Dead
Your ball lies dead when it is so close to the flag that you hole it safely with your next stroke.
The expression comes from English and describes the moment when the hole is practically "dead" — no more tension, no question left open. Usually a very good approach shot or a putt that stops exactly at the hole lies behind it. The ball then sits in tap-in range, so close that holing it is pure formality. In everyday speech you say "I left it dead" when your wedge shot finishes half a metre from the flag. It is one of the most beautiful feelings in the game, because it secures the result of the hole.
A concrete example: par 4, your second shot stops 90 metres short of the green. You take the sand wedge, the ball lands softly one metre behind the hole and spins back with backspin to thirty centimetres. Your playing partners just nod — dead. In match play such a ball is often conceded to you straight away, because the opponent can no longer prevent the point. In normal stroke play in your private round, the short remaining putt is the reward for a precise shot.
The term is often confused with the "dead" or lost ball — the two have nothing to do with each other. A dead ball is, quite the opposite, the most alive moment of a round. Just note: the putt is only conceded to you in formats where conceding is allowed. In official stroke play you have to hole out the last centimetres yourself for the score to count. A gimme does not exist in strict competition play either — there the rule is: every ball must go in the hole.
FAQ
May I simply pick up a ball that lies dead?
Only if the format allows conceding. In match play or in a private round with the gimme rule, you may pick the ball up as soon as your opponent or your group concedes the putt. In official stroke play you must hole out even the last centimetres, otherwise the hole does not count. If you pick the ball up there anyway, the hole counts as unfinished.
How do I play the approach shot so the ball lies dead?
The key is distance control, not attacking the flag at any price. Play the wedge so the ball lands soft and does not bounce past the hole — a ball one metre behind the flag with little pace is better than one that rolls ten metres past from right at the flag. Practise specific shot lengths with half swings on the range, and you will know on the course which swing carries which distance.
Is "dead" the same as a dead or lost ball?
No, quite the opposite is the case. Dead means the best possible state: the ball lies so close to the hole that holing it is a formality. A lost ball, by contrast, cannot be found and costs you a penalty stroke plus the walk back. So when someone in the group says "dead", they always mean the good version — misunderstandings only arise with golf newcomers who take the word literally.