Golf etiquette is not a secret test. It is the shared set of small behaviours that let a group of people play a difficult game together without making one another miserable. Once you know the basics, the course feels much less mysterious.
Before you arrive
- Arrive early enough to find the first tee without sprinting.
- Check the dress code if you are playing somewhere unfamiliar.
- Bring more balls than you think you will need.
- Keep your phone on silent. The golf course is not improved by hearing your ringtone echo across a lake.
- Tell your playing partners if this is one of your first rounds. Most golfers would rather help than guess.
On the course
- Be ready when it is your turn, without rushing the person who is playing.
- Stand still and stay quiet during someone else’s shot.
- Do not walk directly behind the ball or into the line of play.
- Watch where your shadow falls when someone is putting.
- Repair pitch marks, replace divots, and rake bunkers.
- Keep an eye on your ball and help others look for theirs.
- Let a faster group through when there is space to do it safely.
- Do not take a bad score personally. The course has no opinion of you.
- Leave the green ready for the group behind you.
- Say thank you at the end of the round. It costs nothing and is remembered.
None of this is about pretending to be an expert. It is about noticing that you are part of a group, a course, and a rhythm that existed before your tee time and will continue after it.
Want the whole code?
Nobody Told Me Either explains the reasons behind the rituals, not just the rituals themselves.