Golf Compendium

Which golfers have posted the lowest scores for the first two rounds (36 holes) of The Masters? And who holds the record? The record-holder is Jordan Spieth. And the fact is that only a handful of golfers in Masters Tournament history have posted scores lower than 135 following the second round of play.

What is a "sidehill lie" in golf, and what is the best way of playing a golf shot from such a lie? Let's define the term, and then we'll let Jack Nicklaus explain what adjustments to make in order to pull off a good shot from such a position.

Willie Goggin never won on the PGA Tour. But he was a tour player for many years in the 1930s and 1940s and racked up a good number of second-place finishes. Among those was finishing runner-up in the PGA Championship when that tournament was match-play. He was the second golfer to make an ace in The Masters, and had one great year as a senior golfer long before the Champions Tour existed.

Yes, the PGA Tour, whose history traces back to 1916, has had a handful of teen-aged champions. So far, five golfers still in their teens have recorded wins in official PGA Tour tournaments. The youngest of them was only 18.

Any golf tournament, professional or otherwise, that includes a cut will also have a "cutoff number." And what is that number? It is the score a golfer must match or beat to make the cut and continue playing.

What are X-out golf balls? They are golf balls that have some kind of small defect — in some cases, just a cosmetic defect — that the manufacturer doesn't want to trash but can't sell at regular prices because of the defect(s). So the manufacturer labels them X-outs and offers them at a discount, usually a steep discount.

The Pacific Ladies Classic, also known as the Eugene Open, was a professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour during the 1960s. It took place in Oregon in the first or second week of September.

Larry Gilbert was in the forefront of a new type of professional golfer: The one who works as a club pro rather than chasing the PGA Tour, but then wins big on the senior tour after turning 50. Gilbert won a senior major along with a couple other Champions Tour titles in the 1990s. But he died about six months after winning that major.

Sometimes golfers buy golf balls whose manufacturer has stamped the word "Practice" on them, and priced them at a discount. It's a way to save a little money. But what is the status of such "Practice" balls under the rules: Are they "legal"? Can they be used in tournament play?

What is a 4-putt in golf? Something you want to avoid, because it is 33-percent worse than a 3-putt — but feels about 100-percent worse.

Golfers who want to save a few bucks sometimes buy a type of golf ball known as an X-out . These are balls deemed by the manufacturer to have some kind of small defect. But are X-outs considered in the Rules of Golf? Are they "legal" for tournament play? Sometimes, yes! But in high-level competitions, almost certainly not.

Pedro was looking forward all week to his Saturday round of golf. He was heading to a fancy resort — the type of golf course he didn't normally play. And when the day arrived, he couldn't wait to get there. It also marked a first for Pedro: He'd be using a caddie for the very first time.

There are a couple types of discount golf balls that golfers sometimes run across, either online or in physical stores: X-outs and "practice" balls. In both cases, these are golf balls whose manufacturer has decided it can't market and sell them at regular price due to some kind of quality-control issue. But is there any difference between an X-out and a ball stamped "practice"?

Robert Gardner was an American amateur golf champion whose biggest titles came in the first 15 years of the 20th century. He won two U.S. Amateur Championships. In the first of those, he set a record that stood for nearly 90 years, until it was finally broken by Tiger Woods. A multisport star, Gardner once held the world record in pole vault and won national championships in a sport similar to squash.

Only around 50 golfers in the history of men's pro golf have won three or more major championships. (See the list of golfers with the most wins in majors .) Of those golfers that have won at least three majors, who were the youngest golfers to do it?

What is the lowest round of golf ever scored on the Korn Ferry Tour? There have been multiple rounds of 59 and lower on the Korn Ferry Tour. But the all-time 18-hole scoring record for this tour is an eye-popping 57.

You've signed up to play in a charity golf tournament that is using a format called Ambrose. Do you know what you've gotten yourself into?

Many golf courses provide on-course ball washers to golfers. They can often be found atop a post near the teeing area of each hole: A plastic or metal box or other container that holds water and, often, some type of detergent. Inside the box, there are also bristles for scrubbing. If you are a newcomer to the game, you might now know how to use one. So read on.

Marty Furgol was a PGA Tour golfer from the late 1940s into the mid-1960s. He won five times on the tour during that span. He was known during his career for his eccentrities and, sometimes, gamesmanship.

In golf, "rota" is a term that is simply short for "rotation." But rotation of what? "Rota" specifically refers to a regular rotation of golf courses being used for tournament play.

What is The Masters Tournament all-time record for consecutive birdies — the longest birdie streak in tournament history? Two golfers share the record with streaks of seven birdies in a row.