Since Tiger is back, the Masters loom, and days are becoming longer, we felt it would be a good time to revisit an old Ploomy favorite—golf etiquette tips. After many suggestions from readers and additional tips from recent rounds, here are more golf etiquette advice and general tips for your next time on the fairways.
10th Hole: Arrive on Time – You have a tee-time at 8:07am, but 1 person in your group is missing ten minutes prior to tee-off. He’s not answering his cell phone, no one has heard otherwise, and the starter is about to fill his spot with a single. If you’ve played enough times, you’ve been in this situation. It causes anxiety for the present golfers, which clouds the precious time before a round in which you should be focusing on your upcoming game. So give a good enough cushion or provide warning if you’re late. And please, traffic is never an excuse since there’s minimal traffic early Saturday morning.
11th Hole: 2nd shot on a Par 5 – You’re 300 yards out, and you might hit the green once out of every 100 times. You really don’t need to wait for the group ahead to finish up. How many times have you waited, then proceed to hit, only to not even getting remotely close to the green? This slows down the group behind, since they should have already teed off. And if by some miraculous shot you do approach the green, then great shot!
12th Hole: Dude, Where’s my ball? – Yes we all lose balls on a course, which is why the recycled golf ball market is so robust. You shouldn’t take no more than 5 minutes looking for a stray ball. Take a drop and penalize yourself. I know it was a brand-spanking new Pro-V1 that you paid $50 a dozen for, but again this contributes to slow play. If you anticipate having difficulty finding your ball, proceed early on to get a head start. Who knows, you might find additional balls during the process, even though they always seem to be Pinnacles.
13th Hole: Verify your ball - The ball is white, spherical and has dimples, so it must be mine right? It might sound elementary, but always ensure the ball your about to hit is indeed yours. It is helpful if you mark your ball uniquely, but you would be surprised how frequently someone hits the wrong ball. Sometimes the number on the ball isn’t enough of an indicator. You aren’t the only one hitting a Titleist.
14th Hole: Pin Placement - So you already putted out but the other members of your group aren’t yet finished. Don’t already beeline to the next tee box. As a courtesy, you should be responsible for placing the pin back in the hole if you’re first to finish. Speaking of the pin, it should be placed in a position where it doesn’t affect a golfer’s putt. Place it on the fringe if you have to.
15th Hole: Score-Keeping – Aside from keeping accurate scores, you should tally the numbers as you proceed to the next hole. There’s nothing worse seeing a group that is finished, but they’re loitering around the green still recounting their strokes. Many of these pointers have an emphasis on speeding up play, which means not slowing it down. We might have short-term memories, but it shouldn’t suffer too much on the way to the subsequent hole.
16th Hole: Up-Keeping – I know you’re not a groundskeeper, but if there’s a recurring theme among golf course maintenance, it is the following: replace divots [yes, even those on the tee-box], rake bunkers, and repair ball-marks on the green. You’ll find this threesome noted on virtually every scorecard printed. If you’re in a caring mood, you could fix another ball-mark on the green. You might make more putts due to golf karma.
17th Hole: Allow Faster Groups to Play Through - Your foursome is on pace for a collective score of 150 over par. There is a twosome behind you that always seem to be on your heels. Please allow them to play through. Call them up on the next par 3 and let them proceed. You won’t have the pressure of the next group breathing down your neck and they will stop cursing at you underneath their breath. Also this could help fill the gaps created during a slow round.
18th Hole: Multiple Balls Played - The course isn’t your personal driving range. Depending on what rules are established prior to a round, you shouldn’t hit a Mulligan on every other hole. Unless you’re hitting a provisional ball, then try as much as possible to keep the Mulligans in your back pocket. However we’ll give you a breakfast ball on the house; that is if you arrive on time.
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