Word Play

It's true, the cable networks and newspapers are filled with scary headlines written in jargon that has come to symbolize the depressing reality of our economic state. But it doesn't have to be so. Take those same terms, process them through the SI GOLF PLUS Vocabulary Converter, and suddenly they're not so frightening anymore.

Bailout
Putting a seven-wood in the bag

Boom-and-bust cycle
Three-hundred-yard drives followed by bladed wedges

Credit crisis
When your opponent forces you to hole out a 12-inch gimme. Also known as "credit crunch" or "credit squeeze"

Defaults
All de things de matter with de swing

Derivative
Adam Scott's (right) swing compared with Tiger Woods's circa 2001

Discretionary income
What you're no longer spending in the pro shop

Foreclosure
The sense of completeness a player feels after pushing his drive onto the next fairway and screaming, "Fore!"

Liquidity trap
Water hazard

Moral hazard
Mulligan