If you've played golf or watched it on TV, you've no doubt heard that a player needs to "get up-and-down" to save a score on a hole. That's a weird term that's unique to golf, and it requires some explanation.
What does it mean to make an 'up and down' in golf?
In golf, getting up-and-down means taking two strokes to get the ball in the hole from off the green, including a putt.
The up part of up-and-down is getting the ball onto the green from off the green. Typically, the ball is somewhat near the green, and the shot is often hit as a pitch or chip. However, though, that's not required. In a literal sense, the up shot of an up-and-down can be struck anywhere on the course.
The down part of an up-and-down is putting the ball into the hole with one putt. The down part is not to be another shot from off the green, although some people do consider it an up-and-down if a player's second shot of the up-and-down is struck with a putter but not from the putting surface.
An up-and-down does not have to be to make any particular score. A player can get up-and-down for par, bogey, birdie, eagle or any score.
Making an up-and-down is a great thing in golf, because that means a player has taken a minimal number of strokes to finish a hole. Making a significant number of up-and-downs during a round is often an indication that a player is saving their skin based on their ability to perform under pressure without their best game.
