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Why Is Standing Behind Someone When They Tee Off Bad Etiquette?


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Originally Posted by newtogolf

The guys I've played golf with usually prefer others stand about 10 yards behind them to track their ball and stay out of view.  I personally don't care, but it's good to know that so many other golfers are bothered by having someone behind them.  I'll make sure when playing with strangers to ask them where they prefer I stand during their shots.



I've played with strangers a lot in my 30+ years in the game, and I've never been told that I was in the wrong place except one time.  If you give the other player plenty of room and don't do anything distracting, it really isn't that important where you are standing.  Using common sense goes a long ways.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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This is actually the only thing that really bothers me on a golf course. I can handle people talking and everything else but someone standing behind me in my peripheral vision drives me nuts. I have to agree with Ben it probably wouldn't bother me but most of the time people don't hold still or for some reason feel the need to walk behind while I'm swinging. I usually wait until everyone is where they feel they need to stand and if some one is in a place that bothers me I just ask them to move.

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This never really bothered me. When i play, i like to have fun and keep it a little competitive.  Most of the guys i play with just like to have fun and socialize. When i tee off, the guys are normally behind me talking to each other and keeping an eye on my ball, and it doesn't affect my performance. I guess it's just preference. The only thing that annoys me is when i see people people messing around on the course, like the other day, i saw a couple of new guys Teeing OFF the GREEN in to the lake for the hell of it.... atleast they parked their cart on the cart path, and not on the green....

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Basic golf etiquette says to stand facing other players when they hit, if you are close enough they can sense your presence. This goes for caddies too. Don't stand behind them, either behind their back or to the rear of their line of flight (down-the-line position). At least once a season I see someone telling a beginner golfer about this.

Some people play "silly games" on where they stand. In a tournament some twenty years ago, I was in the rare situation of being tied for the lead in my flight: The co-leader would stand behind on the tee and clear his throat right when I was addressing the ball. The third time it happened, I shouted at the guy to get over to the right of the tee blocks, and quit interfering with my swing.

He said I was being a grouch, but it was the last time in the round he had throat trouble.

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When my brother and I stepped on the golf course for the first time... I stood 90 degrees in front of him and he hit a drive and I could not track it and we lost the ball... we eventually started standing behind each other (well behind the person) and it was much easier to track the ball... It also helped us speed up play since we didnt have to guess where the balls were after losing track.

I can see how this would bother some though... I personally get so focused on what I am doing I dont notice things around me, we were recording each other off the tee on camera and when I watched it back two of my buddies were talking while I was setting up and hitting my shot... I didnt know they were talking at the time.

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Originally Posted by caniac6

I agree. As long as they are still, I don't care where they stand.



Same for me as long as it's not on my shoulders.

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Jingling change in your pocket while someone is putting or talking while someone is teeing off should be stricken from the etiquette list. After all, they don't bother me. Etiquette schmetiquette.

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  • 1 month later...

Golf etiquette, 90% of people I play with can't get it right.

The golf course is a big place,  why do you need to stand closer than 5 yds to people hitting? I've often asked people not to stand behing the line of the teebox where I can see them.  Often some are so rude that they tell you that you should be looking at the ball and not them.  Hello peripheral vision!  I particularly dislike it when people stand on the line of my backswing,to be clear about it, the line Im hitting at is 0 degrees, directly behind that line is 180.  People standing in the 180-225 region are in the plane of my backswing.  Yes this is in the peripheral vision as when you are in your stance one isnt standing upright and this area comes into view, especially more so when putting.

Why can't people stand still when another is hitting, people manage this on the teebox, but elsewhere on the course......out the window.  My particular peeve is when playing from the fairway and you are say 25 yards in front of someone.  You wait till they hit, move briskly to your ball get ready to hit and find that the person who has just hit keeps walking up behind you or to the side of you.

Stand still, if I cant see you I can still hear you, either your clubs are rattling, your buggie is squeaking, electric buggies emit a high pitched noise.

Simply if I can hear you, you are being a distraction, its no different to being right next to me talking. When asked to stop moving, stop fossicking in their bag for their chocolate bag, some idiots defend themselves with buts there is all sorts of noises out here, you cant expect silence etc...  yes that is true, we have to cope with noise external to the playing group, that's part of the deal, but when the noise comes from your playing partners its avoidable and and obvious sign of disrespect.

Players standing too close to the hole on the green while Im putting.  Do we see the other three players in tiger's group standing around the hole when he is putting? no, get out of the picture, just dont take out the flag and stand right next to the hole,  there's nothing worse than every put you have to have some fat belly who is too lazy to take a couple of steps in the picture of every put you take for the round.  On that stand away from the putting line and the hole, do appreciate the player can be putting in a direction not straight at the hole due to the break, dont stand near that line either.

People that walk ahead of you when its your shot!  Its distracting for the reason they are moving, 2 because we have to think about where they are and avoiding hitting them. A shank can happen anytime, Id rather not have to contemplate(dont hit a shank) when one of my playing partners moves in front of me to the shank side of the shot.

The same thing happens round the green, if someone is in a greenside bunker ready to hit, dont continue walking through the green in front of them placing your bag, picking up your ball(unless asked), its their shot, wait till they have hit, its very disconcerting being in a bunker beeing worried about hitting it skinny and cleaning up one of the idiots walking across with their backs to you. It will speed up play too, you've got plenty of time to do stuff when they are fixing up the bunker.

I could keep going, but this is a fair grumble for my first post.

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Sounds to me like someone needs to learn to deal with distractions.  If you can only play under perfectly controlled conditions, then you play under far different circumstances than I have all my life.  Most of the situations you've described are meaningless when you play your golf on public courses like I do - you learn to live and play with distractions or you give up the game.

25 yards???  C'mon man - if I couldn't live with someone walking 25 yards away then I couldn't play this game.  My home course has tee boxes on the front 9 which are within hearing of greens on the back 9 and vice-versa.  Is everyone on the golf course supposed to shut up so you can have total silence when you swing?  I'll tell the magpies to shut up too, and post crossing guards so the coyotes don't run out on the fairway in front of you. Ain't gonna happen.  Deal with it.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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I don't like others in my foursome behind me -- usually, they're moving and whispering to each other. You can see the ball from the back and to the side.

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I am chiming in late, but folks its on the USGA site under etiquette. Like it or not, it can be a distraction. Some people don't mind it, while other people are indeed distracted by it, that is why it gets the honorable mention in the etiquette handbook.

If a player requests that you do not stand behind them when they are teeing off, regardless to their reason then it is simply rude. If you continuously do this, they can take you to committee and disciplinary action can be taken. However, how many people are so irrational that they would refuse to comply with a simple request such as that?  Even those who roll their eyes at it will move when asked, right? :)

If I were playing with someone who absolutely refused to comply with a simple request like that I would request that they break with me at the turn, and I'd confirm this with the starter. I won't play with rude people.

That said, I have never had this happen. I personally only get distracted if somebody gets too close, and if I ask them to move they pretty much comply. I usually don't really care, but if someone else did and asked me to move, I simply would move. Not doing so is bad etiquette.

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Originally Posted by Fourputt

Sounds to me like someone needs to learn to deal with distractions.  If you can only play under perfectly controlled conditions, then you play under far different circumstances than I have all my life.  Most of the situations you've described are meaningless when you play your golf on public courses like I do - you learn to live and play with distractions or you give up the game.

25 yards???  C'mon man - if I couldn't live with someone walking 25 yards away then I couldn't play this game.  My home course has tee boxes on the front 9 which are within hearing of greens on the back 9 and vice-versa.  Is everyone on the golf course supposed to shut up so you can have total silence when you swing?  I'll tell the magpies to shut up too, and post crossing guards so the coyotes don't run out on the fairway in front of you.    Ain't gonna happen.  Deal with it.


Think you've misunderstood, if they were 25 yards away from me when Im hitting then good.  Its that they keep walking up on you from inside 25 yards away when you are addressing the ball and have no intention of standing still , one has to hurry before they get too close or wait till they get level and I ask them physically to stop moving.  Its simple, see someone addressing the ball, standstill and wait til they've hit it.

As I said, whatever other distractions are thrown up on the golf course we have to deal with, but I find it unacceptable that it should come from playing partners, it represents either gamesmanship, ignorance and/or disrepect.  You may not find someone walking past you as you hit distracting, but would may find it distracting if stand behind you with a whoopee whistle, respect others differences.

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Originally Posted by sac1

Think you've misunderstood, if they were 25 yards away from me when Im hitting then good.  Its that they keep walking up on you from inside 25 yards away when you are addressing the ball and have no intention of standing still , one has to hurry before they get too close or wait till they get level and I ask them physically to stop moving.  Its simple, see someone addressing the ball, standstill and wait til they've hit it.

As I said, whatever other distractions are thrown up on the golf course we have to deal with, but I find it unacceptable that it should come from playing partners, it represents either gamesmanship, ignorance and/or disrepect.  You may not find someone walking past you as you hit distracting, but would may find it distracting if stand behind you with a whoopee whistle, respect others differences.

Irrationality is becoming the norm here in the gold 'ole US of A. Thus, people seem to think that their beliefs and values should trump those of others and they do not have to respect that. I for one am on the same page as you. I find it hard to understand why some folks can't just get over themselves and comply with a simple request.

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Don't stand, don't stand so close to me...

I usually stand off the tee to the side and behind when some is teeing off.  As long as you are quiet and not directly behind me, I don't have a problem. After reading Sean's comments, I think we would get along on the course just fine.

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Originally Posted by wmiller

Oh, and I don't need any help tracking my ball flight, thank you.



really?  youve never ever lost a ball in the sky?  or had no idea where it went?  lols...

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller View Post

Some people don't mind when the guy with the worst score tees off first (without asking)

and some people dont mind ready golf.  if youre ready, hit away.

Colin P.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Some people don't mind when the guy with the worst score tees off first (without asking)

and some people dont mind ready golf.  if youre ready, hit away.



"Ready golf" is often used to justify a false sense of entitlement. I golfed with a guy like that on Sunday morning. On the par 3 second (I'd made a par on the first to his double bogey) he jogs past me on the tee box and begins to place his tee in the ground. He asks if we can play ready golf or am I a stickler for etiquette. Well, since the group ahead was still putting the flag back, I said, "Both, and it seems we've caught the group ahead". Nothing more needed to be said on the subject for the rest of the round.

Basically, if every player in the group is waiting for the fairway (or green) to clear, (i.e. there aren't any short knockers who can drive well ahead of everyone else), the players with honours should have the tee.

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As far as I am concerned if you think I am a distraction where I am standing, say something and I will move. Not a big deal. This game it tough enough without being distracted.

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