14 rules of golf Etiquette

[308 Ragin Cajun]

WTH does #11 mean? It's rude to have haphazard divots on the practice tee? or no divots?  Some people are  pickers and don't take divots.

[Fourputt]

58 minutes ago, 308 Ragin Cajun said:

WTH does #11 mean? It's rude to have haphazard divots on the practice tee? or no divots?  Some people are  pickers and don't take divots.

Yes it is.  Your divots should all be connected with no grass between them.  That way you leave more of the hitting area undamaged for the next guy.  With practice you can hit a full basket and only damage an area about 6" wide and a couple of feet long.  After the first divot on fresh turf, set the next ball right on the back edge of that divot so that your next shot only takes 1" of grass, and continue to do that until you have a strip about 2 feet long, then move over just one divot width and do the same thing.  You will be amazed at how many balls can be hit from a small area while always hitting from a grassy lie.

This is especially important for right handers, simply because there are more of us.  Nobody likes to be forced to take a hitting position that looks like a miniature battlefield with 50 or 60 separate craters leaving no decent place to put a ball.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Fourputt

[MonkeyGolfer99]

On 9/11/2018 at 4:00 PM, DeadMan said:

#9 and #10 are complete bunk. You shouldn't put your bag where the teeing markers are, but putting your bag somewhere else on the tee is not going to scruff up the tee box. PGA Tour caddies walk across the green all the dang time, and their bags are way heavier than ours. Yes, if the greens are soft and your bag is heavy, best to avoid walking right around the cup. Otherwise, you're not going to damage the green by walking on it with your bag (or else that 270 pound guy shouldn't be walking on the green, period).

These were the two that jumped out at me but I never thought it an issue- as you point out.  Common sense . . .

I do sometimes talk to other people's balls though 😐  Although it's always positive and only with friends/folk I play in roll ups with.  I can see how it could be annoying though so I'll look to stop that.  AS I heard Andy Sullivan say on a vlog "Get yer lips of my ball" lol

[boogielicious]

10 hours ago, Fourputt said:

Yes it is.  Your divots should all be connected with no grass between them.  That way you leave more of the hitting area undamaged for the next guy.  With practice you can hit a full basket and only damage an area about 6" wide and a couple of feet long.  After the first divot on fresh turf, set the next ball right on the back edge of that divot so that your next shot only takes 1" of grass, and continue to do that until you have a strip about 2 feet long, then move over just one divot width and do the same thing.  You will be amazed at how many balls can be hit from a small area while always hitting from a grassy lie.

This is especially important for right handers, simply because there are more of us.  Nobody likes to be forced to take a hitting position that looks like a miniature battlefield with 50 or 60 separate craters leaving no decent place to put a ball.

This is what I try to do at grass ranges as well. Sometimes I even put a broken tee down in the previous divot to minimize even more. This works well on grass tee areas that are really sandy.

[JonMA1]

7 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

This is what I try to do at grass ranges as well. Sometimes I even put a broken tee down in the previous divot to minimize even more. This works well on grass tee areas that are really sandy.

I prefer to spell out my name with a divot pattern.

Seriously, I was taught to keep the divots in a straight line as well. It just makes sense.

[Gonsalez]

I guess I violate #9 a lot. I didn't even realize that was outright a rule, to tell you the truth. I thought that was just something to maybe avoid if you can or something along that line.

[SPJr]

12 hours ago, Fourputt said:

Your divots should all be connected with no grass between them.  That way you leave more of the hitting area undamaged for the next guy.  With practice you can hit a full basket and only damage an area about 6" wide and a couple of feet long.  After the first divot on fresh turf, set the next ball right on the back edge of that divot so that your next shot only takes 1" of grass, and continue to do that until you have a strip about 2 feet long, then move over just one divot width and do the same thing.  You will be amazed at how many balls can be hit from a small area while always hitting from a grassy lie.

This is especially important for right handers, simply because there are more of us.  Nobody likes to be forced to take a hitting position that looks like a miniature battlefield with 50 or 60 separate craters leaving no decent place to put a ball.

I always try to keep my divots in a straight line. There is a serious sense of gratification when you leave neat & straight divot patterns at the driving range.

Unfortunately, more often than not, I find it near impossible because the grass is already too chopped up from people that have no idea or just don't care. 

I actually blame the owners/operators of the driving ranges. I think they should help to instruct people the correct way.

I've seen driving ranges that post 'CORRECT DIVOT PATTERN' vs. 'INCORRECT DIVOT PATTERN'. signs. 

Edited October 8, 2018 by SPJr

[Missouri Swede]

5 hours ago, Gonsalez said:

I guess I violate #9 a lot. I didn't even realize that was outright a rule, to tell you the truth.

It’s not. 

[rehmwa]

• Showing up less than 15 minutes before your tee time. No Problem
• Putting with too many balls on the practice green.No Problem
• Failing to pick up the flagstick.No Problem - always grab it
• Taking only one club to your ball on cart path only days. No Problem - sometimes more
• Looking for a lost ball for more than five minutes.Less time if it's busy, more time if alone on the course
• Talking to someone else's ball. They can get over it.
• Standing behind someone as they putt. (playing with leftys and rightys, means I am always standing in the wrong spot)No Problem - but once they hit it game over
• Walking in a player's through line. Never
• Placing bag on a tee box. This seems dumb.  I'll bring my bag to my shot
• Walking across the green with your bag.  Dumb:  me + Bag < most fatties out there.  I'll walk efficiently, including crossing the green.
• Lack of divot pattern on the driving range.  I make stripes
• Not picking up on a match play hole when you're out of it.  Don't play match.
• Checking your phone too much. ( no phones on the golf course!!!!)  I'm there to avoid my phone
• Gimmes (failing to give, taking too many for yourself) (I space out and forget to give putts, but when asked within the grip is good by me) - Don't care about others.  I prefer to putt out.  But I don't line up or clean anything less than a couple feet - just hit it in.

[LeftyWhiff]

sometimes I will stand behind someone putting--didn't know this rule until now. Also, I didn't know that the line extended beyond the hole. Great, now I know.

[gjunkie57]

My golf mentor taught me to lay my wedge on the flag.  That is a great reminder to get the club and the stick.  

[rehmwa]

6 hours ago, SPJr said:

I always try to keep my divots in a straight line. ..., I find it near impossible because the grass is already too chopped up from people that have no idea or just don't care.

It's worse here.  Not only isn't there good grass to hit off of.  There isn't even a place to stand for a good stance - Even if there is grass somewhere, you essentially either hit off mud, or stand on mud....

[mcanadiens]

6 hours ago, SPJr said:

Unfortunately, more often than not, I find it near impossible because the grass is already too chopped up from people that have no idea or just don't care. 

There will always be those people, but it can be a maintenance issue as well.

My home range has 30 yards in which they can move the teeing area. If they let it go all week (and they have before), there isn't much grass left.

[iacas]

On 10/8/2018 at 9:31 AM, SPJr said:

I've seen driving ranges that post 'CORRECT DIVOT PATTERN' vs. 'INCORRECT DIVOT PATTERN'. signs. 

I think that what's best to "maximize use of the grass" is not necessarily the same as "maximizing the healing time."

On less used ranges, I've had superintendents tell me to space out my divots, so that grass can grow from all sides. They say that the long trenches grow back more slowly.

---

I know what they're saying, but as a better player, I can put the ball an inch behind the last divot I took and take only half an inch of grass, pretty often. I'm not often hitting three inches behind the ball and taking a 4" divot, but when I put the ball on an intact piece of grass, my divot is at least 4-6" in size, counting all the dirt/grass in front of the ball.

So the first ball takes a divot that's maybe 18" square (6 x 3 or so?), while the next one only increases the size to 20 square inches. If I spread them out, it's 18 + 18.

So… I don't know. But I tend to side with the "strips" idea,

[rehmwa]

17 hours ago, iacas said:

On less used ranges, I've had superintendents tell me to space out my divots, so that grass can grow from all sides.

I can understand that (though I'm a strip guy.)  But another consequence of just finding a "grassy bit anywhere" is the area gets chewed up on the entire bay faster.  At least a series strips (if done right) tend to work from one end of the bay and across (unless a douche starts the first strip or two right in the middle...)  (sorry to the lefties...)

Thus - the random pattern also has us standing on chewed up turf - for me, that's even worse than hitting from a chewed up turf lie.

One clumsy player can chew up an entire bay in a single session.  A least with strips a bay can accommodate a LOT more sessions.

and I'll do a strip all the way from the front to the back of the bay too (just clear the rope if there is one and go from there - or even move the rope for the first few shots).  I see strips about 2-3 feet long in a bay that's 5-6 feet deep.  seems a waste.

Edited October 10, 2018 by rehmwa

[iacas]

On 10/10/2018 at 11:28 AM, rehmwa said:

I can understand that (though I'm a strip guy.)  But another consequence of just finding a "grassy bit anywhere" is the area gets chewed up on the entire bay faster.  At least a series strips (if done right) tend to work from one end of the bay and across (unless a douche starts the first strip or two right in the middle...)  (sorry to the lefties...)

Hence "on less used ranges…".

[Papa Steve 55]

Let me add one. Had a two day team event start today. One round at two courses. Its great fun. We have A,B,C,& D players, one best ball. I was the A for our team. On the first tee, the D player says team skins.....the 20 handicap thinks we should play team skins.....go figure huh?

[lastings]

This is all great, in theory, but it really only applies to good ranges. 

At my range, everything is bad.  People take massive divots with no discernible method to their madness.   

But, then to top it off, each day they just move the ropes back about 2 feet.  So there’s a fresh piece of sod to chew up with your clubs, but your front foot is just digging into yesterday’s divot holes, making yesterday’s damage significantly worse. 

I’ve tried to make suggestions to them, tried to help.  But, to no avail.