[Kim Maengnyeong's Golf English Conversation] "The In and Out of Putting"

If you do not hit the ball squarely when putting, the ball will circle around the hole and come out.

When a golfer strokes the ball toward the hole with the right amount of force during putting, the approximately 46g ball falls into the hole according to Newton's law of gravity.

However, sometimes the ball circles around the hole and then drops in, and in unlucky cases, the ball goes around the hole cup and comes back out (in and out). In Korea, a ball that goes around the cup and comes out is colloquially said to have "done the dishes" or "cleaned the pot." Foreign golfers use the term "lip" with the expression "licking the lips." (It’s a lipout.) For example, "His birdie putt lipped out of the cup."

"It lapped the hole" is a phrase often used by Scottish golfers. Other verbs used include rim, ring, skirt, loop, and spin. For reference, the standard hole size at golf courses worldwide is specified as having a diameter of 108 mm (4.25 inches) and a depth of at least 101.6 mm (4 inches). The basic rule of golf is to put a golf ball with a diameter of at least 42.67 mm (1.680 inches) and weighing no more than 45.93 g (1.620 ounces) into a hole with a diameter of 108 mm.

A: Tough luck! My ball lipped the cup.

B: Gosh, it was in and out! I thought you got it. Just a little too firm.

A: I missed two birdie attempts.

B: Calm down! Even pros sometimes miss short putts under pressure.

Text & Photo by Kim Maengnyeong, Golf Columnist