🏌️ A poor shot 🏌️ To mis-hit

to sclaff

9.9

To hit the ground with the club before the ball, making a poor shot

verb

Archaic

: golpear mal

Golfers often lose distance when they accidentally sclaff the ball during their swing.

Examples

She groaned as she sclaffed the approach, and the ball barely left the ground.
He managed to sclaff his shot on the fairway, sending the ball only a few yards.
He sclaffed his shot on the first hole.
Don't sclaff the ball like that!
He accidentally sclaffed the ball, causing it to dribble instead of fly down the fairway.
During his lesson, the instructor warned him not to sclaff his shots, or he'd struggle to score.
When she sclaffed the golf ball, it sent up a cloud of grass instead of soaring through the air.

Synonyms

to shank

vsto sclaff

Jargon

6 8.7

To hit the ball with the club heel so it goes off course

hits the ground first causing a poor shot rather than heel contact

to shank the ball

vsto sclaff

Jargon

1 9.1

To hit a ball badly so it goes far off target

hits the ground first causing a poor shot rather than misdirected contact

Surface Forms

sclaff infinitive

sclaffed past

sclaffed past participle

sclaffing present participle

sclaffs third person singular

Etymology

A helpful way to remember the verb sclaff is to think of the common word scuff ('to scrape') and the dull sound a club makes when it hits the turf: 'sclaff'. So to sclaff is to hit the ground before the ball and make a poor golf shot.