This was originally published by Golf Digest, August 2008. Arnold Palmer is probably the greatest player to ever play this beautiful game of golf and his words on good golf etiquette are something we all should follow.1. Don’t be the slowest player
Evaluate your pace of play honestly and often, and if you’re consistently the slowest one in your group, you’re a slow player, period. Remember the old staples of getting around in good time: Play “ready golf” (hit when ready, even if you aren’t away) until you reach the green, be prepared to play when it’s your turn on the tee and green, and never search for a lost ball for more than five minutes.
2. Keep your temper under control
We all have our moments of frustration, but the trick is to vent in an inoffensive way. For example, I often follow a bad hole by hitting the next tee shot a little harder — for better or worse.
3. Respect other people’s time
Because time is our most valuable commodity, there are few good reasons for breaking a golf date. Deciding last-minute to clean the garage on Saturday just doesn’t cut it. Always make your tee times. Social functions are no exception.
4. Repair the ground you play on
Replace divots and rake bunkers like you mean it. Make the area nice and smooth — don’t leave furrows from the rake. Before you exit the bunker, ask yourself, “Would I be upset if I had to play from that spot?”
5. Be a silent partner
Know where to stand and when to keep quiet. Position yourself directly across or at a diagonal from a player setting up. Never stand on the line of play, either beyond the hole or directly behind the ball. When a player is about to hit a shot, think of the fairway as a cathedral, the green a library.
6. Make your golf cart ‘invisible’
Your goal when driving a cart should be to leave no trace you were there. Because we tend to look where we’re going and not where we’ve been, it’s easy to damage the turf and not realize it.
7. Always look your best
You appearance speaks volumes about you as a person, and the neatly appointed golfer, like a businessman or someone headed to church, gives the impression he thinks the golf course and the people are special.
8. Turn off the cell phone
Nobody knows less about technology than I do. But I know enough to recognize a cellphone when it rings in my backswing. I don’t know all the gadgets and settings on those phones, but do whatever you have to do to keep it quiet. And if you absolutely have to make a call, move away from the other players. And keep the call so brief that they don’t even know you made it.
9. Lend a hand when you can
It’s easy to help out your fellow players, if you just pay attention. One obvious way is looking for lost balls — better yet, watching errant shots so they don’t turn into lost balls. Pick up that extra club left on the fringe or the headcover dropped next to the tee, and return it to its owner after saying, “Nice shot!”
10. Learn the little things
There are a hundred bits of etiquette I haven’t mentioned, like laying the flagstick down carefully, taming down spike marks when you’re walking off a green, letting faster groups play through, and so on.
Just know that golf has a way of returning favors, and every piece of etiquette you practice will be repaid tenfold.
This is an article copied from Golf Digest and I do not own any rights to it.
