I am a beginner. So far I've played two rounds and both times I was fortunate to be playing
with a close friend and experienced golfer who helped me understand the concepts of "pace of
play" and some golf etiquette. During my second round of golf, on the 9th hole (directly in
front of the clubhouse) I was very excited that I had finally done something "with a NAME!", I
had double-bogeyed a par 4.
In my excitement I grabbed my pull cart and rolled it across the green about eight feet
until my friend, realizing my mistake, yelled at me to get my pull cart off the green. I was
horrified at my transgression. Then, one of the pros from the clubhouse who had seen my mistake,
comes flying out of the clubhouse, gets in my face and screams at me using foul language and
ends his tirade by "...don't bother coming back."
After letting myself recoup for a couple of minutes, I went into the clubhouse, found the
man and apologized profusely, telling him that this was just my second time out and as hard as I
am trying I just don't know or remember all of the rules or etiquette of the game. I came as
close to groveling as I am capable of doing. He grudgingly accepted my apology, but frankly I
have little desire to play that course again. In short, I learned a valuable lesson; but the way
I was treated by this "pro" made me not only want to beat him senseless, but to give up the game
altogether. After all, I don't recall a sign in the clubhouse that read "experienced golfers
only"...
Will
Omaha, NE
It must be hard for club pro's, who see bad behavior all the time, to distinguish between
when it is being committed by people who don't care, and people who don't know. Don't give up
the game. You learned an important lesson, now go out and get a bogey, then a par -- but keep
that good golf etiquette in mind too!
*****
I had been playing golf for about 6 months and was playing in a mixed foursome.
About half-way round, and having one of the best games of my, then, short golf career, I put
my approach shot into a greenside bunker and then proceeded to take 5 shots to get out.
I didn't bother to check where the ball finished and in a fit of temper hurled my sandwedge
towards the next tee some 50 yards away.
My playing partners had remained silent thoughout this painful episode and still waited
quietly while I took several deep breaths to calm myself. Back in control I looked around for
my ball but couldn't see it anywhere.
"Where's my ball," I asked.
"Over there in the sand," answered one of my playing partners pointing to a bunker on the
other side of the green.
Obviously I was too embarrassed to retrieve my sandwedge and so had to dig my ball out onto
the green with a pitching wedge.
Needless to say, I have never lost my temper on the course nor thrown a club since........
Mal
This is known as "instant Karma."
*****
I once hit a shot with a 5-wood to a par-3 green while there were still people on that green.
I didn't think I could reach, but I hit a guy on the fly. (No, not on the fly of his pants, I
mean the ball hit him before it landed. I actually hit him on his lower back - right side.) He
was very angry. I could have waited, but I was rushing because there was a group coming up
behind us. I should have waited and I'm sorry.
Jim Corbett
Mr. Golf Etiquette
(It's true. Even Mr. Golf Etiquette makes mistakes. Hopefully, by being first to confess,
it will make it easier for readers to step up and do so, too.)
*****
It was 15 or 20 years ago, but this community course I play, when you finish the 13th, then
the 14th tee is out sight but not out of range as it is to the right. And most of duffers slice
or push to the right. Well, I was ready to tee off on the 14th and saw the group coming off the
13th and should have waited but hit, and I hit this one player whom I knew, in the back of the
neck. I have joked about since, but it really wasn't funny.
Then just recently I yelled at a player in my foursome who had gotten ahead of me and I
chipping onto the green and she pulled the pin before I was set to hit. While she was wrong,
I should have treated it more calmly.
Thank you
Van Berkeley
After 15 years, you can now go with a clear conscience. Actually, Mr. Golf Etiquette once
heard of a person who thought the game was a pain in the neck. That must have been the golfer
you hit. It feels better to get it off your chest, though, doesn't it?
*****
I was playing my third round of golf (ever) with two experienced players. My pace of play
was fairly slow. We let two groups of two play through in the first 8 holes. On the 9th whole
I sliced a drive onto the driving range. I wasn't about to go after that one. My second
attempted tee shot landed in a bunker.
The 9th and 1st holes run parallel in opposite directions with rough in between. A group
shooting from the 1st tee had lost a ball in the rough. All 4 players were looking for it.
Unfortunately the rough was between my ball and the 9th green. I was forced to wait for those
players to clear the line of play before I could make my shot. A twosome behind me began
screaming at me from the 9th tee to "hurry up, come on, get on with it."
Once the players had cleared, I hit to the green. As I'm making my first putt a shot lands
two feet from me, hit by the screamer behind me. I have to confess that I picked up his ball
and threw it in the lake. I finished putting and cleared the green. This guy then proceeded to
lecture me about the pace of play, screaming at me for taking a second tee shot, then screaming
at me or waiting for the players to clear the rough before I hit through them.
Thanks
Kurt
Mr. Golf Etiquette will file this one in the "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right" file. Sometimes
swift justice feels right at the time, but then again, it can lead to greater problems later.
*****
I have a habit of playing golf with my cell phone turned on even though I know it's annoying
to other golfers. I started doing without thinking, but when someone told me to turn it off I
left it on out of spite. I'll turn it off from now on.
Name withheld
(The rule of thumb we live by seems to be, "Just don't tell me what to do." We need to be
bigger about abiding by the rules of etiquette both on and off the golf course. Think of how
many lives will be saved on the highways.)
*****
Dear Mr. Golf Etiquette,
I got so angry one time because I missed a short putt that I took the ball out of the hole
and threw it with all my might into the surface of the green. I felt so bad. No one said
anything to me, but I know the other golfers in my group were shocked.
Frank Regal
(Hopefully you repaired the ball mark!)
*****
Hello,
I confess that when I first started playing golf religiously, I had much to learn with
regards to etiquette. I had a habit of taking my practice swings while my partner was getting
ready to tee off. One time I took a practice swing and sent the divot right into my partners
face and some of it went into his mouth. He basically told me that my golf etiquette sucked and
he didn't say too many words to me throughout the course. This definitely woke me up!
The second disaster I had in golf was when I was on a green and I was having severe problems
with my putting. It was a par 3 and my tee shot sat 3 feet from the pin. One would think that
this was an automatic birdie. I couldn't believe that it took a 3-putt to finish the hole. I
was so angry that I through my putter up in the air behind me and it bounced off of the green
right into my partners face. His lip bled and my face was the color of his blood. I felt 2 inches
high. I swore from that moment that I would become a complete golfer and I have been. As a matter
of fact, my game has significantly improved, I believe, due to being more relaxed and having
some etiqutte on the course.
David
(Becoming a complete golfer - and human - is the goal to which we should all aspire. The
first step on the path of that journey is to recognize your areas of weakness and begin the
process of improvement. You are taking the rights steps. Thank you!)
*****
I am essentially a beginner, and I was playing as a guest on an unfamiliar course (where my
friend is a new member, no less). I hit a nasty hook off the tee that disappeared to my left
over a small ridge with shrubs on top. Not realizing there was something on the other side (and
being unsure of the etiquette of yelling), I did not yell "fore." Unfortunately, there
was a green right there, and I hit a player in the leg.
I apologized profusely (there, on the spot, and in the 19th hole afterward), but I still
felt (feel?) like a complete dope.
Name withheld by request (and bag is still on his head).
Now that you have confessed you can forgive yourself. Learning can be a painful
experience -- in this case it was painful for someone esle.
