): A hole played in one stroke under par.
Eagle (in Finnish: Eagle): Two under par on a hole. Three shots on a par 5.
Albatross (in Finnish: Albatrossi): Three under par on a hole. Rarer than a hole in one.
Bogey (in Finnish: Bogey): One over par. A double bogey is two over, a triple three over.
Hole in one (in Finnish: Hole in one): The ball in the hole from the tee. Also called an ace. Tradition says the player buys a round at the clubhouse.
Scorecard (in Finnish: Tuloskortti): The card the round’s strokes are written on, hole by hole. It carries the pars, the lengths and the stroke indexes.
Handicap (in Finnish: Tasoitus): The number describing a player’s standard, giving them strokes over a round. Finland uses the World Handicap System.
Stroke index (in Finnish: Tasoitusindeksi): The holes ranked by difficulty, 1 to 18. It decides which holes handicap strokes fall on.
Slope (in Finnish: Slope): How hard a course is for a bogey golfer relative to a scratch golfer. 113 is average.
Course rating (in Finnish: Course rating): How hard a course is for a scratch golfer, expressed in strokes.
Scratch (in Finnish: Scratch): A player with a handicap of 0.
Green card (in Finnish: Green card): The Finnish player’s test that grants course access and a starting handicap of 54.
Green fee (in Finnish: Greenfee): What a round costs on a course you are not a member of.
Tee (in Finnish: Tii): The teeing area, and also the peg the ball sits on. Tees are colour coded by length.
Hole (in Finnish: Väylä): One hole of the course from tee to green. The Finnish word also covers the mown fairway.
Green (in Finnish: Viheriö): The closely mown surface the hole is cut into.
Rough (in Finnish: Karheikko): The longer grass along the sides of the hole.
Bunker (in Finnish: Bunkkeri): A sand hazard. You may not ground the club in the sand before the stroke.
Penalty area (in Finnish: Vesieste): Water or another marked area you may take relief from for one penalty stroke. Marked with yellow or red stakes.
Out of bounds (in Finnish: Out of bounds): Outside the course, marked with white stakes. The penalty is stroke and distance: play again from the same spot plus one penalty stroke.
Provisional ball (in Finnish: Provisorinen pallo): A second ball played when the first may be lost or out of bounds. It saves the walk back.
Drop (in Finnish: Drop): Dropping the ball from knee height into the relief area the rules define.
Drive (in Finnish: Draivi): The tee shot, usually with a driver.
Approach (in Finnish: Lähestymislyönti): The shot played at the green.
Chip (in Finnish: Chippi): A short low shot from around the green that flies a little and runs a lot.
Pitch (in Finnish: Pitchi): A higher short shot that flies more than it runs.
Putt (in Finnish: Putti): A stroke played on the green with a putter.
Up and down (in Finnish: Ylös ja sisään): Getting the ball in the hole in two strokes from off the green.
Fade (in Finnish: Fade): A controlled left-to-right curve for a right-handed player.
Draw (in Finnish: Draw): A controlled right-to-left curve for a right-handed player.
Slice (in Finnish: Slaissi): An uncontrolled hard curve to the right. The beginner’s standard fault.
Hook (in Finnish: Hookki): An uncontrolled curve to the left.
Shank (in Finnish: Shank): A strike off the hosel that sends the ball sharply right.
Honour (in Finnish: Kunnia): The right to play first from the tee. It belongs to whoever won the previous hole.
Marker (in Finnish: Merkkari): The player who records another player’s score in a competition and signs the card.
Stroke play (in Finnish: Lyöntipeli): The format where all strokes are added up and the lowest total wins.
Match play (in Finnish: Reikäpeli): The format where each hole is won or halved and the result is given in holes.
Stableford (in Finnish: Pistebogey): The points format where a par is two points, a birdie three and a bogey one.
Scramble (in Finnish: Scramble): The team format where the best ball is chosen and everyone plays on from there.
Front nine and back nine (in Finnish: Etuysi ja takaysi): The first and second nine holes of a round. The Out and In columns on the card.
Round (in Finnish: Kierros): The holes of the course played in order, usually 18 or 9.
Group (in Finnish: Ryhmä): The players going round together, usually two to four.
Tee time (in Finnish: Peliaika): The booked starting time on the first tee.
Mulligan (in Finnish: Ässäpallo): A replayed shot with no penalty. Not in the rules, but common on a social round.

Common questions

What does birdie mean in golf?: A birdie is a hole played in one stroke under par. On a par 4 that is a three.
What is the green?: The green is the closely mown surface the hole is cut into. In Finnish it is viheriö, or greeni in everyday speech.
What do slope and course rating mean?: Course rating is how hard a course plays for a scratch golfer, in strokes. Slope is how much harder it plays for a bogey golfer relative to that, with 113 as the average. Both are needed to convert a handicap index into a course handicap.

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