Ok you already look the part; have all your essentials (especially booze) you are ready for the 1st tee! Once the round starts something you should never do is talk while someone is about to hit. It is very distracting to a player trying to concentrate while others are talking especially in their back swing. It is ok to be a poor golfer, you just don’t want to be a slow golfer. Let’s face it we all suck and aren’t making the PGA Tour anytime soon so be mindful of keeping up the pace and not slowing everyone down. You are going to hit some errant shots so when this happens be sure to yell out FORE if the ball is heading in someone’s direction.
A Way to avoid slow play is to play “Ready Golf”. Ready golf is a term used for a player to be ready to hit their shot when it is their turn. Slow golfers are one of the biggest pet peeves of any golfer. You don’t need 15 practice swings before you hit your shot that will most likely end up in the woods or water anyway. Speaking of hitting your ball into a hazard such as water or woods you don’t want to spend any more than say 3 minutes looking for your ball. Anything longer really slows up your group and could make the group following you catch up and cause everyone to wait. Once you eventually get your ball up to the green there are a few quick easy rules to abide by. You want to walk behind all the other golfer’s balls. This makes it so you do not step in another player’s line. A player’s line is the part of the green between a player’s ball and the hole. Putting has such little room for error if you step in the path of the ball the smallest mark from your shoes can detour the ball and cause a player to miss their putt. When you get to your ball, put your coin from your pocket directly behind the ball to mark it. This makes it so other players don’t have your ball in their eyesight while putting and also cannot accidently hit your ball. Use your divot tool to fix any divot on the green to maintain course conditions. You never want to stand directly behind or in front of someone putting. Never walk around or be moving while someone is putting. Both of these are extremely distracting to the player putting.
The rule of thumb is the player furthest from the hole always shoots first. This is on the green or in the fairway. If you make a divot aka chunk your shot in the fairway, fill the divot with sand located on the side of your cart. While driving the cart you don’t ever want to get too close to the green or any hazards such as water or sand traps. If the cart has GPS, it will shut the cart down automatically and you have to reverse back into a safe zone which is annoying and embarrassing. If the course received heavy rain recently the course may enforce the cart path only rule, so you don’t drive on the course and ruin it. You do not want to play too closely to the group in front of you. Give them space to hit their shots and keep it moving. If you think you are too close that you may hit into them then DO NOT hit. Wait the extra couple minutes so there are no issues.
Once you get to the 18th green and everyone has finished putting it is customary to shake all the players hands. You can then return your cart where someone working at the course will want to clean your clubs off with a wet rag. Let them do it and tip them a few dollars for doing that for you. The biggest piece of advice I can give you as a beginner is do not worry about what score you shoot. You just want to go out have fun and try to pick up any tips from the players you are with. If you want to improve you need to go to the range and work on your game. If you have the financial means to hire a golf instructor, I highly recommend you do so. This will improve your game rapidly, having a trained eye watching you and fixing your mistakes.
In closing I hope this makes you feel more comfortable heading out for your first round and best of luck because you are gonna need it!
Cheers!
2 OFF THE TEE 