Verbal Lessons from the Masters 2017

As a relatively new golfer, I am attempting to learn the buzzwords and expressions to communicate confidently and in a knowledgeable fashion. I quickly learned that the misuse of a phrase, substitution of a word, or omission/addition of a preposition can immediately question your credibility. This is no different from an employee entering a new workplace culture or a non-native English speaker attempting to communicate accurately with expressions or idioms. One slightly misspoken word changes the meaning.

At the Masters, as one reads the leaderboard, knowing whether to say he "dropped one" (bad) or "picked up one" (good) sounds very simple to the avid golfer, but can be counterintuitive to the novice. 

When describing play, one could say "He is lying one, hitting two for a birdie," not "He is lying one, shooting two..", or "he's lying on one...."  However, you would say "He shot a 72." For the sake of transparency, I was quite challenged by these expressions. 

You need to understand what "dogleg left" means. If you mistakenly say "dog ear," you might become a laughing stock!

Don't be afraid to ask questions or study the vernacular. It's not just the rules of play, but the way you communicate it to others. This is no different from new workplace vocabulary and buzzwords.

To complicate matters even further, understanding handicaps is a completely different story!