An autumn golf glossary, from the leaf lottery to the temporary green

In summer a club golfer gets by on “fairway”, “green” and “lovely evening for it”. In October the trees start shedding and a second vocabulary comes out, spoken in car parks, muttered over soggy scorecards and understood by anyone who has ever teed off in a bobble hat.

Bobble hat (n.)

The single most important piece of cold-weather equipment, according to everyone wearing one. Its job is to keep the head warm. Its secondary job, apparently, is to make the wearer feel they now play like a links professional battling a Scottish gale on a Sunday afternoon. Results vary. The bobble does not.

Clocks going back (n.)

The moment the round becomes a race against the sun. A 2pm tee time is suddenly a bold statement of faith. The final three holes are played by feel, by sound and by the faint glow of someone’s phone torch. Any ball hit after a certain hour is filed under “probably on the green” and allowed to stay that way.

Fairway mat (n.)

A small square of artificial turf that some clubs ask golfers to carry and hit from in winter to protect the grass. The R&A’s model local rules allow committees to require them. Golfers love them the way they love the dentist, because it is for their own good. Most bags end the season with one mat, three tees and a forgotten banana.

Leaf lottery (n.)

The ball was definitely in the fairway. Everyone saw it. It then rolled into a carpet of fallen leaves the exact colour of a golf ball, and the four-ball now walks in a line, shuffling their feet like people searching a beach for a lost earring. The prize for finding it is that you still have to hit it.

Mud ball (n.)

A ball carrying a clump of course on one side, sent off in a direction physics would describe as “inspired”. Its great talent is giving the golfer a ready-made explanation for any shot. Hook? Mud. Slice? Mud. Perfect strike to six feet? Talent, obviously.

Plugged (adj.)

What happens when a ball lands in soft ground and stays there, like a small white mole. Leads to a very specific crouching posture and the question “is that your ball or a mushroom?” Asked more often in autumn than at any other time of year.

Preferred lies (n.)

Also known as “placing” or “winter rules”. Under the R&A’s Model Local Rule E-3, a committee can let golfers lift, clean and replace a ball within a set distance, often six inches, a scorecard length or a club-length, usually only on the fairway. The local rule card says six inches. The playing partner has seen a six-inch placement end up on a nicer bit of grass, two yards closer, with a better angle. Measured generously, the distance is still technically “about six inches”.

Temporary green (n.)

A circle cut into the front of the fairway with a hole that seems to have been dug with a soup spoon. Putting on it is like rolling a marble across a doormat. Holing out from 15 feet will feel like the greatest achievement of the year, and nobody will ever count it as such.

Temporary water (n.)

What the Rules of Golf now call the puddle we all still call “casual water”. The rulebook moved on years ago; the bar has not caught up. Its defining feature is that it is always exactly where your ball stops and nowhere else on the course.

Waterproof trousers (n.)

Garment made of a material that keeps out the rain and announces every step with a gentle swish. Fine in the rain. Less fine during somebody else’s backswing on a still morning, when the one golfer wearing them must stand completely motionless like a rustling statue.

Winter league (n.)

A competition designed to keep a club’s members playing through the dark months, typically with a format nobody can explain fully and a final whose date shifts with the weather.

Worm cast (n.)

The small pile of earth on the putting surface that diverts a perfect putt by exactly one inch. Officially, the clever thing is to brush it away before you putt. Unofficially, it’s the reason you missed even after you did.

“Still out?” (interj.)

What non-golfers say when they see you heading for the car with your waterproofs and a hand warmer. The answer is always yes.

Sources

• The R&A: The R&A 2025/2026 Winter Rules FAQ’s