The Meaning of 'Off the Deck' in Golf

"Off the deck" is a bit of golf slang that refers to hitting a golf ball off the ground, as opposed to off a tee. Since teeing the ball is only allowed on the teeing area, most shots in golf are played "off the deck." But this golf lingo is really only used in two specific instances:

• Most commonly, the term is heard in reference to using a driver from the fairway, known as hitting "driver off the deck."
• "Off the deck" is also used by some golfers to refer to playing one's first stroke on a par-3 hole from the ground (as opposed to using a tee), which a small minority of golfers prefer to do.

Hitting "driver off the deck" was once more common in golf than it is today. The big-headed drivers of today (by volume, nearly three times as large as the old persimmon drivers) make successfully hitting a driver off the ground a much more difficult proposition.

In his book Playing Partners: A Father, a Son, and Their Shared Addiction to Golf (affiliate link), golf journalist George Peper called hitting driver off the ground "good practice," writing, "If you can pick a driver off the deck, you can hit anything."

Most recreational golfers can't do it, though, and are probably better off not trying (at least not during a round). The pros still sometimes hit driver of the deck, but even they do it more rarely than in times past.

The other place where "off the deck" gets used is on the teeing area of par-3 holes, where most golfers tee up the ball and play an iron shot. But a small percentage of golfers (even some pros) prefer to play such iron shots "off the deck" even when they don't have to. Their reasoning is that they never tee up any other iron shots, so why not stick with the same process.

But most of us need all the help we can get, and we use that tee. As Jack Nicklaus once said, if teeing the ball wasn't an advantage, they (the rulesmakers) would let us do it everywhere on the course. Or, as Lee Trevino put it, air offers less resistance than ground. If you are allowed to use a tee, use a tee.

The term "off the deck" does not appear to be a very old one. The oldest newspaper usages of "driver off the deck" that we've found date only to 1988 (and were in Australian papers).

More definitions:

• Do you carry a 'hand wedge' in your golf bag?
• Explaining the golf lingo 'frog hair'
• What are the 'Tiger tees' on a golf course?

Sources:
Peper, George. Playing Partners: A Father, a Son, and Their Shared Addiction to Golf, 2003, Warner Books Inc.
Tresidder, Phil. "Real Hull In One ...," Sydney Morning Herald, January 31, 1988.