Have you heard some terms in a disc golf video that you didn't know what they meant? What about just playing a round with a buddy and they said something that you're not sure is completely made up?
We've got you covered with this Comprehensive Disc Golf Dictionary.
Huge shoutout to those that helped us make this glossary. Thank you Hunter P. for putting the leg work in to put together this massive piece of information, and thank you to our fans for helping it grow.
If you'd like to contribute or see we're missing something just leave a comment below and we'll add it to the list!
2-meter rule
rule in which a penalty stroke is incurred when a disc settles in a tree 2+ meters off the ground, mainly in effect in California
Air Bounce
a reaction to the wind in which the disc rises in the air as if it is bouncing; OR a shot type in which the disc is thrown towards the ground and right before release is tilted nose-up, causing the disc to bounce off a cushion of air
Am-side (Weak Side)
the side of the basket that “pros typically avoid” because they know that the spin of their disc has a higher chance of hitting the chains and splashing out; left-hand side of chains for a RH player
Backhand Grip
thumb and palm on the flight plate and/or rim with fingers on the underside of the disc
Beat-in (Seasoned)
a disc that has hit many trees, has been used for a considerable period of time in which the flight characteristics have changed to be more understable than when the disc was new
Birdie Fest
when a player is shooting exceptionally well and they earn so many birdies in a row that they should be selling tickets to the show
Central Coast Disc Golf (CCDG)
archnemesis and post production rival of JomezPro. the yin to our yang. the Jack in the Box to our Whataburger. the Team Iceland to our Mighty Ducks. our team has made a vow to stop at nothing until there remains only ONE SUPREME LEADER IN DISC GOLF COVERAGE! jk..we love and respect the hell out of those guys and totally eat at Jack in the Box pretty regularly
Circle
10-meter (33 ft) circle around the basket, indicates the putting area in which the disc must come to rest before the player can move beyond their mark
Circle 3 (any number)
pertains to a circle on the scorecard, indicates a penalty on the hole; some players indicate penalties with a “p” as well
Comebacker
a putt in which the player has gone long of the basket and has to “come back,” typically after a missed putt
Course Maintenance
when your disc hits a tree branch so hard that you knock it down and effectively create a bigger gap for other players
DeLa’ed
the occurrence of a disc hitting the basket and rolling very far away, particulary at the famous De LaVeaga Disc Golf Course
DFL
dead “fudging” last, this is the absolute worst that a player could finish in their particular division at a tournament. technically, someone has to finish DFL, but DO NOT be this person in your group of friends. they will never let you forget it!
Disc Down (Club Down)
to throw a slower speed disc instead of a higher speed, typically for greater accuracy
Disc Golf
a game where the objective is to throw a disc golf disc into a disc golf basket, maneuvering through the trees
Disc Golf (Frisbee Golf)
the sport we love; a game where the objective is to throw a disc golf disc into a disc golf basket, maneuvering through the trees
Drop Zone (Drop/DZ)
a lie, designated by the TD, from which the player must throw after having missed a mando or gone out-of-bounds in certain circumstances
Fade
propensity for discs to hook left at the end of the flight given a RHBH throw; low-speed stability
Fairway Driver
speed 6 to 9 disc with potential to fly distances farther than a midrange but shorter than a distance driver
Falling Putt
a putt after which a player touches their marker disc, or any object beyond the lie, before having demonstrated balance
Feature Card
card of featured players selected by fan vote, tournament sponsor, etc. only for first round
Field (Fairway) Ace
a throw-in from long-range; ex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgC54XfiaEw
Flat-to-hyzer
flight shape in which the angle of release is flat then, mid-flight the angle changes to hyzer
Flex Shot (S-curve)
shot type starting on a hyzer angle to slowly turn right and then fade to the left for a RHBH, completing an S-shape in flight
Floater
a putting style in which the putter is thrown nose up in order to float into the chains; or a disc that floats; or an Ultimate Frisbee
Follow Flight
a shot tracker in which the flight of the disc is followed with a colored line; ex: https://youtu.be/2FymhKa-pyM?t=39
Force-over
an anhyzer release with a overstable disc, relying on the stability of the disc to hook up
Forehand (Sidearm, Flick)
a throw type in which the player faces the target with the forehand grip and flicks their wrist
Forehand Grip
palm “to the sky” and thumb placed atop the flight plate, typically index and middle fingers are tucked into the rim with remaining fingers along the outside of the rim
Grenade
shot type in which the disc is thrown upside down at a nearly vertical angle in order to go above the trees and drop straight down
Ground Play
the reaction of the disc once it hits the ground, typically in the form of a skip or curl
Hazard
out-of-bounds area in which a one stroke penalty is incurred and the player throws from where their disc has settled
Head Banger
a putt in which the player may hit their head on the basket when retrieving their marker
Hole
the part of the course associated with a particular teeing area, putting green and hole. play of a hole begins from the teeing area and ends when the ball is holed on the putting green; basket
Hyzerflip
when a disc is thrown with a hyzer release angle and “flips up” to flat, typically a long straight shot
Internet Distance
distance that players on the internet claim to be able to throw but typically cannot
Iron Leaf
when your disc grazes a seemingly innocent leaf, but instead knocks your disc out of the sky with a mystic power comparable to Thor’s Hammer
Jail
when your disc is thrown poorly or redirected off the fairway into thick grass, bushes, or trees and your next throw from that lie feels like you’re in jail with no reasonable throwing options
Jomez
/joe-mez/ the nickname given to Jonathan Gomez (JomezPro Founder) at a summer camp that he worked at with his brother in 2007. everyone called his older brother Chris, “Gomez”, so they used it as a way to differentiate the two
JomezPro
Jomez Productions, founded in 2012, a professional media company that is dedicated to the sport of Disc Golf
Jump Putt (Jumper)
a putt in which the player jumps from behind marker and lands beyond marker, note: release must be from behind marker with the player having contact with the ground
Landing Zone
area in which the player attempts to land for the best angle into the green, typically on par 4s and greater
Mando
an artificial point in which it is mandatory for a disc to fly on the designated side, usually a tree or a pole, and to make the hole safer or more difficult; missing the mando results in a penalty stroke
Modified Fan Grip
variation of the backhand grip, mixture of the fan and power grips generally with two fingers on the rim and two along the flight plate
Mulligan
a second chance (or more) to perform an action, usually after the first chance went wrong through bad luck or a blunder; whereby a player is informally allowed to replay a stroke, even though this is against the formal rules
Must Get
a birdie that the player must get in order to keep pace with the field, opposed to a bonus birdie
National Tour
an event series for the Open and Open Women’s divisions developed by the PDGA and its marketing partners
Natural OB
rough so thick that the player has to pitch out sideways into the fairway with little to no distance gained thereby, essentially an OB stroke
Neg-skip
when a disc skips in an altered or opposite direction than the expected direction (also known as an anti-skip)
Niced
a situation in which someone says “Nice” referring to what looks like a nice shot only to see that same shot take an unfortunate kick or otherwise have a less than ideal result
No Picture On The Scorecard
meaning there is no evidence as to how a score was achieved on any given hole; usually referring to a poor attempt at a putt that somehow manages to be successful
Nose
leading edge; nose-up is when the leading edge is tilted upwards; nose-down is when the leading edge is tilted downwards
Out-of-bounds (OB)
area in which the disc is not intended to settle, incurs a one stroke penalty, player throws from the spot where the disc traveled out-of-bounds. typically given 1 meter relief from where the disc traveled out-of-bounds
PDGA Major
most prestigious tournaments in disc golf, including Worlds and USDGC; tournaments requiring qualification or invitation
PDGA Player Rating
a number that shows how close your average round scores are compared to the course rating, of the courses you’ve played in competition (source: PDGA)
Penalty Stroke
additional stroke added to the scorecard due to a foot fault, missed mando, landing OB or rule violation
Perfect Round
18 under par on an 18 hole course; ex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=352G0B4OClU
Phantom Branch (Ghost Limb)
a tree branch/limb invisible to the thrower until the disc inevitably hits it
Pin High
a shot that comes to rest at an equal distance from the tee as the basket but off to the side
Play Through
the act of allowing another group of players to play a hole before you in order for them to pass through to the next hole
Plays Like A River
where cart paths or sidewalk are OB and either side is inbounds as if the cart path or sidewalk was a river
Plinko
throwing a disc high into the treetops surrounding the basket with the hopes it bounces off the branches and settles near the basket
Pro-side (Strong-side)
right-hand side of the chains for a RH player in which there is higher chance of making the putt, opposed to Am-side
Provisional
an extra throw that is used when the question of whether or not the disc is OB is unclear, to save time and potentially strokes, a player must call a provisional before throwing, the player then plays from two different lies (provisional and OB), the player’s score is resultant from the correct lie as determined later by the tournament director
Razz
to tease playfully for special, informal tournaments or between close friends; considered a courtesy violation during normal tournament play and may cost you an additional stroke
Relief
marking of a new lie which is farther from the target that is on the line of play, farther from the target, at the nearest point of relief; no penalty stroke for relief if relief is taken following a penalty stroke taken for a disc out-of-bounds or other special circumstances, penalty stroke incurred otherwise
Risk-reward
balancing the risk versus the reward for a certain shot, example: going for the island… risk: losing your disc, reward: a birdie putt
Rocking to Brock
tribute song to pterodactyls by artist Unique Syntax. also known as a Disc Golf anthem that was popularized by the CCDG YouTube channel before greed and corruption eroded the heart and sole of their operation. (JK! …but not really)
Rounding
when your body comes between the disc and the line of play preventing a straight pull; a rounded pull
Routine
set of movements before a shot that help the player get in the right state-of-mind and execute
Schruted It
it’s just this thing people say around the office all the time… like when you screw something up in a really irreversible way. you Schruted it. see: we’re The Office fanatics
Scoober (Scoobie)
a utility shot type in which the disc is upside down and thrown in front of and across the body, starting from the player’s non-throwing shoulder; held with the forehand grip
Score Separation
different scores on a hole; a greater variation in scores means a higher scoring separation
Scratch Scoring Average (SSA)
the score that produces a round rating closest to 1000; the higher the SSA, the more challenging the course played in that round
Shule
(Shool? Schule? Yes, this is a dictionary but no we don’t know how to spell it ;)) – the rough in some parts of the world; thick foliage next to the fairway
Skins Match
a round of disc golf in which a “skin” represents a hole, typically cash is awarded to the winner of each skin; a push in a skins match is when a skin is not won and is pushed to the next hole thus increasing the number of skin on one hole
Skomahawk
shot type invented by Simon Lizotte that resembles the thumber but is thrown with the same grip as a backhand roller, throw anhyzer line with an extremely understable disc to flip completely on its back
Slopemez
slow-motion replay in which the player is on a drastic slope facing downwards to the basket
Snowman
carding a score of 8 on a hole and making light of the situation by pointing out the fact that the digit looks like a snowman
Spit-through
a missed putt in which the putt makes contact near the center and goes out the other side with minimal resistance from the chains
Splash-out
a missed putt in which the putt was on the side, caught a lot of chains yet was pushed out
Spush Putt
a putting style where the putter is propelled forward with both a push and a high spin rate
Staggered Stance
putting style in which one foot is in front of the other, opposed to a straddle putt
Stall Shot
a shot that is intentionally thrown nose-up in order for the disc to stall in the air or in other terms to drop out of the sky as if it were a helicopter that lost power midflight
Step Putt (Stepper)
similar to a jump putt but instead of jumping, the player steps forward beyond their lie
Straddle Putt
a putting style in which the player spreads their legs and squats as if straddling a horse
Stroke and Distance
an OB rule in which the player is given a penalty stroke and loses any gain of distance towards the hole and must throw from the spot where the previous stroke was made (the stroke that went OB)
Take Your Medicine
refers to throwing a shot that is not fun; examples: laying up in front of a death putt or pitching back out into the fairway from thick rough
Thumber
overhand throw in which the thumb is placed inside the rim and all other fingers are on the flight plate; flight: flips, pans out, and will straight down
Tombstone (Land Shark)
a disc lodged into the ground at a spike hyzer angle, resembles a shark fin and a tombstone
Top of the World
a hole where the teepad is located very high above the basket as if you were teeing off from the top of the world
Touring Pro
a professional disc golf player that tours the country (or nearby states) playing many tournaments along the way
Turbo Putt
a putt in which the disc is held like a pizza (thumb underneath and fingers along the rim)
Turnover
flight shape in which the disc curves in the opposite direction it naturally wants to curve (fade), ex: RHBH throw naturally curves left, a turnover is when it curves right
Tweener
a hole that plays somewhere between two different pars, whether between a par 3 or par 4, or between a par 4 and a par 5, etc.
UDisc
fellow pioneer in disc golf, an app provides live scoring for major tournaments, scorecards, course maps, and many other great features
Up and Down (Approach)
the act of taking just two strokes to get your disc into the basket when your disc is resting outside the green
Whale Sac
a whale shaped grip bag filled with clay based stone/powder to knead into your hands or rub onto a disc! available at jomezpro.com/shop
WTF Richard
the saying made famous in a viral YouTube video in which a player is seen teeing off and grip locks so bad that he shanks his disc roughly 90 degrees to the right of him over a highway. as the disc disappears out of sight never to be seen again the cameraman exclaims angrily, “What the (fudge), Richard!” you have every right to shout this at your friend if you ever see them shank a shot this poorly
X-step
footwork in which the left foot goes behind and in front of the right foot for a RHBH in order to improve weight transfer
Cut roller “veers to the left” in the RHBH example given.
SSA – Scratch Scoring Average is the score that produces a round rating closest to 1000. The higher the SSA, the more challenging the course played in that round.
Scoring Separation – The more different scores thrown on a hole, the better its scoring separation, although sometimes not correlating with players’ skill levels.
Auto 3 – A bland hole with minimal scoring separation where most players score 3.
Dirty birdie: when all players on a card birdie the same home.
There is a Reddit post about this list with many suggested improvements and incorrect definitions.
https://www.reddit.com/r/discgolf/comments/cdbsyb/jomezpro_put_a_basically_comprehensive_list_of_dg/
Hope to see an updated list! Great work so far. And yes we need “The Flying Dutchman!”
Treesus~ The disc golf God you thank when a tree kicks you in the correct direction to have a better lie. Ex; “Thank you Treesus”
You guys forgot about Richard.
Iron Leaf – hyperbolic explanation for when a discs full flight is abruptly diverted by a single leaf which appears to be made of adamantium. Credit Ken Climo impersonation done by Gregg Barsby
Nice list , though I would argue your definition of air bounce is not correct as an air bounce is a type of throw. https://youtu.be/COIDzM5-HCc
Pured or pure: hitting the best/most optimal or truest flight path? IDK the real definition, but the guys are starting to use it a bunch in commentary
What about iron leaf!
Follow-through….?
gynecologist-when you split a V three whit disc.
Plinko- throwing a disc high into the treetops surrounding the basket with the hopes it bounce of the branches and settle near the basket.
Only sport where I’ve heard the term ‘shool’ (shule, schule? spelling?) used regularly to describe the rough. Ask Big Jerm, he might know how to spell it.
Since this list is lacking a few letters, here are my nominees for inclusion:
Q*bert – a shot that unexpectedly hops, bounces or skips by an obstacle to give the thrower an improved lie.
Vulcan mind meld – a shot whereby the disc becomes deformed and wedges into a portion of the basket.
Yeti – a great big hairy shot that no one on your card witnesses.
Xylophone – a hard chain out that hits nearly every chain on the way.
Zephyr – a nose up putt that sails away on the wind.
Lumberjack – when you smash a tree off of your drive (possibly resulting in a taco)
Pin-seeker – when you hit the pin/pole of the basket in your drive or approach