What Do 'Hole High' and 'Pin High' Mean in Golf?

"Hole high" and "pin high" are two terms used by golfers that mean exactly the same thing. These terms mean that a golfer's approach shot into a green has come to rest roughly equal to the depth of the flagstick. It's a way of saying the golfer got the distance right even if (as the case may be) the shot might not have been accurate.

Note that hole high refers to the hole (cup) on the putting surface, and pin high refers to the pin (flagstick) on the green. Another, less-used synonym is "flag high," which also refers to the flagstick.

The reference work Davies' Dictionary of Golfing Terms (affiliate link) defines hole high very simply: "Level with the hole" (meaning the hole cut into the green). Citations in that dictionary suggest that "hole high" is the older of the two terms.

Note that neither hole high nor pin high tell us anything about how close to the flagstick one's ball sits, just that the ball is level with the depth of the hole. A hole-high ball might be inches from the cup, or it might be 100 yards off the green.

How are the terms used? An announcer on a golf broadcast might say, "He's in the left rough a few feet off the green but hole high"; "Her ball is pin high but in the bunker on the right"; "He's hole-high 10 feet left of the cup."

Both terms can carry the implication that, while the distance was good, the golfer hit the ball offline. The first two examples in the preceding paragraph show that. And some other articles on the web that define "pin high" and "hole high" suggest that is the actual definition: level with the hole but offline.

But not necessarily. While both terms can be used to imply or state the direction of an approach shot was offline, neither term only means that. A well-struck and well-aimed approach shot that stops level with the flag and only 10 feet to the left or right does not deserve to be called offline, but is most certainly hole high/pin high.

A couple more examples of usage:

  • In a 1916 issue of American Golfer magazine, the author, writing of Francis Ouimet, stated: "Twice, with the wind at his back, he was almost hole-high with a spoon at the 270-yard sixth ..."
  • From Billy Casper's 1959 book Chipping and Putting: Golf Around the Green (affiliate link): "It rolled up the right side of the green, caught one of the little undulations and trickled down into the trap, pin-high to the hole."
  • And from a May 14, 1971 Associated Press article in the Florida Today newspaper: "He was flag high, he just pushed it a little."
More definitions:

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