messageswhileonthecourse,
perhapsevena weatherapptoseeif
rainis coming.There’snoissue,so
longasthephonedoesn’tsuddenly
blareoutthe‘Rocky’themeasa
playerstandsovera crucialthree-
footer.It’seasyforphonestobe
flickedtosilentandit should always
be done before tee-off.
Payingattentiontoyour
playingpartners’games
Golfmaybeanindividualsportand
it’simportanttofocusonyourown
performance,butthatdoesn’tmean
it’sokaytobeoblivioustowhat
playingpartnersaregettingupto.
Beingawareofthegamesofothers
inyourgroupis a basiccourtesy.
Andnotonlyisit consideratetopayattentiontohowplaying
partnersareperforming,it’salso
importantforgeneralpaceofplay.
Iftheyhita ballanddon’tsee
whereit goes,thegamecan
progressif youcanpoint them in
therightdirection.
And,justgenerally,it’sgood
formtobeawareofhowothersare
faring.Whena playerputtsoutfor
a double-bogey,thelastthingthey
wanttohearfromtheperson
markingtheircardis,“Whatdid
youhavethere?”Keepcount,
quietly mark it down and move on.
Helpingplayingpartners
searchfora lostball
Followingonfromthelastpoint,
thisoneis fundamentaltothe
etiquetteofgolfandthereasonfor
alwaysadheringtotheprincipalis
simple: do unto others as you
wouldhave
themdounto
you.Howwouldyou
feeltrudgingaboutforlornlyinthe
cabbage,lookingacrossandseeing
playingpartnersstanding
impatientlyinthefairway?
Withthreepairsofeyesscouring
thickrough,thechancesoffinding
theballaregreatlyimproved.And,
onceagain,it couldalsospeedup
paceofplay;findyourpartner’s
ballandplaycancontinue.
Everyone benefits.Lettingfastergroups behind
playthrough
Slowplayis anissueatalllevelsof
golfandit’ssomethingdiscussed
andlamentedatalmosteveryclub
acrossthecountry.Somethingthat
exacerbatestheproblemis a
stubbornreluctancefromsometo
let faster groupsplaythrough.But
resolutely
movingon,
denyingor
ignoringthe
frustrated
tailbackinthe
rearmirrorsis
theheightof
selfishnesson
thegolfcourse
andit does
nobodyany
favours.Step
asidebriefly,
allowfaster
players to batonandthen
continue,free
frompressure.The
fastergolferscompletetheirgame
morequickly,whilethosewho
have‘letthrough’cancarryon
withoutangryeyesburning the
back of their necks.Playingreadygolf
Here’ssomethingthatverymuch
representstheevolutionofgolfing
etiquette.It usedtobeconsidered
impolitetoplayif yourballwas
closertothehole,ortoteeoff
whennotyour‘honour’.Butthe
aimofmakinggolfa littlequicker
nowtrumpsthoseoutdated
conceptsof“afteryou”.Playing
readygolfallowsa gametoflow
andbecompletedmorespeedily.
It’snolongerdiscourteousto
playoutofturninstrokeplay.In
fact,it’stheopposite.Playingwhen
readyallowsothergolfers,who
maybeoutofplaceorstrugglingto
recoverfroma poorshot,a little
more time to compose themselves.Alwaysshoutingfore on
waywardshots
There’sbeenplentyofcommentary
recentlyona lackofshoutsinthe
progame,particularlyonthePGA
Tour,whereanarmheldout
sidewaysseeminglysuffices.It
doesn’t.Shoutingforeis essential
atanylevelofthegame,whenever
youthinkthere’sanychancea ball
may be headed towards anotherMODERN GOLF ETIQUETTE
Golfingetiquette
shouldnotbe
consigned to historyThreepairsof
eyesarebetter
than one