A Brief Glossary of Mis-Hits

Chili-Dip
Hitting the ground behind the ball before striking the ball itself.

Chunk
Hitting the ground before striking the ball, digging into the turf and producing a huge divot.

Fat
Hitting the ground before making contact with the ball.

Flier
A "flier" is a shot that travels farther than intended.

Foot Wedge / Hand Wedge
When a golfer kicks or throws his ball into a better position for the next stroke.

Hook
A ball flight where the ball starts out to the right (for a right-handed golfer) before curving severely back to the left and missing its target to the left. The opposite of the slice.

Hosel Rocket
"Hosel rocket" is a slang term for a shank, which happens when you hit the ball with the club's hosel.

Mulligan
Taking a shot again after a bad first effort. Only done in friendly games.

Pull
A ball flight that starts to the left and continues traveling left in a straight line, ending up well left of the target. The opposite of a pull is a push.

Push
A ball flight that starts out right and continues traveling right on a straight line, winding up well right of the target. A push is the opposite of a pull.

Shank
Hitting the ball with the hosel, usually producing a shot that shoots out to the right (for right handed golfers).

Skull
Hitting the ball with the leading edge of an iron, contacting near the ball's middle, sending the ball off on a low trajectory with little or no spin.

Skyball
A short but high ball flight, caused when the clubhead almost passes under a teed up ball, hitting the ball with the crown of the club or the top of the clubface.

Slice
A ball flight starting out to the left of the target and then bending dramatically back to the right of the target (for a right-handed golfer). A slice is rarely played intentionally, and is the most common mis-hit of amateur golfers.

Snap Hook
Term for a very severe hook. A snap hook might start curving hard from right to left (for a right-handed player) almost as soon as it leaves the clubface.
Also known as a Duck hook

Thin
A shot in which the clubhead strikes the ball too high (near its midpoint or slighly lower). Often results in a low, sometimes slicing shot that can travel a long distance. A thin shot also often produces much more vibration that is felt in the golfer's hands.

Topped Shot
Produced when the golfer very nearly swings over the ball, with impact between club and ball occurring near the crown of the golf ball. Produces a short shot with topspin.

Whiff
A swing and a miss. When a player takes his swing and fails to make contact with the ball.

Wormburner
A golf shot that never gets more than a few feet off the ground.

Yips
An nervous affliction in which the person putting cannot make short putts due to the inability to create a smooth putting stroke.