I often find these basic etiquette absent, even when playing with so-called experienced golfers. Is it really too much to ask? The problem with this kind of issue is if you don't point it out your game is spoilt but if you do you will spoil everyone's game, so often diplomacy will take precedence.

Perhaps it is due a lack of awareness so below is an extract from the R&A Rules of Golf:

"No Disturbance or Distraction

Players should always show consideration for other players on the course and should not disturb their play by moving, talking or making unnecessary noise.

Players should ensure that any electronic device taken onto the course does not distract other players.

On the teeing ground, a player should not tee his ball until it is his turn to play.

Players should not stand close to or directly behind the ball, or directly behind the hole, when a player is about to play.

On the Putting Green

On the putting green, players should not stand on another player’s line of putt or, when he is making a stroke, cast a shadow over his line of putt.

Players should remain on or close to the putting green until all other players in the group have holed out."

One of most disturbing inconsideration is the incessant talking on the handphone on the course. It is most annoying especially if the person is sharing the same buggy with me.
If need to talk on the phone, then be considerate by skipping the hole and let the flightmates play on. Just declare losing that hole without any disturbance/waiting to the flightmates.

I understood your pain, I guess most golfers do feel this pain.

to me, the most annoying part is, golfers don't rake the bunker. it is really freaking to see your ball landed on someone's footprint or divot.

then, some golfers don't really know the sequence of play. they don't bother to prepare for playing their ball while the rest of the flightmates are waiting for him to walk slowly to his ball.
If you are not ready, tell you flightmates to go ahead. and golfers to play during the casual game, should follow "ready-go". this will ease the traffic in the course.

Magic wrote:

I understood your pain, I guess most golfers do feel this pain. to me, the most annoying part is, golfers don't rake the bunker. it is really freaking to see your ball landed on someone's footprint or divot. then, some golfers don't really know the sequence of play. they don't bother to prepare for playing their ball while the rest of the flightmates are waiting for him to walk slowly to his ball. If you are not ready, tell you flightmates to go ahead. and golfers to play during the casual game, should follow "ready-go". this will ease the traffic in the course.

The "ready - go" concept or approach is one of the many ways to speed up the game.
As courtesy, you should also just signal to your flight mates by sign, nod of head or whatever to indicate that you are ready and will hit first but never use the Hokkien word to say "you'll go first" as it may indicate some different meaning.

Forget the 'honor' on the tee box. Whoever ready should tee up. That would speed up play.. Sometimes ppl are taking their sweet time soaking the previous birdie conquest and the flight still insist best score to tee up..

azri wrote:

Forget the 'honor' on the tee box. Whoever ready should tee up. That would speed up play.. Sometimes ppl are taking their sweet time soaking the previous birdie conquest and the flight still insist best score to tee up..

if you are always playing with the same room of people and know them well, you can avoid this. whoever ready should go ahead to tee off and play their shot.

azri wrote:

Forget the 'honor' on the tee box. Whoever ready should tee up. That would speed up play.. Sometimes ppl are taking their sweet time soaking the previous birdie conquest and the flight still insist best score to tee up..

I would agree that "ready go" on the tee box as often the best scorer tend to putt out last (esp when your opponents don't understand there is such thing as conceding a putt) or buggy sequence just don't flow - but there is always then who next which can be annoying. But in serious matchplay, there is a psychological difference to have the honour which needs to be considered.

On the fairways, if we don't go by who is the furthest then we get one person just hitting while another is about to hit - very distracting at times. Worst is on the greens, I get ready, decided my line already and about to take position to putt then someone else decides to goes ahead and putt first, mentally I will have to go thru the process all over again which to me takes longer than the act of putting.

I think the magic formula is still to play "ready golf" ie always prepare your shot while others are hitting and be ready to hit yours once it is your turn.

My biggest pain is people standing directly behind my line of play on tee-offs and I can see them in my back swing and it throws me off. Sometimes they would even be still moving or talking while I am in my backswing. I am quite surprised no one has yet to mention they have this issue.

This also might be more relevant towards speeding up play especially if there are one or more slow players in your flight and you are playing without caddies and the flight behind is waiting impatiently while your flight is finishing off on the green.
After putting out, the second to last golfer should pick up the flag or pin as well as any of his club(s) on the green, ready to put back the pin/flag immediately once the last golfer holes out and leave the green asap so that the flight behind can play without delay.
Many times I've seen the last fella holing out and have to pick up the flag himself as his flight mates probably cannot put up with his slow pace have all left the green.

winsyong wrote:

My biggest pain is people standing directly behind my line of play on tee-offs and I can see them in my back swing and it throws me off. Sometimes they would even be still moving or talking while I am in my backswing. I am quite surprised no one has yet to mention they have this issue.

To resolve this, you gotta tell the players to stay away from your sight.

Sometimes, my flightmate will stand behind me while I addressing at the tee box. the driver crown will have his face on it, so I would ask him to move.

as for putting, if i am not gambling or in competition, i don;t mind ppl stand behind to read my putt.

so far, i have a group of members which they are still playing ethically. That's why we could get along.

and if you are playing with strangers for the first time, you have every right to tell them off (Nicely), because sometimes they are not aware they are distracting you

after several times your reminder, yet they are behave the same, you can start look for other group

I guess golfers should know that the game of "Golf" after all is a gentleman/gentlewoman's game.
The onus is on each individual golfer to learn the golf etiquettes, do's and don't, something that is missing in this current age of golf where the game is now available to almost everyone in the society.

Being members of a golf club, we are taught or trained from the beginning about etiquettes, golf rules and ground rules within the club. We were taught to replace sand on divots, rake bunkers, repair pitch marks on greens, golf rules on reliefs, etc. and speed of play. It boils down to the individuals themselves whether they inculcate such good etiquettes and practices continuously, some do but quite a big number don't.

It's a matter of showing consideration to other golfers who are playing with you, those playing behind your flight, as well as those in front of you. Key word "Consideration".

hklam

i think sometimes it's not just the 'rambo' golfers, but the PGA wanna-be that slows up the whole game. Every putt will read and re-read umpteen times, and end up missing anyway, and then go read and re-read it again. and all this while, his other flight mates just stand at the side not doing anything until their turn, then they start reading their lines.

I think there is a general misconception that the last person to putt out or the last person to hit from the fairway is the slow player. I can identify with this because I have on occasions find myself the last to play from the fairway only because I teed off the longest and I have to wait for other players to play first. But the flight behind would impatiently tee-off as I am about to hit my shot or when I have just hit my shot.

Similarly near/on the green, the quickest player might have chipped/lagged his putt close to the hole and will be the last to hole out, while the others might be taking their sweet time or taking 3 or 4 shots to get to the hole.

So I emphasise last to play does not equal to slowest player! So pls never take your frustrations out on the last person playing!

In any case, the group behind should never hit if the group in front is still within range, or has not taken their next shot or have not putt out, the latter because the sound of your tee-off (even u think cannot reach him) can distract the person hitting from the fairway in front of you or the sound of your ball falling nearby the green can distract the group putting. It is not only dangerous, it also slows them down further.

The other bad scenario is when the whole course is jammed up, where every flight is waiting for the flight in front and we find the group behind behaving impatiently and tee-off or hitting before the we have moved out of range. Again that don't make sense as by doing this not only u cant speed up play, you can slow down play further by making the group in front edgy.

Or as a very important Datuk looking person told me at kgss - if you're in a hurry go play somewhere else or if your grandfather can afford it build your own golf course.

Winsyong, the group who tee off from behind while you are still playing your shot should be penalized.

usually, this kind of cases are happened in public courses. In private clubs or semi private clubs, they are going to suspend for few weeks. If you want to give a warning, let the marshal does the job.

I won't perceive that last person to play must be the slowest. whoever thinks that must be a silly.

from my experience, I can observe whether the group or particular players are slow. you can see from the way they are ready to play, also the traffic ahead of them. If it is a big gap between the front flight, but all the flights behind are jammed, you know what is going on.

and if the player start to walk to his ball (when his ball is out of the hitting range) while the rest already played their balls, then you know this player is not ready