Golf Glossary - The Terms of Golf
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| Sand Wedge | |
| Also known as the sand iron. It has a wide flange that bounces the club head through the sand and was designed for playing from bunkers. | |
| Score | |
| How many shots you took to play the course. | |
| Scorecard | |
| The card on which you keep score, and on which you find course statistics. | |
| Scramble | |
| A game in which four players on a team tee off, then choose the best shot of the four as the spot from which all players will take their next shot. This continues until the ball is holed out. | |
| Scratch golfer | |
| A golfer whose handicap equals the scratch score of the course. They five strokes to all players with a higher handicap and receives strokes from players who have plus handicaps. | |
| Secondary rough | |
| The thicker rough you encounter after the primary rough. | |
| Semi-rough | |
| Long grass that borders the fairway. | |
| Setup | |
| See Address. | |
| Shaft | |
| The long, thin part of the club that provides most of the energy of a golf shot. | |
| Shag bag | |
| A bag for holding practice balls. The bag is designed so that you can pick up your balls without bending over. | |
| Shank | |
| A shot where the hosel of the club head makes impact with the ball, instead of the face. | |
| Short game | |
| Shots played less than 50 yards from the green. | |
| Side hill lie | |
| A lie in which the ball is either above or below your feet at address | |
| Skied | |
| A tee shot that goes almost straight up in the air. | |
| Skull | |
| To hit the ball with the blade of the club and send it much farther than desired. Fear of skulling the ball leads to deceleration, and shots that go wide to the right and left of the target. | |
| Slice | |
| A shot with a lot of clockwise spin that bends to the right of the target line (for a right-handed player). | |
| Slope | |
| A number given to every golf course describing its level of difficulty. The average slope of courses in the United States is 113. The various contours of a putting green are also referred to collectively as the slope. | |
| Slot | |
| The ideal position at the top of the backswing where the club is set ready for the downswing. | |
| Sole | |
| Bottom of the club head that rests on the ground. | |
| Spikes | |
| Special shoes you wear that prevent your feet from slipping and sliding during a swing. Small plastic, rubber, or metal cleats are fastened to the sole of the shoe. | |
| Square or All Square | |
| A match that is tied. | |
| Square stance | |
| When your club head is perpendicular to the target line and your feet, hips, and shoulders are all parallel to the same line. | |
| Splash | |
| The standard bunker shot, in which the sand wedge enters the sand before the ball and carries the ball our of the bunker on a cushion of sand. | |
| Stance | |
| The position of your feet at address. | |
| Starter | |
| The person in charge of sending players out onto the course. | |
| Stroke | |
| One swing of the club. | |
| Stroke hole | |
| A hole on which a handicap stroke is given. | |
| Stroke play | |
| The most common way to determine the winner in a round of golf. Whoever takes the fewest strokes to complete the course wins. | |
| Strong grip | |
| A grip in which a player sees more than two knuckles of the left hand; it is used to turn the ball to the left. | |
| Stymie | |
| The situation caused when an opponents ball lies in the direct path of the cup and another players ball. Outlawed in 1951 by both the USGA and R&A. | |
| Surlyn | |
| A tear resistant thermoplastic resin similar to balata use to make the plastic outer cover of modern golf balls. | |
| Sweet spot | |
| The small center portion of the club face where the ball should make contact for maximum distance and accuracy. | |
| Swing plane | |
| The angle of the club shaft relative to your body during the swing. | |
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