Old Golf Slang: The Gobble Putt

Do you know what it means to gobble a putt? There probably aren't a lot of golfers familiar with this bit of slang today, because "gobble" is one of the terms from earlier times. When a golfer hits a putt that rolls hard and fast to the hole but does drop in, he gobbled it.

This use of "gobble" dates to the 1800s and was still in use among golfers in the early 1900s. In the 1905 edition of Spalding's Official Golf Guide, a glossary includes "gobble" and gives this definition: "A rapid, straight putt into the hole, such that, had the ball not gone in, it would have gone some distance beyond."

The Historical Dictionary of Golfing Terms (affiliate link) provides a simple definition of "gobble" that we particularly like just for that simplicity:

"A hard-hit putt that holes out."

One of the Historical Dictionary's citations for the term is from an 1857 book, The Golfer's Manual (affiliate link). The author of that mid-19th century book referred to needing "a bold putt — a rapid gobble over level ground."

Another example comes from an 1900 newspaper article in the Boston Evening Transcript covering a match between early notables in women's golf, Beatrix Hoyt and Frances Griscom. The article reports that Griscom "tried to gobble (a) putt, but overran and took five."

A golfer might gobble a putt intentionally, hitting it harder than required in order to eliminate any break. A golfer might gobble a putt that is downhill so that the ball is traveling fast by the time it (hopefully) hits the hole. And a golfer might accidentally sink a gobble by overhitting it, harder than intended, only for the ball to still find the hole.

In modern parlance, gobbling a putt might be called ramming it, jamming it or slamming it into the cup, or any number of similar-meaning terms. A "bolt" is another older team for such putts, which can also be referred to as "back-wallers" or "rattlers," among many common, modern slang terms.

The key with a gobble, though, is that the ball actually does hit the hole and fall in; and, if it hadn't, it would have rolled well past the hole.

Further reading:

• What is the golf score called a turkey?
• Improve confidence, fundamentals with circle putting drills
• How to play the Putt for Dough game

Sources:
Boston Evening Transcript. "Golfing at Baltusrol," October 18, 1900.
Davies, Peter. The Historical Dictionary of Golfing Terms, 1993, Robson Books.
Spalding's Athletic Library. Official Golf Guide for 1905, Glossary, American Sports Publishing Company.