Get in the hole: more than one way to say 'holed it'

Holed it; canned it; drained it; tapped it in - there's more than one way of holing out verbally

Getting it in the hole is the name of the game
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Getting it in the hole is the name of the game, and something we have to do on every hole, hence myriad descriptive terms for this seemingly simple act

Holed it

The obvious starting point - straightforward and unfussy, if just a little unexciting given what else is on offer. Does exactly what it says on the tin.

Made it

A similarly simple and straightforward term that somehow took on a more glamorous nature when Seve mouthed “I made it!” after his Open-winning putt dropped in the hole at St Andrews in 1984. The iconic image of Seve pumping the air in celebration went on to become the Spanish magician’s logo.

'I made it' Seve, 18th green St Andrews, 1984 Open Championship

'I made it' Seve, 18th green St Andrews, 1984 Open Championship

Canned it

The hole is a broadly similar shape to a baked bean can, so this is a reasonable and perfectly understandable colloquialism.

Baked been cans and golf holes are broadly similar in shape

Baked been cans and golf holes are broadly similar in shape

Boxed it

The hole is not a similar shape to your typical box, so this colloquialism is a little harder to fathom and comprehend… unless your box is cylindrical, I guess.

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Drained it

A descriptively emotive term usually reserved for unexpectedly successful efforts from long range, as in “Can you believe he’s just drained it from down town.” Or she, as was the case with Paula Creamer's ridiculous HSBC Women's Champions winning putt last year...

Paula Creamer drains it from down town to win the 2014 HSBC Women's Champions in extraordinary fashion

Paula Creamer drains it from down town to win the 2014 HSBC Women's Champions in extraordinary style

Rolled it in

Perhaps says it better than anything, given the manner of the ball’s motion from putterhead to hole. Also implies that the player has put a good stroke on it

Sunk it

This one gets across the satisfying element of the ball disappearing below ground once and for all. Hole over!

Slam-dunked it

Basketball term for those rare moments when you’ve hit it twice as hard as intended, only for the ball to slam into the back of the cup, leap several inches in the air and drop, when the laws of probability dictated that it should really have rebounded some distance from the hole.

Tapped it in

The term for those tiddlers only an idiot could miss. Hands up who hasn’t been an idiot at some stage… Check out our video below if 2-3 footers fill you with dread!

Ever missed one doing this either nonchalantly or in anger?

Ever missed one doing this either nonchalantly or in anger?

Held it

Finally, a strangely mistaken but surprisingly common term uttered by some golfers. Means absolutely nothing, and can surely only be attributed to some sort of past tense confusion over the words “holed” and “hold”.

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response