If you follow only 5 rules of golf etiquette, make them these 5 rules

I simply picked up the sport earlier this yr and am nonetheless getting a deal with on the rules of etiquette. What are the fundamentals I ought to know so I don’t unintentionally embarrass myself or my taking part in companions?! — Chris S., Bend, Ore.

Welcome to golf, Chris! We’re happy to have you. Your query is an effective one. The recreation typically will get in its personal method with its litany of rules and mores. While most of these dos and don’ts are vital, additionally they may be overwhelming and even intimidating to golf newcomers. Ergo, The Etiquetteist welcomes your problem! These, in my humble opinion, are the 5 bedrock rules of golf etiquette.       

1. Play rapidly

If you subscribe to only one etiquette rule, please, please, please make it this one! Slow play has been a scourge on the sport for about so long as anybody can bear in mind. Go again so far as you like — how about to 1949 when threesomes on the U.S. Open required (gasp!) between 3 hours, half-hour and greater than 4 hours to complete their opening rounds. “That is just awful, and it doesn’t make sense,” stated Joe Dey, then the USGA’s government director. “It hasn’t been so long since three hours was considered adequate for a round. This is murder on spectators as well as on players who wish to play at a reasonable speed.” Gosh, what would Joe say at the moment when main rounds can typically take as much as 6 hours!

Same goes for novice golf: the sport, sadly, has gotten only slower. According to a 2014 USGA research, the common weekend spherical takes 4 hours and half-hour. Not nice! The research additionally concluded that “more than three-quarters of golfers strongly agree that pace of play is critical in contributing to one’s enjoyment of a round of golf” and that “more than 10 percent of those who played less golf than a year ago, attributed their decrease in rounds played to ‘The pace of play/time it took to play a round has become prohibitive.’” 

So, yeah, preserve it transferring! Play from the suitable tees, develop a speedy pre-shot routine, play “ready golf” and know when it’s time to choose up (i.e., after your third unsuccessful swipe in a bunker!). Your taking part in companions — and the group behind you — will thank you for it.  

2. Leave the course as you discovered it

Sounds easy however not each golfer treats the sod and sand beneath their toes with the respect it deserves. In broad strokes, which means raking bunkers, repairing or filling divot holes and fixing ball marks. Yes, there’s a slight studying curve to perfecting every method, however you don’t want $1,000 classes from Butch Harmon to point out you the way in which. Of these three disciplines, ball-mark restore tends to provide new golfers probably the most bother. Here’s the right way to do it correctly, by way of a GOLF.com explainer by Josh Sens:

“Using a divot restore software (in a pinch, a tee can even work, however the correct implement is healthier), begin on the excessive facet of the ball mark. Stick the software into turf and lean the highest gently towards the middle of the mark, taking care to not twist or flip. Repeat this course of, working across the circumference.

“All too often…golfers dig down and lift from the bottom. Like a lot of bad habits, this is one that many people pick up from watching TV. Digging down and lifting up only compounds the damage by severing the roots from the turf.”

Easy sufficient, proper?

3. Avoid throwing golf equipment

No recreation will frustrate you like golf does. Indeed, the deep pangs of irritation and exasperation you will really feel when you lip-out a 4-footer for par or follow a smashed tee shot with a topped wedge would possibly simply make you wish to hurl your membership into the subsequent zip code. Don’t do it. One, it’s a nasty look and wholly immature; two, it’s probably harmful; and three, it would end in your golf buddies excommunicating you out of your foursome. You’re not taking part in for a inexperienced jacket or the Havemeyer Trophy. Stifle your angst and put it aside for the punching bag within the privateness of your storage.      

4. Keep golf carts off the greens and tee containers

When Donald Trump drove a golf cart on to a inexperienced at his New Jersey course in 2017, the ghastly fake pas made headlines in all places from the Washington Post, to The Today Show to GOLF.com. Even observers who had by no means stopped on a golf course might plainly see the errs of the then-POTUS’s methods, even when he did personal the place. Greens, specifically, are programs’ sacred land — to not be disrespected, desecrated or pushed over by an EZ-GO.    

5. Follow the costume code

You don’t have to love golf’s normal costume code: collared shirt paired with slacks or chino shorts. But following it could actually assist you keep away from a demoralizing go to to the professional store to swap out your cargo pants for a extra acceptable $120 various. The Etiquetteist has been inspired to see new attire varieties, together with hoodies and joggers, get the nod of approval at an growing quantity of programs, however for these golf equipment that require you put on one thing extra conventional, we refer you to that previous Nike slogan: simply do it. Fighting on your proper to denim just isn’t a hill value dying on.