Official GCA Pronunciation Guide

[Pete_Pittock]

The final syllable of Oregon is pronounced like the final syllable of Bandon

[Bryan Icenhower]

Actually my first experience with gca started b/c of me not realizing the spelling vs pronunciation of North Berwick. Took me forever to find out about the course I was told we were playing - pronounced Bear-ick - was spelled Berwick. After figuring it out, I ended up here. Been here since.

Had a lady sitting next to me flying Ed-in-boro to London on Sunday who even after playing Gullane No 2 could not get out the correct Gull-in pronunciation.  She was suth-en tho.

[Brad Tufts]

For years everyone called my club "te-DESS-co," but then it shifted more toward "TED-ess-co," and now it seems to be heading back...!

[Wayne_Kozun]

Had a lady sitting next to me flying Ed-in-boro to London on Sunday who even after playing Gullane No 2 could not get out the correct Gull-in pronunciation.  She was suth-en tho.

You mean Gill-in. Doesn't that one depend on whether you are a toff or working class?

[Bill_McBride]

And New Orleans is New or-LEENS only when you need it to rhyme in a song, otherwise it's New OR-luns, or as the locals say, NAW-lins.

When I call it "Naw-lins," my daughter who has lived there for years gets pissed off at me.   "New Or-luns" is correct.   Unless you grew up in the Irish Channel. 

[john_stiles]

If you play Lookout Mountain GC in Chattanooga,  you might end up having dinner at the nearby  " Fairyland Club".

Fairyland Club sits on a sheer rock cliff,  along the steep ridge of Lookout Mountain, with spectacular views across the valley.

Driving from the golf club to have dinner,   you probably go down    Red Riding Hood Trail, crossing streets named Peter Pan Road, Aladdin Road, and Elfin Road.

Now pronounce  " Fairyland "

There is no way on God's green earth that anyone could pronounce the name as the locals do.

It is  " FAIR LUN " . 

The  Y and D are silent.

[JLahrman]

What’s the correct pronunciation of Scioto? The most reliable source I’ve heard calls it “SIGH-oh-tuh” but I’m never sure if he’s correct or if he just likes to give up on the final syllable.

Sigh-OH-toe

[Michael Felton]

I would say routing (a golf course) the same way as I would say rooting, so as to differentiate it from routing, which is what the Europeans did to the Americans in the Ryder Cup.

I believe Wayne is right about Gullane. I have been told it's Gull-un by someone who lives there and I've been told it's Gill-un, also by someone who lives there. The latter is a member of the HCEG. The former is not. Take that as you will.

[JLahrman]

I would say routing (a golf course) the same way as I would say rooting, so as to differentiate it from routing, which is what the Europeans did to the Americans in the Ryder Cup.

I believe 'root' is slang for copulation in Australia, so pronouncing the word route as "root" might not be suggested there.

For an Australian, rooting a golf course might take a long time. Gotta figure at least one go-round for each hole. At my age that's a good two months right there. And it only might be comfortable in the water hazards. If I had to root a golf course in Australia I would certainly hope for thick and lush rough, for once!

[Keith Grande]

Mike, what regional dialect do you think it is to say root-ing?  I think around Iowa and parts of southern WI - the same folks who say 'crik' instead of creek, might say root-ing.  Maybe, Illianna as well.  Who named the show, "root  66"?  What does JK say?  

Northern Canadian.....aboot? root? anywhoo..

[Matthew Essig]

Doak's Tumble Creek in Cle Elum, WA has been a U.S. Amateur and a U.S. Open qualifying site several times over the past few years. The Golf Channel sometimes does a "Golf's Longest Day" broadcast where they cover the U.S. Open qualifying sites and give constant updates. Every time Tumble Creek is a site, the Golf Channel journalists never pronounce Cle Elum correctly.

They have pronounced it as (Clay-E-Lum), (Clay-ELL-um), (Clee-E-lum).

The correct pronunciation is (clee ELL-um).

------

This reminds me of other Washington State pronunciations.....

Spokane is (Spo-Can) not (Spo-Kane) .... which is not in the Palouse (pa-LOOSE). The Palouse is south of Spokane..... like in Palouse Ridge in Pullman or Wine Valley in Walla Walla.

Everett is (EV-rit).

Okanogan County: "oak-uh-NAW-gan" .... where Gamble Sands is.

A clarification for the 2015 U.S. Open.... Chambers Bay is not in Seattle. It is a 45 minute drive, with NO traffic, south. NOR is it in Tacoma (ta-COE-ma). It is in the small town of University Place. To access the course for the U.S. Open, you will have to take a train ride from Seattle or Tacoma, or get shuttled in from designated hubs, the major hub being the Puyallup (pyoo-AL-up) Fair Grounds, home of the Washington State Fair in September.

[Mark Pritchett]

How about Ekwanok?

[Sean Walsh]

Mike Nuzzo,

Not sure whether it is just me or other Australians do this too.

If I'm driving a car it would be "this is the route (root) I took"

If I'm talking about golf architecture it would be "the routing (rowting) of the course"

We as australians never root for a sports team. That would be a bit kinky. We barrack for or support a sports team.

[Zack Molnar]

How about Ekwanok?

I believe this is eh-KWON-uk

[Duncan Cheslett]

I've seen two videos recently where they talked about the Root-ing...
Not the Rout-ing as in a golf Out-ing.

Who else says Root-ing?

Well pretty much of the UK for a start.

Niall

Niall is quite right. EVERYONE in the UK pronounces it  Root-ing.   As in 'Get your kicks on Root 66'

Rowt-ing is a process used in woodworking using a power tool called a router.  (rowt-er)

[Tony_Muldoon]

There was a recent TV  interview with GMac, Clarkie and Rory – as they addressed each other.

After a few comments on his very strange hybrid accent the interviewer asked

“So is it pronounced “MacDowell” or as “MacDoal” as David Feherty pronounces it?”

“Well David is technically correct but...”

Rory interjects “But when you get close to Portrush people say Ma’Doal.  No ‘c’!”

Darren “That’s very true”

GMac  “I don’t care which one you choose.”

[Tom Kelly]

In the UK it's ro-uting or rou-ting which comes out abit like rooting.

Where as the US it seems to be r-outing.

And obviously in Australia they just make something new up because they've already used the thing for a swear word...row-ting.

[Duncan Cheslett]

In a similar vein,  I often read on here the expression "I could care less".

This makes no sense whatsoever. Surely the correct expression is "I couldn't care less".

Think about it.

[Zack Molnar]

In a similar vein,  I often read on here the expression "I could care less".

This makes no sense whatsoever. Surely the correct expression is "I couldn't care less".

Think about it.

That is exactly right. Probably the most mis-used idiom today, IMO

[JLahrman]

In a similar vein,  I often read on here the expression "I could care less".

This makes no sense whatsoever. Surely the correct expression is "I couldn't care less".

Think about it.

Yet another opportunity to post this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc

Weird Al even takes on "could care less".

[David Whitmer]

In Scotland last year, we played Nairn, and spent three nights there. We were pronouncing it as it looks, saying "air" between the two letters n. At dinner one night our waitress very nicely corrected us, saying the proper way to pronounce it is "Nurn."

[Jim Nugent]

In a similar vein,  I often read on here the expression "I could care less".

This makes no sense whatsoever. Surely the correct expression is "I couldn't care less".

Think about it.

Logical or not, both have come to mean the same thing in the common vernacular.  Personally I prefer "could" in the expression. 

[Duncan Cheslett]

But they don't mean the same thing Jim.  One makes sense, the other is just illiterate jibberish which makes the user appear a complete idiot.

That or an American...  

[Thomas Dai]

Some overseas visitors are visiting the island of Anglesey off the north west coast of Wales, specifically the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, and are having lunch.

After a few minutes one of the visitors asks the waitress if she could pronounce the name of the place they are in. The waitress looks a bit confused for a moment and then very slowly says "Bur-ger-King".


atb

[Tony_Muldoon]

I enjoyed my round at Cwmrhydneuadd Golf Club. 

No idea