Learn Golf Etiquette before Going to the Course

July 19, 2007
By: Butch Bundy

The one topic always covered in my junior’s or beginner’s clinics is how to actually play golf. Oddly enough it doesn’t have a thing to do with what score they shoot or how good they can hit their shots. Bad golfers are generally pretty nervous about playing with people that are better than them, but truth be known a golfer’s skill is not what maddens regular golfers. It is people that don’t know the etiquette of the game. Let’s go over a couple of things to help you and the other people on the golf course have a better day.
First, allow faster groups to play through or on a very busy day keep up with the group in front of you. Nothing is more maddening than to sit behind a slow group and they never acknowledge that a group is sitting behind impatiently waiting on them. Instead of rushing, simply let the group behind play through. That way groups can play at their preferred pace.
Secondly, take care of the golf course. If you are a smoker, don’t throw your cigarette butts on the ground. If you hit your ball in a sand bunker rake it smooth after hitting out of it. If you take a divot in the fairway, use the sand on your cart to fill it. When you hit your ball on the green, fix your ball mark and a couple of others. When there are cart paths available use them and don’t drive your cart too close to the green.
Finally, here are a couple of unwritten rules. Always be ready to play when it is your turn. When other players in your group are hitting, try to stand so that you are out of their line of sight and don’t talk or move when they are hitting their shot. When on the putting green, always mark your ball with a coin or a ball marker and don’t step between another player’s ball and the hole. At the end of the day the people that don’t do these things are the ones who stick out, not the ones who shoot the worst score.