Unwritten Rules of Golf

[Midpack 41]

How Many Unwritten Rules of Golf Do You Observe? I thought about a poll, but it would be too lengthy, so maybe how just something like 'I observe X of 18 as much as possible' if you're interested? I will admit there's one on the list I'd never heard before (#8). And gladly most of the people I play with are good about almost all of them.

1. Silence – don’t talk, or make noise, while someone is hitting
2. Fill your divots, fix your ball marks, rake your bunker
3. Watch your shadow, don’t let it fall on the line of someone putting
4. Don’t walk or step on the (putting) line of another player in your group
5. Understand cart etiquette - Park in an area where you're not walking backwards after the hole to get back to the cart
6. Stay on the cart path, off fairways and away from greens as much as possible
7. Play “ready golf” (vs classic tee honors/furthest away)
8. No practice swings on the first tee (beside the tee before your turn if you must)
9. Tend the pin - It's never a bad thing to ask someone with a lengthy putt if they want you to 'tend the pin.'
10. Never stand behind a player, or his/her line when they’re hitting – stand well away, to the side in front of them and be completely still
11. Let faster players go through (unless you’re waiting too?)
12. Always help others look for their (lost?) ball for a few minutes
13. Don’t give advice unless asked
14. Don’t let a bad shot/hole/round affect your playing partners (it’s just a game)
15. Yell FORE if there’s any chance you might hit another player(s)
16. Stay on the cart path, off fairways and away from greens as much as possible
17. Always return lost clubs, headcovers, etc.
18. (Remove your hat and) shake hands with your player partners at the end of every round

Edited September 27, 2017 by Midpack

[colin007 830]

The cart girl thinks you're handsome and your banter is witty and charming. Keep staring at her bewbs because every smoking hot college girl loves overweight pasty 58 year old accountants.

[iacas 7,725]

Some of those are written if you follow the etiquette section.

[billchao 1,707]

1 hour ago, Midpack said:

Stay... off fairways and away from greens as much as possible

I'm pretty good at this one.

With my shots.

10 minutes ago, colin007 said:

every smoking hot college girl loves overweight pasty 58 year old accountants.

Damn, I am definitely not one of these.

[David in FL 2,199]

8 minutes ago, iacas said:

Some of those are written if you follow the etiquette section.

Yep.  And some of them I disagree with completely.

[JonMA1 508]

I like to break these rules...

1. Silence – don’t talk, or make noise, while someone is hitting

10. Never stand behind a player, or his/her line when they’re hitting – stand well away, to the  side in front of them and be completely still

13. Don’t give advice unless asked

while following this one...

15. Yell FORE if there’s any chance you might hit another player(s)

...all at the same time.

[Midpack 41]

Tough crowd...

[Missouri Swede 352]

37 minutes ago, iacas said:

Some of those are written if you follow the etiquette section.

And #13 is RoG 8-1 (if "unless asked" is deleted; and asking for advice is also 8-1).

I'm not sure about #6 and its twin #16.  It's (usually) out of the way to walk over to the cartpath instead of directly to my ball.  So for pace of play, no.

#8: I don't understand this one.  It's okay to take practice swings on the fairway, in the rough, greenside, on the green, and on tees 2-18.  But not on the first tee?

#17 has been discussed at length:

 

[iacas 7,725]

2 hours ago, Midpack said:

• (Remove your hat and) shake hands with your player partners at the end of every round

I disagree with this one. Keep your hat on. Nobody needs to see your five-hours worth of hat hair. This stupid "tradition" is actually a modern invention.

[JonMA1 508]

4 minutes ago, Midpack said:

Tough crowd...

I'm sorry @Midpack, just my poor attempt at humor.

I think that almost all of them are absolutely legitimate and, to be honest, just common sense practices.

[klineka 589]

8 and 18 are the main ones out of those that i dont follow. I didnt even know 8 was a thing until I saw it in a youtube course vlog a few days ago.  That being said, i have never seen a sign on any first tee ive been on that says no practice swings

[Rulesman 260]

7 hours ago, iacas said:

I disagree with this one. Keep your hat on. Nobody needs to see your five-hours worth of hat hair. This stupid "tradition" is actually a modern invention.

http://www.traditioninaction.org/Cultural/A045cpCivility_Hats.htm

[dennyjones 701]

11 hours ago, iacas said:

I disagree with this one. Keep your hat on. Nobody needs to see your five-hours worth of hat hair. This stupid "tradition" is actually a modern invention.

+1.   The hat stays on and instead of a handshake, a fist bump.   

[Rulesman 260]

Fist bumps are now so passe

[mcanadiens 380]

14 hours ago, Midpack said:

 

1. (Remove your hat and) shake hands with your player partners at the end of every round

Yes, we generally shake hands. I hardly ever see anyone remove their hat. 

[chilepepper 147]

45 minutes ago, Rulesman said:

Fist bumps are now so passe

Bro hug?

[Rulesman 260]

even more so

[Midpack 41]

12 hours ago, klineka said:

I didn't even know 8 was a thing until I saw it in a youtube course vlog a few days ago.

Probably the same video I watched. They claimed it's actually posted on some courses in the UK. I'd never heard of it until then either. I do take care to not scuff the grass with practice swings on every tee, and I'm almost as careful with practice swings on fairways. I have seen folks take actually divots with practice swings on tees, that shouldn't be IMO.

 

1 hour ago, mcanadiens said:

Yes, we generally shake hands. I hardly ever see anyone remove their hat. 

We usually shake hands, but don't remove our hats. However I've noticed that most if not all touring pros take off their hats to shake hands after the 18th in tournaments. No biggie regardless.

It's funny there are a whole group of guys I play in a league with that I never see without a hat. Some I might not recognize without a hat on. We had a season end lunch/prize distribution yesterday, and looking around the room I had a hard time recognizing a few people. And some kept their hats on (mostly bald guys).

Edited September 28, 2017 by Midpack