"They say golf is like life, but don't believe them. Golf is more complicated than that." 
~ Gardner Dickinson

When was the last time you raked a bunker? Common courtesy around the course makes golf more enjoyable for everyone.

Etiquette is very important on the golf course, so much so that it forms the first section of the Official Rules of Golf, published by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the United States Golf Association. It is part of the tradition of golf, and what sets it apart from other sports.

Practice golfing etiquette as often as possible, so that you will always be welcome on a golf course. Here are some key points that are basically just good manners:

Keep It Safe

Do not swing your club until you know that others in your group are at a safe distance. Likewise, keep your distance when others are swinging. Be aware to steer clear of trouble.

When practicing your swing, never swing in the direction of another player. There may be pebbles or twigs or other matter in the grass that could fly up and injure a playing partner.

Do not hit the ball until you are certain that the group ahead of you is out of range and if your ball appears headed toward another player or another group, give them a warning by yelling out, "Fore!" or "Ball!".

Maintain a Good Pace

  • Always try to keep pace with the group ahead of you. If space opens in front of you, allow a faster group to play through.

  • Keep the round moving by being prepared to hit your shot when it is your turn. The player who is away hits first in a group. However, in friendly matches (as opposed to tournament play), this rule can be ignored in favor of "ready play" - players hit as they are ready. All players should agree to "ready play" before it is put into effect.

  • Do not spend too much time looking for a lost ball, particularly if there is a group behind you ready to play. If you insist on taking the full five minutes allotted to look for lost balls, golf etiquette says wave up the group behind to allow them to play through.

  • Always leave the putting green as soon as your group has finished putting.

Be Kind to the Course
Keep buggies away from greens and hazards, repair all divots and all ball marks on the green. Always rake sand traps after hitting to erase your footprints and damage to the area where your ball was and never, never take a divot on a practice swing.

And a Few More Golf Etiquette suggestions:
1./ Maintain a good attitude. Swearing or throwing clubs or blaming everyone and everything for your own poor play will only lose you golf friends.
2./ Quiet, please! Never talk during another player's swing. 
3./ Do not yell out following a shot. Even if boisterous behavior doesn't bother your playing partners, there are other people on the course who may be within earshot. 
4./ Be aware of your shadow on the putting green. Don't stand in a place that causes your shadow to be cast across another player or that player's putting line. 
5./ Never walk through a playing partner's putting line. Your footprints might alter the path of a partner's putt. Step over the putting line, or walk around (behind) the partner's ball.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS TURN YOUR HANDPHONE TO SILENT MODE and don't engage in mobile conversations while others are playing.


Musings - Tigerrific !

Tiger Woods won the Dubai Desert Classic after birdying the final hole to get into a playoff with Ernie Els

Just want to say 3 things about the man after his victory in Dubai:

1) He deserves everything he gets and more power to him! While many people focus on his ever-increasing fortune, envy his skill with the golf club and admire what he's doing for the community, one has to acknowledge that he puts in the hours and gives great value. Tiger really works to be the best. He puts in the hours on the range, he's had to come back from knee surgery AND he's had to live up to expectations which a mere decade ago would have been relegated to wild fantasy. Not only that, he doesn't take his appearance money and play with half-hearted commitment (in Dubai it was more than 5 times larger than his winner's purse). He competes with everything he's got.

 2) While watching the tournament in Dubai, I heard the commentator say that this was Tiger's 26th win in 60 European Tour events. Mind-Boggling. He's winning almost 1 out of every 2 tournaments - and not even on his own Tour! To put that into perspective: Nick Faldo won 27 European Tour events from 1977 -1994. Enough said.

3) It's a privilege to be able to watch him play. I missed the golden years of the last dominant golfer (Jack Nicklaus), who won in the 60s and 70s. I always wondered if the best I would ever see was a 2-Major win year (Nick Price in 1994 the Open and the USPGA). Now I know a Grand Slam is really possible.