A (sort of) short primer on playing golf…

I’ve played golf in 42 states now, some courses have been very exclusive private clubs and others have been public municipal tracks. With one(and a half) exception(s), all have had – to one degree or another – pockmarked greens courtesy of people unwilling to (or unaware of their responsibility to) fix their ball marks. Recently, I had to play out of footprints in three different bunkers (don’t judge!) on the same course. The disregard for other people playing the course is not local to a particular region and is really unfortunate.

Melanie has wondered (more than once) how many people might simply not know what they are supposed to do (I, for example, only learned on this trip that I was fixing Bermuda grass ball marks wrong). So I thought a little primer on playing the game right might be in order. I’m certain there are things I will leave out, but again, this is a beginner’s guide (written by someone who has played quite a bit of golf… but is still no expert on these things himself).

Course maintenance:

1. Ball marks – This is going to sound simple, but you should always fix your ball marks. On most surfaces this involves sticking a two pronged repair tool at an angle under the mark and twisting (usually doing this two or three times moving around the mark). You can then tamp the ensuing mess down with the base of your putter and the green is ready for the next player. If you’re not sure which is yours, just fix (at least) one. Not spending a bunch of time trying to find your specific mark helps with pace of play also… more on that later. Note – Bermuda and similar grasses require a different fix… a one pronged “push” attack.

2. Divots – These are also meant to be fixed, and again depending on the type of grass, might be fixed in a couple of ways. Without getting into a big grass lesson (which I’m not really qualified to give anyway) if you are on the fairway and you take a large, solid, single piece divot, this kind you simply replace. If it is fragmented all over the place with no large chunks and very little dirt this is likely a different kind of grass and you do not replace these divots. You will likely have a container of “sand” on your cart, fill the divot with that. On the tee box, if there is a box of sand (often a covered plastic or wooden container) replace your divot with that sand.

3. Bunkers – There are rakes scattered all about the bunkers for a reason; they are there for you to leave the bunkers smooth and playable for the next groups of golfers. In order to minimize the amount of raking needed (and the amount of bunker that is altered from its original condition) I usually carry a rake into the bunker with me, set it down, shoot, and then rake my way back to the edge of the trap the way I came in, covering my incoming and outgoing steps at once. That approach makes short work of keeping the bunkers in good shape for everyone! Remember, it is *not* legal in golf to take relief from a footprint in the sand, so if you leave your tread marks there you may be very adversely affecting the game of the next person though.

4. Carts – *Disclaimer* I am a bit overboard with my cart management, I play pretty much every course as cart path only, or at most self-enforce the 90 degree rule. I feel it is simply respectful to the game and the course to do so. I also know this is beyond even the wishes of the courses at times. The 90 degree rule (which most clubs I’ve played try to have everyone do) means simply driving parallel to the fairway on the path or rough until you reach your ball, then taking a 90 degree (perpendicular to the fairway) path directly to your ball and back (note: I have played clubs that preferred carts to stay on the fairway in order to keep the rough in proper condition… these clubs are few and far between, however). Cart path only is exactly as it sounds, the cart should never leave the path.

5. The greens – There are a few standard rules about the greens that everyone should know and abide by. First of all, you should never use a bladed club (a non-putter) on the green. Yes, Phil Mickelson has done it… you are not Phil Mickelson. Secondly, never drive your golf cart (or your push cart either) across the green, or set your bag down on it. Greens are finesse surfaces, there’s a reason people pull leaves off if they are in their path; the last thing anyone needs is grooves from tire tracks or indentations from someones club bag interfering with their putt.

6. Ground under repair – Often courses will have parts of their fairways staked off as ground under repair. This is often from re-sodding or in an area where a great deal of standing water has been. You are allowed free relief from these areas with out penalty and should always take it rather than shooting from within such an area. If I’m playing a casual round I usually treat any standing water on the course as ground under repair, it’s just better for the course. Just pull your ball back (no closer to the hole) along the line it entered the area and set it down anywhere you like, again, no penalty.

General play guidelines

1. Pace of play – Most courses would like you to play your round in about 4 hours. This ensures everyone on the course that day has an enjoyable experience. To do this you should be playing each hole in about 12-13 minutes. I always try to play in 3 hours; because I enjoy that pace and also because the math is easier… it’s 10 minutes per hole  In general, your goal should be to stay one shot behind the people playing in front of you (not, as some think, to make sure the people in back of you aren’t waiting on you to play).

2. Playing through – You should never assume it is okay to play through someone. It is with their permission you are allowed to do this, not because you want to. Also, contrary to some conventional wisdom, hitting into someone is not a good way to break the ice about playing through. Usually a faster group playing through a slower one is beneficial to both groups; however, if the “slow” group in front of you is waiting on the people in front of them, you should not play through. Typically you should only play through if there is no one for 2 or 3 “shots” in front of the group you want to skip over. If you do play through, make sure you play the next few holes fast and put some distance between you and the people that let you though. There’s not much worse than letting someone bye and the waiting for them all day.

3. “Ready golf” – Traditionally, the person who is furthest from the hole will hit first in golf. No one would walk beyond the ball of the next person to hit to get to their ball either. When you get to the next tee, the person who shot the best on the previous hole will go first and the person who shot the worst will be last (with everyone going in order of finish). This order stays in place until someone earns a place change by having a better score then someone ahead of them in the pecking order. “Ready golf” changes all of that. In order to keep pace brisk, many courses (and indeed many golfers now) prefer “ready golf.” In this format whoever has addressed their ball and is ready to go (provided no one else is ready before them) hits, regardless of whether they are furthest from the hole or not. Everyone walks to their ball, even if that means walking past where another person is getting ready to hit (provided it will not cause distraction to them) without waiting. You should establish if you are playing by traditional standards or playing “ready golf” before you begin your round so that everyone is on the same page. If you are playing with strangers you should never assume ready golf (specifically you should not hit out of turn or walk beyond someone who has not shot unless ready golf is agreed upon).

4. Talking or walking through a person’s line/shot – The talking part is probably too obvious, but I see people taking phone calls and chatting on the course more and more, so it seems to bear repeating. Especially on the green, you should never walk across a person’s path to the hole or “line.” It can break their concentration, or even leave and indentation that can effect a putt.

5. Out of bounds – there is a lot to cover here, and I’m not going to try to touch on all of it. Primarily, remember that white stakes are a stroke plus distance. This means that is you hit your first shot out of bounds where it is staked white, you have to take a penalty (your second stroke on the hole) and then bring the ball back to the tee box to hit your third shot from there. If a ball goes out over a red staked lateral hazard it is a stroke only, no distance. In this instance you would drop a ball on the line of flight where the ball went out of bounds, no closer to the pin and add a stroke to your score. So, your third shot, rather than from the tee box would be from where the ball went out of bounds.

That’s probably enough for now. I think it’s a pretty good starter set of guidelines for the novice. If you adhere to these principles you are pretty much assured of being considered a pretty good golf partner as well as a decent caretaker of the game.

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