"Ocean Pull" in Golf?

Question

Can someone please explain what this term means exactly? I'm watching the US Open at Torrey Pines and have heard it mentioned many times.

Answer 1

A golf ball is like a little moon.  Just as the moon pulls on the oceans causing tides, the golf ball is attracted to the ocean.

Now for a serious answer: It's a phycological effect of having a distant horizon on one side and mountains and landscaping on the other.  It makes you feel like you're leaning so you tend to over compensate.

Answer 2

"Ocean pull" is a termed used to explain which way the ball might break.  You will only hear it used when puting.

Any water that falls on the course will invariably land up in the ocean and a ball will usually break the same way i.e. towards the ocean.

However other factors such as slope, and grain also need to be taken into account.