Golf Etiquette From Tee to Green (and Everything in Between)
Golf is an old game that, through centuries of play, has collected myriad rules, norms, and customs that define proper golf etiquette. Although it is evolving to make it more accessible and enjoyable, proper golf etiquette improves the experience for you and everyone around you on the course. Whether you play everyday or are just learning the game, understanding these customs will help you avoid any unsavory faux pas that result from a breach of etiquette.
Golf Etiquette Before The Round
Golf etiquette begins well before you hit your first tee shot, something you should endeavor to do on time, and without rushing. Golf courses (and especially country clubs) are well-oiled machines that run a tight schedule necessary to accommodate a day’s worth of tee times. Typically, these are spaced 9 minutes apart to maximize player throughput on a given day. Even small changes in this schedule will delay your round and everyone else’s behind you. This is all to say: golf is not a sport that tolerates tardiness.
Most courses ask that you arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled tee time, but we'd suggest aiming for a minimum of 30 – more if you need time to get loose. If you’re consistently tardy or pressed for time (here’s looking at you, new parents and busy professionals), consider investing in some organization for those small golf accessories you frantically look for as you scramble from the parking lot to the tee box. Items like this caddy case that holds your golf glove, ball markers, cigars and other necessary baubles or a shoe organizer for your trunk can save you valuable minutes and lower the stress of that first tee shot.
Practice Area Etiquette
If you have time, warm up with some golf stretches, putt a few balls or take some big swings on the practice range. And speaking of that practice area, you need to know that it has rules too. On any given Saturday, a golf course may see well over 100 players come through its facility, and that means a lot of wear on the driving range and practice green. It is your duty as a golfer to practice responsibly so those behind you can enjoy good conditions for their own warm up rituals.
The most important rule for the driving range, and one that is most often ignored, is to be mindful of your divots. Don’t randomly place balls across that fresh turf and hack the earth to pieces. That mucks things up for the next person and can get really expensive for the grounds crew to maintain. Instead, you want to create a linear pattern of divots, and here’s how you do it.
Hit your first practice ball towards the front of the area and play your next practice shot directly behind any divot you make. The goal is to make parallel lines of divots, leaving thin strips of grass in between each line. Not only does this give more fresh turf for the next player to enjoy, the grass will actually grow back faster and the groundskeeper will love you.
There is also proper etiquette for the practice green, a place where every golfer should spend more time. Usually these are crowded areas so you need a game plan. Don’t just spray balls at random holes, as you’ll be intruding on others. Instead, find a spot where you can drop a few balls and practice from 3’ to 6’ out before attempting longer lag putts. You don’t even need a hole to do this…you can simply pick spots on the green or place an object down for your target.
Golf Etiquette on the Tee Box & Course
Golf obviously has established standards of play and conduct (you can read all the USGA Rules and Interpretations here), and the official rules start before your first shot. Confirm with your playing partners which set of tees you’ll be playing (and endeavor to “tee it forward” for maximum enjoyment) and then make sure to play all your tee shots behind the markers. While an extra yard or two won’t have much impact on how you score, playing in front of or outside the markers is a two-shot penalty and just a bad look in general.
Pick the right tees…and then play within them!
The order of tee shots is also an area of etiquette that requires observation. On the first tee, many foursomes will stand in a circle and toss a tee in the air; whomever is closest to the line of the tee when it lands will go first, and this process is repeated two more times until the order is established. From there, it is customary that the best score on the current hole earns the honor of hitting first on the next hole (or, in the event of a tie, the order from the prior hole is maintained).
When to Yell FORE!
This is perhaps the most important word in amateur golf because it alerts those around you to errant shots that put them at risk of being hit. Commit this term to memory, and when you need to use it, be LOUD. “Fore” is not a term uttered under one’s breath or with timidity, embarrassing and awkward though it may be. But trust us on this one, it is far less embarrassing to give others this courtesy than it is to hit into a group with no warning. If you are playing in a group and someone doesn’t yell FORE after a bad shot, do it for them. And if you know to which hole the ball is veering, shout the hole number for added urgency (e.g., “FORE on 2!”).
Golf Etiquette on the Green
Eventually in golf, you will find yourself on the green. While this space takes up the least amount of course real estate, it happens to be the area with the highest standard of etiquette. Most importantly, watch where you walk and where you stand. Observe the location of any other balls on the green as you approach, and take care to not step in the line between those balls and the hole. The best method is to walk behind the other balls, but at times it is acceptable to step over another person’s line especially on shorter putts (or really long putts where the path of the ball can be difficult to discern). Order of putting is determined based on the proximity to the hole. The longest putt goes first, and follows in this order. Note that in certain instances, a ball on the green may be further from the hole than a ball on the fringe or even in the rough. The same rule applies: the furthest from the hole, regardless of whether it is on the green or just off, is the first to play.
If you are successful in reaching a green from a significant distance, then you’ll probably notice a divot or depression where your ball lands. It is important to fix these, and many clubs offer complimentary divot repair tools for this purpose. They make it easy to repair your divot (although a tee works just as well) once you learn the technique: insert the tool (or tee) behind the mark at a 45 degree angle, then push the earth towards the divot. This is different from the old school approach of “lifting” the earth with the divot tool, and leaves the green in better condition. Once you’ve completed a few repairs around the divot, tamp it down with the bottom of your putter or foot to smooth the putting surface. And while you’re at it, fix any other nearby divots you see on the green even if they aren’t your own.
Going to School On Another’s Putt (Politely)
Savvy golfers love to observe how other putts travel in order to learn about the break and speed of greens. This is acceptable, but take care not to stand directly behind a playing partner when they strike their putt. Instead, wait until after they complete their stroke and then you can move to a more advantageous spot to observe the green condition.
When to Pull The Pin
Pin tending is contentious in groups – and with USGA rule changes in 2019 to remove the penalty for a ball that strikes the flagstick on its way into a hole – even more so than it used to be. It doesn't hurt to ask people what they want you to do on the green, as long as you ask before or after they putt. You might be asked to “tend” the pin – that means you leave the flag in until after the putt is struck, and then pull it while the ball is traveling towards the hole.
Conceding Putts
To concede a putt means that a playing partner declares another’s putt (usually of a short distance) as good, and does not need to be holed. You cannot declare your own putt a “gimme,” especially not in match play. While some people like to putt everything out (it’s good practice for tournament formats when every shot is contested), conceding a putt is proper etiquette that usually comes back around, and not to mention just a friendly way to enjoy the game (and faster).
Finally, try to stand still when another player is putting, and keep your noise to a minimum. While we’ve heard plenty of stories about competitive players “jingling change” in their pockets to distract their partners, this can come at a reputational risk. We’re not going to tell you how to handle yourself in a golf betting game, but we will just say that karma tends to come full circle, and we fully believe the “golf gods” favor those who respect their etiquette!
Read More: A Guide to Golf Terminology
Golf Cart Etiquette
Golf carts are a lot of fun to drive, and a convenient way to get around the course. But despite what viral videos may suggest, they are not an excuse to behave like a maniac or audition for your next role as a stunt driver. Not only can you seriously injure yourself or others in an accident, golf carts are an expensive liability and can flip over quite easily especially on sloping fairways or sharp downhill turns.
That aside, normal golf cart etiquette is mostly common sense. Don’t drive over another person’s ball. Park far enough away from a shot to give that player enough space to breath and take some practice swings. Observe posted rules about where you can drive and where you cannot. Some courses prefer you stay on the cart path only (especially in wet conditions, or on Par 3 holes), and most adhere to the “90 degree rule” where you keep carts on the path until you can drive in a straight-ish line to your hole.
In most cases, golf cart rules will be posted inside the cart and reviewed by the starter on the first tee. Listen carefully and be respectful of the commands. Don’t be an idiot. People pay a lot of money to be on golf courses, and they don't want your tire tracks destroying their lovely walk in the park.
How NOT to drive a golf cart…exhibit A.
Pace of Play Golf Etiquette
Understanding 'pace of play' is extremely important to playing golf. As discussed earlier, groups typically go out every 9 minutes and slow play can clog up the course for everyone behind you. Nobody likes a 5+ hour round, and every golfer has a responsibility to honor the pace of play. On average, a normal golf hole should take about 15 minutes to complete. Golf is stressful enough, and even more so after a visit from the ranger who informs you that you’re now “on the clock.” Avoid this situation by observing a few simple standards.
Keep Up With the Group In Front of You
If you get to the tee box and can’t see the group in front of you, this is generally a sign that you’re behind the pace. Ideally, you should be hitting your tee shot when the group ahead is approaching the green. But under no circumstances should you hit into them either; if you think you can reach the group ahead with your drive, then it's best to wait until they are clear. This is true for approach shots as well. Never hit onto the green until it’s clear, and that includes time for the forward group to drive away from the green to the next tee.
Be Ready to Hit
Once you're on the fairway, you and your partners should all go to their respective locations and prepare to play their shots in order. This means not waiting until it’s your turn to shoot the distance on your range finder or make your club selection. When it is your turn, keep in mind that 15-20 seconds is all the time you should take, accounting for practice swings, club waggles, and whatever other rituals you care to perform. Thinking too much is usually a bad thing, and there’s value in the phrase “grip it and rip it.”
Play fast, have fun, and keep your round stress free!
If You Play Bad Golf, Play it Fast
Listen, golf is not an easy game, and everyone has bad days. No one will begrudge you for a poor round unless you take a long time to do it. If you’re playing your fourth shot from the fairway of a par 4, you don’t have the luxury of time. Know when you’ve been beat; pick up and move on if you can’t do better than a triple bogey. In fact, the USGA recently instituted a “maximum score” rule for stroke play that generally establishes a triple bogey maximum for a given hole. This means you can pick up without disqualification and simply score a triple bogey on your card.
You’re also going to hit errant shots, and time spent searching for these is one of the biggest causes of slow play. The rule is a maximum of 3 minutes searching for a lost ball during tournament play, but if you are a repeat offender, you’re better off keeping extra balls in your pocket and just playing a penalty stroke for the sake of your partners and those around you.
Understand the Concept of “Playing Through”
It's normal that a twosome in their mid 30's might play faster than a mixed foursome, so learning when to play through (and how to ask) is a massive part of pace of play. If you are being followed by a faster group, invite them to play through. Par 3s are a good opportunity to let the group behind you go ahead (and also a chance for you to get through if you happen to be that faster group). If you want to let a group play through on a longer hole, there’s no harm in hitting your tee shots while they finish up on the prior green and then inviting them to play ahead. Whatever you can do to keep things moving is a valuable part of golf etiquette and helpful to everyone on the tee sheet that day.
Play Ready Golf
While we talked about tee box etiquette earlier, it’s entirely appropriate to deviate from that method if you have the need for speed. “Ready golf” can help get things moving by simply allowing whichever golfer is prepared to hit first, regardless of honors or proximity to the hole.
Common Sense Etiquette
A lot of golf etiquette is common sense. If you've gotten to the point in your golf journey that you are actually going to start playing rounds on courses, then you probably know that golf is a quiet sport. That's why the term, "golf clapping" is so ubiquitous.
Being noisy on the course doesn't stop with annoying groups around you. You can also be too talkative or annoying when your friends are trying to concentrate. Most golfers are happy to explain what they're doing, or give pointers about your play, but please wait until they're done with their swing before chiming in. And be cautious about unsolicited advice…few people want to hear your analysis of their swing, and they certainly don’t need the additional mental clutter of whatever swing tip you feel motivated to offer.
A Note About Music on the Course
Golf has come a long way from its stuffy Bushwood roots, and as a result it is more common for people to bring bluetooth speakers onto the course so they can listen to their favorite tunes while they play. While we don't take particular issue with this, not every golfer feels the same way. If you're in an unfamiliar foursome, it’s always a good move to ask if they mind music. And even if they're fine with it, keep the volume to a respectable level.
If you are on a crowded course, be mindful about the volume around the more common areas (tee boxes, greens, driving by a group on the cart path). Your speaker has a volume control for a reason; use it judiciously and allow others to enjoy the natural sounds of a beautiful day on the course!
Keep Phone Use to a Minimum
This is an awkward one, as the old guard of golf is giving way to younger generations who have grown up attached to their phone. That being said, younger generations tend to make fewer phone calls than their parents, so it's less likely that you'll be out on the golf course conducting a business meeting from the 9th tee.
But just because you probably won't be making calls, doesn't mean that you can just use your phone however you want. Loud notifications, videos, and music will be a massive distraction for anyone in earshot, and a surefire way to not get invited back.
Furthermore, technology has made the smartphone an integral part of golf in the 2020's. Many people use apps to track their shots, measure distances, and even keep score. Just be sensible about it. A golf app is not the same thing as loudly vlogging your way around 18 holes.
One Final Note About Golf Etiquette
We’ve covered a lot of ground in this golf etiquette blog, and there’s a lot to keep in mind. You are likely to forget something and minor breaches of etiquette are nothing to lose sleep over. If you respect the game and those around you, you’ll have a great time on the course and be the type of partner others will look forward to playing with.
The most important piece of golf etiquette is to be respectful of others, whether it's their time (in the case of pace of play), their wellbeing (being quiet unless yelling fore), or their hard work (in the case of cart path rules and course maintenance).
Golf is a gentleperson’s game for a reason. Keep these etiquette rules in mind to have more fun and less stress while you play!
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