Cabbage
Cabbage is golf slang for the thickest, deepest rough on a course. It refers to tall, dense grass well off the fairway where finding or advancing the ball becomes a serious challenge.
What is a cabbage in golf?
Cabbage describes the kind of rough that makes golfers wince. It is not the manageable first cut of grass just off the fairway or even the standard second cut. Cabbage is the deep stuff, the tall, tangled vegetation where a ball can disappear completely.
The term comes up frequently during major championship broadcasts, particularly at the US Open and The Open Championship, where course setup crews deliberately grow the rough to punishing heights. PGA professional and instructor Mark Blakemore has described cabbage as slang for the long grass off the edges of a fairway, the type of rough seen at major championships. Like many golf slang terms, cabbage likely earned its name from the visual resemblance between thick, leafy rough and the vegetable itself.
Cabbage is not a formal term in the Rules of Golf. It is purely informal, used on the course and in commentary to describe rough so severe that simply getting the ball back onto the fairway feels like a win. A golfer stuck in the cabbage will often grab a wedge and play sideways rather than risk a heroic shot that could stay buried.
Cabbage vs. rough
All cabbage is rough, but not all rough is cabbage. Golf courses typically maintain several different heights of grass outside the fairway, and understanding the difference explains why cabbage has its own name.
| Type | Typical height | Description |
| First cut (intermediate rough) | 1–2 inches | Narrow strip immediately beside the fairway. Manageable for most golfers; minimal penalty. |
| Primary rough (second cut) | 2–4 inches | Standard rough further from the fairway. Affects spin and distance control. |
| Cabbage (deep rough) | 4–6+ inches | The thickest, tallest grass on the course. Ball often sits down or disappears entirely. |
At the 2025 US Open at Oakmont Country Club, the USGA topped the rough off at five inches with no graduated cut, according to Golf Digest. Record rainfall in May made the grass particularly thick, and several players lost balls in rough just yards from the fairway during practice rounds. That is textbook cabbage.
For context on how often golfers end up in the rough: PGA Tour professionals hit an average of roughly 59% of fairways during the 2025 season, according to PGA Tour statistics. That means even the best players in the world miss the short grass on about four out of every ten tee shots. For a 15-handicap amateur, fairway accuracy drops to around 48%, according to Shot Scope data reported by MyGolfSpy.
Related golf slang for the rough
Cabbage is the most common vegetable-based slang term for deep rough, but it has company. Golfers have borrowed from the entire produce aisle.
Spinach and lettuce are the two closest synonyms. Like cabbage, both refer to thick, leafy rough where the ball gets tangled. A golfer who repeatedly hits into the spinach might earn the nickname Popeye.
Other vegetable terms include broccoli, alfalfa, and even bok choy, though these are less common. Beyond the garden, golfers also call deep rough the jungle, the hay, the thick stuff, or simply the weeds.
One related term worth knowing is “cabbage pounder,” which describes a golfer who spends most of the round hacking out of deep rough. It is not a compliment.
Related Golf Terms
- Bogey golfer — A golfer who typically scores around one over par per hole.
- Bunker — A sand-filled hazard on the course, also called a sand trap.
- Break — The curve or slope of the green that affects the path of a putt.
- Rough — Any grass outside the fairway that is higher than fairway height.
- Bump and run — A low-trajectory chip shot that rolls along the ground toward the hole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is cabbage the same as fescue?
No. Fescue is a type of grass commonly found on links courses and in the rough at many championship venues. Cabbage describes any deep, thick rough regardless of grass species. Fescue rough can certainly be cabbage if it grows tall and dense enough, but the two terms refer to different things: one is a grass type, the other is a severity description.
Is cabbage a penalty area under the Rules of Golf?
No. Cabbage falls within the general area of the course, which is the Rules of Golf term for the rough, fairway, and other non-hazard ground. There are no red or yellow stakes involved. If the ball is unplayable, Rule 19 allows relief for a one-stroke penalty.
Where did the term cabbage come from?
The exact origin is unclear, but it almost certainly comes from the visual similarity between thick, leafy rough and the vegetable. Golf has a long tradition of using food-related slang, and cabbage fits the pattern of naming rough after green, leafy produce.
Sources
- PGA Tour. “Off the Tee Statistics.” pgatour.com. Accessed April 2026.
- USGA. “PSA: You Don’t Want U.S. Open Rough At Your Home Course.” usga.org. Accessed April 2026.
- Vocabulary.com. “Golf Words: Department of Word Lists.” vocabulary.com. Accessed April 2026.
- Golf Digest. “No Graduated Rough and Nasty Ditches Will Make Oakmont Even More Brutal for Upcoming U.S. Open.” golfdigest.com. May 2025.
- Golf Compendium. “42 Slang Terms Golfers Have for the Rough.” golfcompendium.com. Accessed April 2026.
- MyGolfSpy. “These 20 PGA Tour Pros Hit More Fairways Than Anyone.” mygolfspy.com. March 2025.
- Golf Monthly. “How Many Fairways Does the Average PGA Tour Player Miss?” golfmonthly.com. June 2025.
