What are your golf rules when playing a round?

[lumpuckeroo]

As long as people stay sufficiently far away from my swing path, I couldn't careless. I don't want to feel like I have to abbreviate my swing so I don't hit you on the backswing or on the follow through.

My thought exactly, our group is pretty good about that type of thing but someone talking while I am swing has absolutely no effect on me. One of my buddies will actually give us a dirty look if we get quite when he is teeing off, I think the noise makes him concentrate, he thinks it's gamesmanship if we aren't talking!

We play ready golf, so were you stand really makes no difference to me either, but keeping a tree or something between us is not a bad thing!!!

[Gioguy21]

people on the tee don't bother me as long as they're quiet and relatively still....it really only bothers me if it's on the putting green. i had a guy in leagues one night stand behind, directly infront of, or walk after my putt if his ball was anywhere near my line....for all 9 holes. I asked him...no help. I then told our league person and asked if a stroke was to be assessed or somethin...he said both his and my partner would have to attest to the gentleman having clear interference with my putt/line/etc. before it could...does this hold water?

[Fourputt]

people on the tee don't bother me as long as they're quiet and relatively still....it really only bothers me if it's on the putting green. i had a guy in leagues one night stand behind, directly infront of, or walk after my putt if his ball was anywhere near my line....for all 9 holes. I asked him...no help. I then told our league person and asked if a stroke was to be assessed or somethin...he said both his and my partner would have to attest to the gentleman having clear interference with my putt/line/etc. before it could...does this hold water?

Nothing wrong with walking up to see the roll after the ball is on the way. You see the pros do that all the time.

Under the rules, only your partner or your caddies are not allowed to stand behind you on the line while you are putting. That is an etiquette issue, but it isn't actually disallowed. However, he's a bit of a twit if he doesn't change his actions after you make a point of commenting on it.

[Lefty-Golfer]

In my opinion golfers (and tennis players) are just soft; no other sport requires such a discussion. Before some of you get upset I want to be clear. I don’t condone jumping up and down, coughing intentionally, generally being a prick…but some golfers think they can’t do anything. Don’t stand on the T box….please that is so dumb, the freakin guys on tour damn near stand on top of each other…don’t move while I am addressing the ball…please if I am 20 yards away and walking to my ball you should pay more attention to your damn swing and not worry about where I am walking…..and I actually appreciate the rules of golf. I play at a private club 90 percent of my rounds and etiquette is required but sheez this too much.

Man up, be an athlete and hit the damn ball preferably in less the 4 hours per 4-some.

[Gioguy21]

Nothing wrong with walking up to see the roll after the ball is on the way. You see the pros do that all the time.

I knew it was fine about after the roll...and he's without a doubt a twit lol...thanks for the clarification

[OCdude12]

Man up, be an athlete and hit the damn ball preferably in less the 4 hours per 4-some.

+1. Best words I've heard in awhile. Unless you're on the PGA Tour or in another serious tournament, people have no reason to play a round in more than 4 hours. Focus on your shot, hit the ball. Ever notice you play your best when you are in a good rhythm and not thinking about much? Slow golf and worrying about what others are doing does nothing good for anyone's game.

The bench on the first tee where I play has a quote on it that is a good reminder for every round, "Play well, play fair, play fast".

[rjfan91]

As long as you aren't touching me and the path of my club can't hit you, I don't care what you do. If you are walking in my line of sight while hitting a wood or iron, that's your safety problem. I'm a 15 handicap for a reason....

Some people do get a bit touchy. One of the guys in out group doesn't want anyone standing behind him on the tee box. I haven't had anyone try any extreme gamesmanship yet, but it most likely won't bother me. I'm there to enjoy myself and take what the day brings.

[Shindig]

In my opinion golfers (and tennis players) are just soft; no other sport requires such a discussion.

Well... not quite. Football had an issue a few years ago with one of the teams (I don't remember who) being accused of piping in noise during games (instead of just during practices). Or am I mis-remembering this?

Man up, be an athlete and hit the damn ball preferably in less the 4 hours per 4-some.

Absolutely.

[Clambake]

Once I played with a guy who was very touchy about anyone standing behind him when hitting. We thought we were being polite be keeping out of his line of sight while he was hitting, but that turned out to be the problem - he had spent his career as a fighter pilot and served in Vietnam and Iraq, he didn't want to have anyone "on his six". Aside from that little quirk I've never run into anyone who seemed to care where one stood as long as you were still and quiet.

[Clambake]

.....

I don't even think being on tour or in a big tourney is any excuse either. A decent walking pace is about 4 miles per hour, and the golf swing only lasts a few seconds, so at worst there is about 90 minutes spent actually "playing the game". Everything else is preshot routine, and there is no reason that should take another 2-3 more hours!!!

[sean_miller]

I don't even think being on tour or in a big tourney is any excuse either. A decent walking pace is about 4 miles per hour, and the golf swing only lasts a few seconds, so at worst there is about 90 minutes spent actually "playing the game". Everything else is preshot routine, and there is no reason that should take another 2-3 more hours!!!

Some courses are inherently slower. Imagine 4 high handicap players on a wooded course with long rough or water hazards on pretty much every hole. Does 20 seconds per shot sound reasonable? Probably at least 1 player losing at least one ball on every other hole (9 lost balls x 5 minutes / ball). Stopping for a hot dog at the turn? 10 minutes

(20 sec/shot x 95 shots x 4 players) /60 + 45 minutes + 10 minutes = almost 3 hours not including walking. Add in time spent actually walking the course - note that wild shots require more walking distance. Add extra distance between green and tee for many modern residential / condo courses. Add in wasted time (chatting, indecision, writing down scores, retrieving clubs left on the wrong side of the green, etc). It's pretty easy to go from 4 to 5.5 hours - a minute here, a minute there.

[MuscleBack Sauce]

Minimoe, that video was hilarious. I thought bubba was too laid back until i saw this. but i agree, just no sudden noises in my swing please

[Leftygolfer]

I am pretty relaxed. I like to joke and goof around when it isn't my turn. When I am putting, just don't stand in my through line. I hate looking up and seeing my buddies ugly legs. The only thing that bothers me is when people are impatient. I am pretty dilberate on the greens and use a routine for all my putts. I don't particularly care for people who take 6 shots to get to the green, wack a putt up there, pick up, then expect me to rush so they can go loss a couple on the next hole. I am very patient with other players and help them look for balls, and I expect the same. I like playing at a good pace but I am not trying to get done as fast as possible. A 3 hour 45 minute round is fine by me.

[johnno]

Did you mention somewhere, other that his lack of personality or even possibly humanity, what was his handicap?

Name the course or even region and I will steer clear.

[Clambake]

Some courses are inherently slower. Imagine 4 high handicap players on a wooded course with long rough or water hazards on pretty much every hole. Does 20 seconds per shot sound reasonable? Probably at least 1 player losing at least one ball on every other hole (9 lost balls x 5 minutes / ball). Stopping for a hot dog at the turn? 10 minutes

I don't disagree with you on most of this, although I think that even a group of high handicappers should be able to play under the 5.5 hours you indicated above, even if they're scary wild. By paying attention more to the "wasted time" part you mentioned is where the game can be faster - applying a little more consideration and thinking can really help (taking several clubs with you to the ball, selecting your shot and club while others are hitting, etc.).

My main point in a way (which I didn't really express well) was that the PGA tour or tourneys with excellent players shouldn't take nearly so long, and really they should play a lot faster than the rest of us. It's disturbing how many Tour events with 2 or maybe 3 players per group take 5 1/2 or 6 hours per round, and they're not wasting time looking for lost balls, grabbing a dog and a beer at the turn, etc. Much is made of Ben Cranes' glacial play, but so many other Tour players are much slower than they should be, and unfortunately their slow routines are seen and then copied by amateurs for no good reason. I'll bet all of us have seen a 36+ handicapper plumb bobbing a 3 footer for an 8....

[patriot07]

I'll bet all of us have seen a 36+ handicapper plumb bobbing a 3 footer for an 8....

Or a 9, 10 or 11...

As for the original poster, I would have told him I was going to play on after the first hole. I can't handle people that take themselves way too seriously on the golf course. Almost nothing bothers me: talking, moving, location, whatever as long as it isn't intentional. As for pace of play, I don't care how long you take to play as long as you let people play through as soon as possible. I don't care if you see people in front of you or not. If a single or a two-some is behind a 3-some or 4-some, let them play through. All that being said, my opinion is that nobody should take more than 4 hours to play 18 holes. I once played an 8-hour round. It was the district tournament my senior year in high school, and they had all the girls and guys from the whole district playing the same course on the same day. An A and B 4-some on every hole. They set the max score at 9, and 2/3 of the girls shot a 162. It was ridiculous. We had a 10-15 minute wait on every tee box and every fairway it seemed like. You can imagine how hard it was to get any sort of rhythm going.

[OnTheMoney]

This too serious guy just pissed my off so I just asked them four questions and nothing else. I really wanted to ask lets play a couple dollars a hole, so he can pay to watch me play.

I appreciate everyone feedback...

[JerseyThursday]

bubba: you gonna stop walkin man, did it all day yesterday
elk: but im a vetran
bubba: vetrans can kiss my ass