Caddie A person hired to carry clubs and provide other assistance. (A good caddie can be worth several strokes a round).

Calcutta An auction in which people bid on players or teams in a tournament. (For many years, Calcuttas were a regular event at many popular tournaments).

Cambered Sole A rounding of the sole of the club to reduce drag. A four-way cambered sole is one that is rounded at every edge of a wood. (The 5-wood had a cambered sole to help it slide through the deep rough).

Carry The distance a ball will fly in the air, usually to carry a hazard or safely reach a target. (Many of the holes at Pine Valley require a substantial carry over waste areas).

Carryover When a hole is tied in a match and the bet is carried over to the next hole. (He won the 10th hole as well as the carryover).

Casting An uncocking of the wrists prematurely on the downswing, resulting in a loss of power and control. Also known as "hitting from the top." (Smith had a tendency to swing at and not through the ball, which caused him to cast the club from the top of the swing).

Cavity-back A type of iron in which a portion of the back of the clubhead is hollowed out and the weight distributed around the outside edges of the clubhead. (The cavity-back irons were far more forgiving than his old blades).

Center of Gravity That point in the human body, in the pelvic area, where the body's weight and mass are equally balanced. (Ian Woosnam has a lower center of gravity than the much-taller Nick Faldo).

Centrifugal Force The action in a rotating body that tends to move mass away from the center. It is the force you feel in the downswing that pulls the clubhead outward and downward, extending the arms and encouraging to take a circular path. (Tiger Woods' swing creates powerful centrifugal force.

Center of Rotation The axis or swing center that the body winds and unwinds around during the swing. (A stable center of rotation is an important element is solid ball-striking).

Chicken Wing A swing flaw in which the lead elbow bends at an angle pointed away from the body, usually resulting in a blocked or pushed shot. (Once Jack's PGA Professional saw him, he knew the cause of Jack's loss of power was his chicken wing position at impact.)

Chip and Run A low-running shot played around the greens where the ball spends more time on the ground than in the air. (She saved par with a beautiful chip and run that ended inches from the hole).

Choke A derogatory term describing poor play that results from nervousness. (Early in his career, some critics claimed Tom Watson choked under pressure).

Choke Down The act of gripping down on the shaft, which is generally believed to provide greater control. (She choked down on a 7-iron and hit a beautiful pitch to save par).

Chunk A poor shot caused by hitting the turf well behind the ball, resulting in a fat shot. (The defending champion's defense ended when he chunked his tee shot on the par-3 16th and hit the ball into the pond guarding the green).

Cleek A fairway wood with the approximate loft of a 4-wood that produces high shots that land softly. (He played a beautiful shot with his cleek that almost rolled into the cup).

Closed Clubface The position formed when the toe of the club is closer to the ball that the heel, either at address or impact, which causes the clubface to point to the left of the target line. (Her closed clubface resulted in her missing several approach shots to the left of the green).

Closed Clubface (swing) A position during the swing in which the clubface is angled to the left of the target line or swing plane, generally resulting in shots hit to the left of the target. (When they looked at a videotape of his swing, his PGA Professional pointed to his closed clubface at the top of the backswing as the reason he hit his drive into the left rough.

Closed Grip Generally referred to as a strong grip because both hands are turned away from the target. (PGA Tour pro Ed Fiori was nicknamed "Grip" because of his closed grip).

Closed Stance A description of a stance when the rear foot is pulled back away from the target line. (Her closed stance allowed her to hit a gentle draw of the tee).

Closed-to-Open A swing in which the clubhead is closed on the backswing but then manipulated into an open position on the downswing. (Miller Barber was a very effective player, even though he had a closed-to-open swing).

Cocked Wrists A description of the hinging motion of the wrists during the backswing in which the hands are turned clockwise. Ideally, the wrists are fully cocked at the beginning of the downswing. (He cocked his wrists early in the backswing to hit a high, soft shot over the bunker).

Coefficient of Restitution The relationship of the clubhead speed at impact to the velocity of the ball after it has been struck. This measure is affected by the clubhead and ball material. (Testing showed that the new ball had a very high coefficient of restitution).

Coil The turning of the body during the backswing. (Her ability to fully coil on the backswing resulted in tremendous power).

Come Over the Top A motion beginning the downswing that sends the club outside the ideal plane (swing path) and delivers the clubhead from outside the target line at impact. This is sometimes known as an outside-to-inside swing. (Sam Snead came over the top slightly, which he felt produced more powerful shots).

Compression A measure of the relative hardness of a golf ball ranging from 100 (hardest) to 80 (softest). (Like most powerful players, he preferred a 100-compression ball).

Connection A description of a swing in which all the various body parts work harmoniously to produce a solid, fluid motion. (Many players focus upon connection as a key element in the golf swing).

Conservation of Angular Momentum (COAM) A law of physics that allows the player to produce large amounts of kinetic energy. As the body shiftsits weight and turns towards the target in the forward swing, the mass (arms and club) is pulled away from the center into an extended position by centrifugal force. By temporary resisting that pull as well as the temptation to assist the hit by releasing too early, one maintains the angle formed between the club?s shaft and the left arm and conserves the energy until a more advantageous moment. This has been referred to as a "delayed hit," a "late hit," "connection," "lag loading," "the keystone" or COAM, but when performed correctly may simply be called "good timing."

Croquet Style A putting stance popularized by Sam Snead in which the player stands aside the ball, facing the hole, holds the club with a widely-split grip, and strikes the ball with a croquet-type stroke. A similar style, in which the player faced the hole with the ball positioned between the feet, was banned by the United States Golf Association. (A croquet-style putting stroke is popular among players who suffer from the yips).

Cross-Handed A grip in which the left (or lead) hand is placed below the right hand (in other words, a grip that is the opposite of the traditional grips. (Bruce Lietzke used a cross-handed grip when putting and was very successful).

Cupped Wrist A position in which the left or top hand is hinged outward at the top of the backswing. (Her cupped wrist caused the club to be pointed to the left of the target at the top of her swing.)

Cuppy Lie A lie when the ball is sitting down slightly, usually in a small depression. (He had a difficult shot because he had to play from a cuppy lie in the fairway.)