It’s important to always be friendly and supportive to your fellow golfers. You want every game to be kept stress free and easy-going so that everyone can have a pleasant day. One way to do this is with a simple ‘good luck’.
If you keep saying ‘good luck’ to every player you encounter at the course, you might start to feel like a broken record. It’s always good to expand your golf vocabulary.
So below we have 18 different ways to say good luck so you can have a new phrase for every hole on the course.
Simple And Effective
These phrases are universal and can be used everywhere, not just the golf course. They are great for those who are just beginning their golfing journey and don’t understand all the technical terms yet, or just want to be casual with people.
Play Well
It’s always nice to simply wish for someone to play a good game. Everyone’s best is different and that’s okay. Hoping someone plays well can give them the energy they need to play to their truest potential.
Enjoy Yourself Out There
Golf is meant to be fun so it is important to make sure everyone is having a good time. No one should feel pressured to play the game of their life when they just want to have a relaxing game.
This is a great term to remind someone they are there to have fun and not stress about the score.
“Enjoy yourself out there” is also the perfect phrase to wish someone good luck when they aren’t going to be playing a full round. Maybe they are playing a casual 3-par course or only playing nine holes due to time constraints.
Enjoy Your Round
Just like the last phrase, you can use this term to help keep a round of golf as light-hearted as possible. By simply wishing someone to enjoy their round you aren’t wishing them to have a good scoring game and adding pressure to them.
This means that even if they have a poor game they had fun, and that’s what’s important.
Have A Great Round
The ideal well wishes to start a round of golf. Typically being an 18 hole game, golf has the chance of having those off moments that you knew you could do better in.
So why not wish for someone to not experience this unfortunate event and instead have luck on every hole.
Have Fun
Having fun is the number one priority in a game of golf. This phrase can apply to anyone no matter their skill level so make sure you use it a lot. It’s also a good mantra to remind yourself of when you are having a rough day and can’t stop making bogeys.
Quick And Easy
Sometimes you need to say something quick in passing. From passing each other at the club or speeding by in a cart, the best thing to say is a wish of good luck.
The golf swing is hard to perform and even harder to master. So wishing someone to have a game in which each swing is easy is a golfer’s dream. They may even wish you the same back.
Good Shot
Using this term on the golf course has nothing to do with firearms but instead performing a good golf shot.
In any golf game you want healthy competition to keep the game fun, so why not encourage your opponent from time to time.
Go Low
This is my personal favorite. Unlike most sports, the aim of golf is to get as low a score as possible, even going into the negatives (under par) where possible. Wishing someone a low score isn’t an insult in golf, but instead hoping someone plays well.
Only Birdies
Golf is known for the fun names of its scoring system, one of the most desired is a birdie. A birdie is one under par so by wishing someone to only get birdies in their game is hoping they have a low scoring round. Which is a good thing in golf.
Competitive And Playful
A great past time with friends is to go golfing together, and when you have some golfing buddies, back and forths are to be expected. So here are some ways to wish your mate luck as well as maybe a playful jab.
Stay Out Of The Bunkers
The bunkers are a man-made penalty area which are notoriously hard to hit your ball out of and can result in high scores. For people whose balls just seem to gravitate towards the bunkers these might be words of encouragement, or a prediction of what’s to come.
Don’t Throw Your Clubs
Throwing golf clubs is a classic movie trope and sometimes you can be fortunate enough to see it with your own eyes. However entertaining it is to see no one wants to rage quit out of a game. Let alone make a scene when they do so.
This phrase is probably one of the more backhanded ways to say good luck, but that is what makes it one of the best to say to people you are close with.
Keep It In The Fairway
The fairway is the easiest way to the flagstick so for most people this would be solid advice to receive. However, with a slight change of tone you can turn those well wishes into a patronizing jab at a friend. Expect some biting comments back though when you’re up to putt.
Keep It In The Short Stuff
The ‘short stuff’ here is referring to the height of the grass. The shorter the grass the easier it will be to hit your golf ball to where you want it to go. As one of the less straightforward phrases on this list it’s a great way to show off your golf knowledge.
Or simply to confuse your friends into trying to find out if you’re wishing them good luck or talking nonsense.
Say Good Luck Like A Pro
While any of the previous phrases will work just fine, sometimes you want to be a bit more specific to golf. So here are a few phrases so you can not only be a knowledgeable golfer, but also a professional golf linguist.
May The Fores Be With You
Everybody loves a pun, especially a Star Wars pun. The classic “may the force be with you” is the ultimate way to wish for someone to have the power to overcome any obstacle. Which is exactly what you need in a game of golf.
By fusing it with the word ‘fore’, a term typically shouted to warn other players of an incoming ball, you create a phrase both clever and supportive.
Hit Them Long And Straight
Sometimes shortened to simply “hit ‘em straight” this term is in reference to the perfect golf swing. You want to hit it far and on target. By doing this you will ensure a low score.
A great and common way to respond to this is simply with “I always try”.
May You Avoid The Rough
As the name implies the rough is a hard part of the course to hit your ball from. Any golfer will want to avoid this area so why not send someone the best wishes to do so.
Fairways And Green
The ideal course to the flagstick is through the fairways and green. By hitting these parts of the course you are almost guaranteeing yourself a low score.
Sometimes people will track the number of fairways and greens that they hit in order to improve their golf game. Why not wish them luck in that admirable goal.
Enjoy The 19th Hole
The 19th hole is golf slang for any bar or restaurant near or on the course. Wishing for someone to enjoy the 19th hole implies that the previous 18 were also a pleasant experience.
Spending time at the 19th hole could also be for a celebratory drink of a successful game.
Final Thoughts
It is a common phrase ‘to treat other people as you wish to be treated’, so why not be nice to as many people as you can. A simple ‘good luck’ can go a long way, or you can be a bit more nuanced with it and use one of the 18 ways as shown above.
Golf wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable if everyone wasn’t having fun. As a hobby it has always been friendly and welcoming, so make sure you pass on the praise and support you have received onto other people.
Share your favorite golf good luck sayings in the comments. And make sure to checkout the best funny golf terms.
My name is David Shelly and golf has been my passion since early childhood. For more than three decades now, I’ve been trying to make sense of this crazy game.
Golf is the greatest game ever played. I want to help more people experience its joys. Let's hit the links!
