Ryder Cup Defined: Unravelling the Language

For those of you who agree with Mark Twain that 'Golf is a good walk spoiled' you may want to look away now. The Ryder cup is back in the British Isles.

Four years ago my late father was recovering from aa round of radiotherapy when the even came to Ireland for the first time, this year it is in Wales. But there are some strange terminoligies that get used in this biennial event so here is a quick glossary.

Fourballs: As the name suggests the players go out in two teams of pairs playing a ball each. The lowest score for each pair counts for that team, if it is lower than the opposition they gain the hole. If they are equal the hole is tied. (in Ryder Cup there are 2 Fourball round with 4 teams in each)

Foursomes: Again is played in pairs but they only have one ball between them with the same scoring system (in Ryder Cup there are 2 Foursome round with 4 teams in each)

Singles: As the name suggests in man against man. This is the final set of matches on Sunday and will be the only round to feature all twelve players from both teams on the course at the same time. It is also possible for a player not to have taken part in any of the Fourballs or Foursomes to make their only appearance in the Singles.

Gimme: An opponent lifts your ball meaning that you have the next shot taken for granted to hole out and added to your score for the hole without having to play it.

Dormie: A player or team is the same number of holes ahead as there are holes left to play. Any tied hole or won hole by them ensures they win the match.

Scoring: While on the course this is indicated by the leading team being up. Winning a hole no matter by how many shots only counts as one. The final score in a match will be indicated as either:

A & B (Where A is the number of shots ahead and B is the number of holes that did not need to be played)

1 or 2 shots (this only happens if the game gets to the last green (18th in Ryder Cup) obviously a single shot lead and winning the last hole is the only way to win by a score of 2 shots)

Halved (indicates that both teams have won an equal number of hole over the match in Ryder cup this adds ½ to the score of both teams)

Scoring is 1 point for a win or ½ for a tie.

I'm sure there are probably more, but these are the essentials, enjoy the weekend.