Let me start off by saying I love golf. There’s nothing better than being outside, taking in the sunlight, breathing in fresh air, and having a great time. It’s one of my favorite ways to socialize with friends. All these reasons are part of why the game is widely becoming more popular.
That said, there is a quick way to ruin that: Poor golf etiquette.
When I first started playing golf I had no idea how to handle myself on the course. I knew there were many unspoken rules, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Luckily, I had some friends to help show me the ropes.
Not everyone starting golf knows others who play, or, they are too afraid to ask. That’s where I come in. After reading this post, you’ll be well-equipped to play a round with the boys or a random pairing, no matter your experience.
Universally accepted golf etiquette
Part of the reason golf gets labeled as a stuffy sport is because there are so many written and unwritten rules. If you don’t adhere to them, it’s likely you’ll get called out. Usually, if you’re a beginner, those playing with you will recognize that and cut you some slack.
Whether you’re playing in a competition, where rules are strictly enforced, or a casual round, the basic set of rules are always the same.
The player who scored lowest on the previous hole tees off first. Some golfers are more relaxed than others about this. I regularly play golf with people who don’t care, and whomever is ready can tee off first.
Whomever’s ball is furthest from the pin, goes first. Similar to the previous bullet point, some golfers are more relaxed than others. Generally speaking though, it’s considered rude to hit your ball before someone who is further away. If you’re just learning, you may take a lot of strokes to get the ball further than your playing partner, in which case you may just want to pick up your ball for that hole.
Mark your ball on the green before others are putting. If you don’t have a ball marker, a coin works. Basically, you just want to make sure your ball isn’t in the way of someone else’s shot.
These next few points are not necessarily official rules, however, they are considered as a basic code of conduct you should be adhering to. Don’t be that guy or girl and follow these:
Don’t walk in another player’s line (or your own). This means avoid stepping between any ball and the hole while on the putting green. Many golfers will be upset that you potentially altered the putting surface, causing them to miss their putt. Personally, this is probably my number one mistake on the course.
Be quiet when other golfers are in their shot hitting routine. It’s considered extremely rude to be talking while someone is swinging the club. You should be able to hear the birds chirping or the wind blowing. I’ve even played with people who will allow a re-hit if someone was talking in another’s backswing. This also means avoid talking on your phone on the course unless it’s necessary.
Always repair your ball marks, replace divots, and rake bunkers. An easy way to help maintain the course so others can enjoy it is fixing your ball mark on the putting green surface. The same goes for divots. When your swing rips a chunk of grass out of the ground, go pick it up and put it back. Lastly, you should be raking bunkers after you hit out of them.
Yell fore. Even those who don’t play know the common phrase. It’s because this is said for safety purposes. If you shank a shot onto another hole, you should automatically yell fore to let other golfers know that a ball is coming their way. That way they have time to duck and cover their head.
Keep your cool, seriously. Golf is a tough sport, mentally and physically. It’s important to keep your temperature under control, especially as a beginner when you inevitably won’t be very good.
Pace of Play
For those just starting golf, I would say the number one thing to be aware of is pace of play. It’s what people get most upset on a golf course about. Don’t believe me? Look at the Google Reviews of a golf course in your area, I guarantee there is at least one complaint about a long round.
Rightfully so. There is nothing worse than waiting to hit your shot.
Many of the courses I play even have signage posted throughout the property letting players know if they’re behind schedule or not.
Here are a few ways you can be extra sensitive to your pace of play.
Write your scores down on the next tee box. I had to explicitly be told this one because it’s not super obvious. If someone is filling out the scorecard next to the putting green, the group behind can’t hit their shots.
Limit your practice swings. Most golfers score over 100, meaning they’re swinging the club a lot during the round. For every shot, if you take one less practice swing, you’ll be surprised at how much quicker you’ll play.
Play ready golf. This may be a little confusing since it contradicts the point above. If your group comes to the consensus that they need to speed up a little, you can play “ready golf.” That means you can hit the ball out of turn if your playing partners aren’t ready yet.
Don’t search forever for your lost ball. Especially for beginners, since they’re frequently in the woods, it’s considered common courtesy to just drop a new ball.
Send the first person to putt out to the next tee box for walking groups of 3 or 4. I’ve actually never done this because I usually ride, however, this will really help to speed up your round. Basically it allows for one hole to be completed while the other is started.
A good rule of thumb: A round of golf should take roughly 4 hours and 30 minutes, depending on the course and day. Weekend rounds can take longer because there are more tee times booked. If you can finish your round quicker, that is considered a good pace of play.
Playing through golf
While it may seem rude, if you’re taking a lot of time, the group behind you may ask to play ahead. And it’s common etiquette to allow them to “play through”.
Conversely, if you sense that the group behind you is frequently waiting to hit their shots, you may offer to let them play through.
Generally speaking, it’s appropriate to let the faster group play through the slower group. That said, if the entire course is backed up that day, then playing through won’t solve anything. At that point, it’s the course ranger’s responsibility to make sure that people are moving along.
Golf cart etiquette and safety
Driving a golf cart is inherently fun. Whipping around the course, safely, can be just as fun as your round.
That said, following basic golf cart etiquette will keep you and others safe, but also keep the course in playable condition for everyone else. Think about it, driving a golf cart is probably the most dangerous thing you can do on the course. It’s also the thing that can cause the most damage.
Keep in mind, you can always have your partner drive the cart if you’re uncomfortable or not sure on the rules/etiquette. If you do end up driving, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Limit the amount of time driving on the fairway. It’s best to not drive around the fairway if you can avoid it. Drive on the cart path whenever possible, but if you need to go towards your ball, drive along the edge of the fairway. Don’t drive back and forth if you can help it.
Park your cart on the side of the green towards the next hole. Stating the obvious here but this means don’t drive on the putting green! You can seriously damage the putting surface, and potentially be banned from the course if you do this.
Follow signage on the course. Specifically, the “no carts beyond this point” sign in front of the greens in the fairway. This is meant to help keep carts away from the grene, but also the area in front of it.
Don’t drive on the fairway on par 3s. This is a rule at my home course, but it’s something I try to follow wherever I go. Always stay on the cart path on par 3s just do be safe.
Avoid wet areas. Many golf courses have drainage issues and driving through puddles can rip up or even kill the grass beneath. Generally speaking, it’s good practice to just drive on the cart path on days when it’s wet.
Avoid driving the cart into hazard and out of bounds areas. This is for your own safety, as these areas may not be level ground and you risk tipping the cart. Even worse, you could potentially disturb wildlife and their habitat.
Beware of other golfers. There are a few scenarios where you may be driving your cart near other golfers. If you hit one into another hole’s fairway, you’re driving back to the clubhouse to use the bathroom, or driving to a previous hole to pick up a club you left. In any of these scenarios, be cautious of other golfers. Don’t drive your cart in front of them while they’re in their hitting routine. That’s a good way to piss other golfers off.
Follow course rules for the day. Before you begin your round, the course ranger will let you know if there are any specific rules for golf carts that day. I’ll touch a little more on this below, in the “cart path only rule” section.
A good rule of thumb: Use common sense when driving a golf cart. You wouldn’t drive erratically if you were driving on the road, there’s no reason to while on the golf course.
Following the cart path only rule in golf
Courses will enact the “cart path only rule” for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it rained hard the previous day or maybe it’s early in the season and the groundskeepers want to preserve the course for the entire season. Carts compact the soil and can hurt grass growth making for less than ideal fairway conditions.
Regardless of what they may be, don’t be that guy and ignore the rule. All you need to do is stay on the cart path, it’s not very hard. Drive up to where your ball landed, grab a couple clubs, and walk over to hit your ball. When you’re done, walk back and move along, up the cart path.
Usually the ranger will be observing the course and let you know the cart rules on the course if you’re breaking them. Sometimes members of the course will even call you out or let the ranger know, since it’s their home course and they have enough reason to want the conditions to be as best as possible.
Following the 90 degree rule in golf
In order to maintain the course, another rule you may be asked to follow is the 90 degree rule. As I mentioned above, anytime a cart drives on the fairway, it compacts the soil and can hurt grass growth.
Following this rule is easy. Don’t drive up the fairway to find your ball. Take the cart path until you are parallel with your ball and then make the 90 degree turn onto the fair towards your ball.
This will limit the time spent driving on the fair substantially, taking care of the course for others to enjoy.
Golf etiquette on the green
The putting green is considered a sacred place in the golfing world. It’s widely accepted that you need to follow a very distinct set of rules here, or you run the risk of pissing off your playing partners.
As you can tell, putting is just such a different part of the game, that you need to be extra cautious of how you hold yourself when on the green. I covered a few major points above, so I will just list them again… farthest from the pin putts first, mark your ball while others are putting, and repair your ball marks.
A few tips to make sure you act like you know what you’re doing out there:
Don’t talk while someone else is putting. Seriously. Putting, just like swinging any other club, requires concentration. It’s rude to be chatting.
Stand still if you’re behind someone while they’re putting. Moving around is another way to unintentionally break your playing partner’s concentration. If it wasn’t obvious, you also shouldn’t move if you’re in front of them too.
Watch where you walk on the green. Avoid walking in someone else’s line. I mentioned this above as well, but I thought it was important to reiterate because it is considered very poor etiquette.
Put your golf bag next to the green, not on it. Your golf bag can damage the putting surface, especially the legs. All the weight of the bag will be pushed into the putting surface, potentially leaving damaged greens behind.
Ask if your partner wants you to tend the flagstick. I usually ask whomever is putting if they want me to pull the pin. Sometimes they’ll ask you to pull it, others they will want you to tend it, meaning you can pull it after their putt.
Golf etiquette on the tee box
Outside of the green, the tee box is where you can really annoy the people you’re playing with or even break a cardinal rule. This is in part because a bad tee shot can ruin your chances at scoring well on a hole.
A few pointers to keep in mind next time you tee off:
Whomever scored lowest on the previous hole tees off first. There are exceptions but this is basic knowledge and an actual rule.
Tee up in between and behind the two markers. Placing your tee in front of the tee box markers is actually a penalty.
High handicappers should be playing forward. A good rule of thumb I came across is to take your average 5 iron distance, multiply by 36, and then choose the tees that closely match your yardage. For example, if you hit your 5 iron 175 yards, then you should be playing tees close to 6,300 yards back.
Stand behind, out of sight. Don’t give your partner a reason to blame you for their shanked tee shot! I’m only partially kidding, but you should try to avoid moving around in someone’s sightline, it can be distracting.
Be quiet on the tee. Again, making noise while someone else is hitting is a rule you don’t want to break. Silence is golden here.
Limiting practice swings. Some will disagree here, but it’s frustrating to play with someone who takes more than one or two practice swings before taking their shot. In the words of famous golfer John Daly, just “grip it and rip it”.
Other things to keep in mind while on the course
If you’ve gotten this far I would say you’re well-equipped to go out and play a round with just about anyone. Golf can be a tough sport to start out with because there are so many rules to follow. With anything though, a little time learning how to hold yourself on the course will go a long way.
There are a few other items worth mentioning….
Watch your partner’s ball. Especially if you’re driving the cart. It’s helpful to have an extra set of eyes on everyone’s shot. You’ll spend less time looking for each other’s balls, and you’ll have a much better pace of play.
Limit the time spent in the clubhouse at the turn. If you don’t know, the “turn” is between holes 9 and 10. It’s appropriate to grab a bite to go, restock on beverages, and/or use the bathroom. This should be around a five minute ordeal. It’s common courtesy to let the group behind you play through if you’re taking too long.
Wait for the other group to hit your ball if it ends up on another hole. As a high handicap golfer, I’ve hit the ball into an adjacent fairway more times than I can count. The correct way to handle it is to wait for the group whose hole you’re on to hit their shots.
Show up early. Plan on getting to the course at least 15 minutes before your tee time, preferably allowing for more time. Even if you don’t want to practice, this will ensure you’re not rushing to the tee. Course starters will wait to send off your group if everyone isn’t checked in.
Bonus: Can you play music on the golf course?
It all depends. Most courses will allow music, assuming it isn’t overly loud. A good rule of thumb is that golfers on another hole shouldn’t be able to hear your tunes! The music shouldn’t be taking away from anyone’s enjoyment of the round.
That is also assuming the group you’re playing with is okay with music. I personally don’t mind some music with reasonable volume. With the sport gaining popularity, many prefer music. Just ask and then hope you all like the same types of genres!
In Summary…
There is a lot to learn about golf course etiquette. It can be overwhelming at times. Take the time to understand the written and unwritten rules in this post and you should be good.
If that all seems like too much to remember, you can always ask the person you’re playing with. Most golfers are willing to help newer players out because they’ve been there before. Each time you play you will pick up on new things and eventually it will all come second nature!
