Fade
A shot that, for a right-handed golfer, curves slightly to the right; often played intentionally by skilled golfers. An overdone fade usually becomes a slice.

Fairway
The area of the course between the tee and the green that is well-maintained allowing a good lie for the ball

Fat shot
A poor shot in which the club is slowed by catching too much grass or soil, resulting in a short and slow ball flight.

Flier
A type of lie where the ball is in the rough and grass is likely to become trapped between the ball and the clubface at the moment of impact. Flier lies often result in "flier shots", which have little or no spin (due to the blades of grass blocking the grooves on the clubface) and travel much farther than intended.

Flop shot
A short shot, played with an open stance and an open clubface, designed to travel very high in the air and land softly on the green. The flop shot is useful when players do not have "much green to work with", but should only be attempted on the best of lies. Phil Mickelson is a master of the flop shot.

Fore
"Fore!" is shouted as a warning when it appears a ball may possibly hit other players or spectators.

Fourball
In matchplay, a contest between two sides each consisting of a pair of players, where every individual plays their own ball throughout. On every hole, the lower of the two partner's scores counts and is matched against the opposition's score. (Fourballs are the opening matches played on the Friday and Saturday mornings of the Ryder Cup.) In strokeplay, a fourball competition is played between several teams each consisting of 2 players, where for every hole the lower of the two partner's scores counts toward the team's 18 hole total. The term ‘fourball’ is often used informally to describe any group of 4 players on the course.

Foursomes
In matchplay, a contest between two sides each consisting of a pair of players, where the 2 partners hit alternate shots on ONE 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. Also partners alternate their tee shots, so that one member of each team will always tee-off on the odd holes and the other will tee off on the even holes. (Foursomes are the afternoon matches played on the Friday and Saturday of the Ryder Cup). In strokeplay, a foursome competition is played between several teams each consisting of a pair of players, where partners play alternate shots until the SINGLE ball is holed. The term ‘foursome’ is often incorrectly used to describe any group of 4 players on the course.

Front nine
Holes 1 through 9 on a golf course.