Basic golf etiquette

1 – Be ready to hit when it is your turn. I advocate getting to your ball even if it is beyond the ball of another playing partner unless you are directly in the line of his next shot. Evaluate your shot while he evaluates his and take your practice swings while he is getting ready. After his shot has finished, step up to the ball and take your shot.

2 – Be ready to putt when it is your turn to putt. Your average player gets on the green and thinks it is time to lollygag and try to figure out the line 3 different times because that is what he sees the pros doing on tour. The pros are evaluating putts with more speed and break than what we usually see on a public course. Take one look from behind the ball and go with your first read, it will usually be your best. Take more than one look and you’re probably just confusing yourself. If you have any doubt about whether you are the farthest from the hole, take the initiative and indicate that you appear to be the farthest and will go ahead. I hate it when people stand around looking at each other deciding who should go next.

3 – Golf cart etiquette – If possible take your partner to his ball and then go to yours while he is getting ready to hit. Hit yours and then come back and pick him up. That way, you both have hit and then are back in the cart. I feel that I can walk faster than most people can play golf with a cart because they fail to do this. Instead, they drive back and forth across the fairway numerous times and end up just wasting a lot of time.

4 – Write your score down at the next tee and not beside the green. If people are waiting don’t take another minute to write down your scores. Get to the next tee and then do it.

5 – Consider waiving people to hit on to a par 3 once you have reached the green. Let them hit, then putt and move on to the next tee.

6 – Let faster players play through but don’t rush them to do so. I’m amazed at how many people are clueless when it comes to letting faster players play through. Then there are those that let you play through but force you to hurry by them. If you let someone play through, don’t ruin their round by forcing them to hurry through.

7 – Don’t drive up or walk up on people teeing off unless you are trying to be a jerk. Give people space on the tee box. Park your carts 20-30 yards before the tee. Let the players tee off and then drive your cart the rest of the way to the tee.

8 – Buy a ball mark repair tool and fix your ball marks on the green. Rake the trap, and replace your divots.

9 – In my younger days, I used to hit “hustle balls.” If I felt that someone was playing ridiculously slow and wouldn’t let us play through, I would hit a drive over their heads. I have sinced ended that practice. Don’t hit up on or into people.

10 – If a playing partner loses a golf ball, take the time to help him find out. You will find it quicker and help your own round. If at all possible, I recommend hitting your shot first before helping a partner find his lost ball. By hitting your shot first, at least you’ve attended to business and made some progress while he searched for his ball. He may find it while you are playing your shot.

11.  If you are going to let someone play through, let them play through.  Do not continue playing once you have waved them through.  I always love the people who wave you through, keep playing and then kind of evaluate your play to determine whether to let you fully play through or not.  I recently had an older couple do that to me.  The guy waved me through as I was on the tee.  I drove the ball over his head and past him but into a sand trap.  They continue playing after my drive.  When I get to the ball, he tells me, “It’s all yours.”  I think he doubted my ability to get out of the trap.  I smoked it out of the trap without taking any sand.  He stopped playing after that and let me through.