Appropriate etiquette when golfing in a group with people you don't know

I'm planning on going out for a round with just me and one of my mates. I've never done this before without a group of 4. I assume we'll be made into a group of 4 with 2 other fellows.

Can you guys tell me how exactly this works, and the appropriate etiquette when golfing with these other fellows? How much interaction / communication should I be making with these other people? Please be verbose, since you can probably tell that I am not much the experienced golfer. The last thing I want to do is offend some bloke inadvertently. I assume we have to take the same length break at the turn? What else? Explain it all to me! Thanks!

As its a friendly round, the key is to be social, talk about anything and everything. Do not talk during some ones preshot routine or during their swing. Other than that just follow normal golfing etiquette, don't walk on putting lines, stand still during shots, shut up during shots etc etc.

Just talk however much you want to without disrupting them
It's golf not a tea party

Don't forget to tuck your shirt in!

Just be friendly and when they give you a compliment say "Thanks." Sometimes people give me compliments when I hit a horrible shot but I just say "Thank you" anyway because they don't realize my skill level.

Make sure you mark your ball AT ALL TIMES on the greens. I think that's important. I go out with random people I don't know and they never mark their ball and it's always so annoying! Just mark it once you get on the green.

That should be it, have fun out there.

I like to start with open ended questions so you can get a feel for the type of personality they have.. if they want to carry a conversation..or if they want to be quiet and focus on their game.

If they want to talk..even better. I like to ask about what they do for a living.
how long they've been playing. sports, politics, etc.
compliment their shots. be reassuring... and DON'T be that guy that brags about everything or starts giving advice. I hate when I'm having a bad day and someone who's pacing 100 - 110 starts talking about my swing.
I hate hearing someone talk about how they have millions in the bank.
I can't STAND when people are talking during my swing.

Just be yourself, maintain good golf etiquette , and don't worry about it. I play more often with strangers than I do with friends. I just play golf as I normally would, and take my cue from how they act. Some want to talk it up, others are mostly quiet, just like people in any chance meeting. I have very rarely had a bad experience playing with people I don't know. Most casual players are out there for the same reason you are, to play some golf and have a good time. I always view it as an opportunity to meet new people who have the same interests as I do.

So just go out and have fun and maybe you'll make some new golfing friends in the process.

Just like a bar though - no religion and no politics and you should be fine.

Obviously introduce yourselves at the first tee. Other than that a happy medium is best the first few holes until you get to know them a bit. Don't talk too much or too little. I generally say something along the lines of "Nice day to get out" type stuff and avoid "Nice shots" type comments early. Shots that look good to a watching golfer could be considered awful by the shooter. You will get a chance to know them individually a bit when you have to split off to chase golf balls. Then you get a better idea of whether they are out for a nice round of golf or are competitive. Nice rounds you will probably end up a bit more chatty and friendly. Competitive rounds less so. Etiquette doesn't change though and if in doubt consider them strangers rather than friends so you don't make a faux pas.
99% of the time I range out on my own so I have seen nearly all the good, bad and ugly that comes out of golfers.

I second this one. I would want to tape someone's mouth and plug my ears if someone wanted to talk about religion or politics.

1. Since you are a beginner, you might have some poor holes. If you have taken 6 shots and are not on the green yet, pick up your ball. Nobody wants to watch you try to reach the green in 8, and you aren't supposed to be taking more than an 8 or 9 on your card anyway.

2. Always mark your ball on the putting green. It might not seem necessary, and some people do not mind, but just do it out of respect to etiquette. Even if you are 15 feet to the left of the hole and the others are 20 feet to the right, you should mark your ball. The putting green is like a stage for the person putting, and your ball just clutters up the platform.

3. Take care to replace divots and fix ball marks (pitch marks) on the green.

4. The biggest NO used to be walking in front of people's lines during a putt. That means taking a step some place between another player's ball and the cup. 10 yrs ago, people wore metal spikes, and they left big spike marks in the green. You didn't want to make your opponent step over a spike mark. Soft spikes and sneakers don't really leave a mark, but a lot of people will still be offended if you walk in the line of their putt.

5. Don't move ball around if you have a bad lie.

6. Don't move when the other player is hitting.

7. Watch your shadow if you are playing at night or in the morning. Your shadow hovering over somebody's ball can be much more annoying than if you were talking on your cell phone during the swing.

8. Don't have your cell phone on.

9. Wear a collared shirt and do not wear jeans or jean shorts.

10. Don't get too pissed if you make a mistake, have a relaxed attitude, enjoy yourself.



Most strangers don't care what you shoot, they aren't traking your score, they aren't judging you. They do care if you have poor etiquette. They do care if you slow down the pace of play. But if you are the worst golfer ever but you keep up, don't get in the way of the other players, and are having a relaxed and enjoyable time out there, they will like playing with you.

Even if the people in your group say, "No, that's allright..." when you go up to mark your ball, you should still mark it. Just have the quarter ready and throw it down. Nothing will make you stand out as a hack more than not marking your ball on a putting surface.

lots of times your ball might settle in an impression on the green, or you might have mud on it from your approach shot. If I'm playing by myself I still mark 90% of my putts. The only time you should not mark your ball is when you hit a putt that is so close to the hole that you just go up and knock it in. Make marking your ball part of your pre-shot putting routine. Not to the point of playing slow, but something to get in the habit of doing.

Excellent responses, mates! Very helpful! What about tees? I assume there's no problem if we're using a more forward tee than they are? Should we always let them tee off first if they're using a further back tee?

Play from whatever tee box you want to play from.

I played a lot last year with a beginner. He didn't know how to hit woods, so we would play from the ladies tees. I would just use my 7I off the tees. Explained to the people we were playing with that my friend was a beginner, but he wasn't slow, and he was just learning from a shorter tee box because he didn't hit woods. They understood, and probably preferred him taking 100 yds off the hole seeing as his tee shots were 160'ish on average with an iron.

If you can't break 80 from the white tees, you shouldn't be playing the blues anyway. Many, many people will disagree and will go back to the blues were they shoot a 95 (instead of trying to shoot an 88 from the whites), but those people end up looking more foolish than the guy playing within himself and playing from a closer tee.

Plus, playing shorter courses can teach you to score. Even if you are a scratch golfer you should play a short course occassionally to try to get you over a scoring hump. I remember when I was having a tough time breaking 80, I played a few rounds at a 5,500 yd course, broke 80 a few times in a row, got used to making birdies, and was able to carry that scoring mentality over to the longer courses.

1. Never offer any advice relating to another person's golf game, unless you are a Nationally-known, professional golf instructor or a top 20 pro on the PGA Tour, AND the other person ASKS for your advice.

2. Pay attention to what the other players are doing; know when its your turn to play; tend the flag if you are the closest to the hole on the green; watch the others' shots to be able to help them find their balls on errant shots, etc. In short, your are playing together as a group, do your best to let everyone know you are into the game and not distracted.

3. Turn the @#$% cell phone OFF! If you have business so urgent that it won't wait for you to play a round of golf, go to work!

4. If you can't say something good about a shot, say nothing. Further, do not let anothert player catch you rolling your eyes or making similar derogatry looks at the rest of the group when someone hits a poor shot. Keep in mind that there was probably was a time when you were worse and as you age, you may return there.

5. Don't bet what you haven't got cash to pay off immediately if you lose.

6. When someone shows you their cart, clubs, bag or whatever, do not belittle their objects of pride. They may be playing a complete set of clubs and bag that came from KMart for $79.99, but it does not warrant you being haughty.

7. Anyone that you play with has the potentail of being your nest best friend. Regardless of their age or skill, treat them like you want to be treated yourself.

8. Don't be a prima-donna, golf snob just because you have a better game. Even if someone is a total duffer with a 150 average, you should treat them as your equal on the golf course. I sometimes have to play a mind game that that person who is awful is 1) a wealthy relative that may leave a great deal of money to me, 2) Natalie Gulbis or Paula Creamer and I have a late, dinner date with them after the round, or 3) they may be my boss next week. You never know!

9. No schoolboy foolishness, please act like a adult. No passing gas loudly, no over-emphasized belches, etc.

10. Know you limit when drinking. The main objective of half the golfers I have met is to be drunk before the turn. If you want to guzzle beer, play with other guzzlers, or save your thirst for the 19th. There is nothing better than a few cold ones after a round, and nothing worse than someone who has drank so much that they are urinating behind a bush after every other shot.

11. Respect your elders!

12. Mark your ball!

13. Pick up when you have doubled par on a hole.

14. If you ride in someone else's cart ALWAYS pay your half if its a rented cart, and offer to pay a liitle over half of what a rental would be if you are riding in someone's privately owned cart.

15. Avoid offending anyone when you are a guest at a club.

I like the suggestion that you control your emotions; its just a game, not a life or death situation.

And don't be a prima-donna like most pros, you don't need absolute silence to hit a shot, a 5 minute pre-shot routine, or ten minutes to line up a putt.

I am reminded of all of the rookie poker players who take a full minute or more to think before each play and make the game miserably slow, and its all because they saw someone on TV doing it. To me it makes a person look like a moron who cannot analyse the situation and make a quick decision. 90% of the time, the person taking a long time to make a shot does no better than the person who just walks up and hits it.

Actually I don't see anything wrong with that. Assuming you're not wagering, it's no one else's business how you want to play your game. In fact most would appreciate you giving yourself a better lie if it speeds up your play. (Just don't gloat about the birdie/par/whatever you got on the hole, if you haven't played it as it lies.)

If you move your ball around when you have a bad lie, then you might want to joke about it or something later in the round. Acknowledge that you understand the rule is to play it as it lies, but you are still just trying to make solid contact.


If a player grinds out a hole and saves a bogey, they don't want to see a beginner playing "hosel hockey" in the woods/rough and then claim they made the same score. That can get offensive and piss people off.

But if a person acknowledges that they are taking preferred lies, and doing so because they are new and trying to work on contact, people won't mind.