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Golfing Terminology brought to you by The Golf Club

Golfing Terminology starting with "S"

Safety Shot: Playing a shot intentionally short, so as to avoid a hazard and set yourself up for the next shot. Also known as “laying up.”
Sandbagger: a golfer that carries a higher official handicap than his skills indicate, eg, carries an eight, plays to a two. Sandbaggers usually artificially inflate their handicaps with the intent of winning bets on the course, a practice that most golfers consider cheating.
Sand Save: when a player gets up and down from a greenside sand bunker, regardless of score on the hole. Sand Save percentage is a player statistic kept by the PGA Tour.
Sand Trap: A hazard or bunker, usually near the green.
Sand Wedge: a lofted club designed especially for playing out of a bunker. The modern sand wedge was invented by Gene Sarazen.
Sandie: a Sand Save (see above) that results in a score of par or better. Sandies are counted as points in some social golf games.
Schreckbagger: a golfer who continuously uses poor golf swing and strategy to over achieve in the game of golf. ps has a swing like an octopus and has been known to put fewer strokes on his card than he has.
Scoring Clubs: The driver, putter and sand wedge.
Scotch foursomes:In scotch foursomes teams of 2 players compete against each other. Players alternate hitting the same ball. The first player tees off, the second player hits the second shot, the first player hits the third shot, and so on until the ball is holed. To this point, the definition of ‘scotch foursomes’ is the same as that of ordinary ‘foursomes’; however, players do not alternate hitting tee shots as they would in foursomes. If Player A teed off on the first hole and Player B holed the final putt, Player B would not tee off at the second, meaning that Player A could, in theory, play every tee shot on the round. The team with the lowest score wins the hole.
Scramble: when a player misses the green in regulation, but still makes par or better on a hole. Scrambling percentage is a player statistic kept by the PGA Tour. Also a two or four man format, similar to Best Ball, except in a scramble, each player strikes a shot, the best shot is selected, then all players play from that selected position.
Scratch golfer: a player's whose handicap equals zero.
Set-up: The position of your feet, body, and club for a particular shot. Each type of shot, such as the drive, the pitch, putting, and uphill/downhill shots, have their own unique setup.
Shaft: The portion of the club that connects the clubface to the grip.
Shamble: A team of players each have four chances to hit one great shot. Everyone tees off, and the best shot for the team is determined (like with Scramble). The other players retrieve their balls, and everyone begins from the most advanced position. Unlike Scramble, however, each player from this point plays a normal stroke-play game, each finishing through the hole.
Shank: a severe mishit in which the golf ball is struck by the hosel of the club. On a shank, a player has managed to strike the ball with a part of the club other than the clubface. A shanked shot will scoot a short distance, often out to the right, or might be severely sliced or hooked.
Shaped Shot: This technique is employed when course factors or conditions force you to use a different club than you might normally choose for a given shot. This can also involve playing away from obstructions.
Short game: comprised of shots that take place on or near the green. Putting, chipping, pitching, and bunker play are all aspects of short game.
Short Iron: Clubs that are shorter and intended for shorter distances.
Shotgun Start: A staggered approach to beginning tournament play, where teams start on assigned holes rather than beginning at the first hole and proceeding in sequence.
Shut: A position in the swing when the clubface is closed relative to the target line.
Sit: Telling the ball to drop softly, and not roll after landing.
Skin: a skins game pits players in a type of match play in which each hole has a set value (usually in money or points). The player who wins the hole is said to win the "skin," and whatever that skin is worth. Skins games are often more dramatic than standard match play because holes are not halved. When players tie on a given hole, the value of that hole is carried over and added to the value of the following hole. The more ties, the greater the value of the skin and the bigger the eventual payoff.
Slice: a poor shot that, for a right-handed golfer, curves sharply from the left to the right (may occasionally be played intentionally but is difficult to control). 9 out of 10 golfers suffer from slicing the ball.
Snap Hook: a severe hook that usually goes directly left rather than curving from right to left. Also known by the somewhat redundant term "Pull-Hook".
Snowman: An eight on a hole.
Sole: The part of the club head that touches the ground.
Speed: The amount of resistance or friction on a given green. Fast greens will allow a ball to travel farther than slow greens.
Spin: Imparting a spin to the ball upon impact, by hitting the ball slightly higher or lower than center.
Splash: Shot A shot played from a good lie in the bunker. The club "splashes" through the sand, throwing the ball into the air.
Stableford Scoring System: a scoring system using points. The winner accumulates more points over the course of a round. Stableford points are awarded as 1 point for one stroke over a fixed score, perhaps par, on a hole; 2 points for the fixed score; 3 points for one stroke under the fixed score; 4 points for two strokes under the fixed score; etc. There are "modified" Stableford scoring techniques, like that used in the International Tournament on the PGA Tour, which award points (or loss of points) for various scores over or under a fixed score.
Stance: The placement of a player’s feet in preparation for making a stroke.
Steer: An attempt to guide the flight of the ball that usually results in a loss of distance.
Sticks: Another term for clubs, as clubs were originally made of wood.
Strike: To hit the ball and cause it to travel away from you. Adjectives normally determine if the result was positive or negative, for example, a “fat strike.”
Stroke Play: Playing a round of golf by counting the total number of strokes for the duration of the round. The standard penalty for rule infractions during stroke play is two shots. This is the most common format for tournaments, consisting of a 72-Hole (four 18 hole courses). format.
Swing: The action of playing a stroke from the movement of the club rearward through the follow-through.
Sweet Spot: The point on the clubface where, if it is struck with an object, the clubface will not torque or twist to either side.
Swinger: A player whose swing is based on timing and rhythm, as opposed to a "hitter," whose swing is based on sheer power.