Basic Golf Etiquette

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Basic Golf Etiquette
and some notes about what to wear!

Good form, in golf, means more than how your swing's working. It also means you understand the look and feel of the game. Here are the basic laws of golf etiquette.

Your boss just invited you to play a round of golf at his exclusive country club. Is your head filled with the prospect of a promotion, or pure panic?

Elegant Ben Hogan: "I don't like the glamour. I like the game"

You might have reason to panic, especially if you usually play golf with your buddies at the public course wearing a tee shirt and cut off jeans, and telling loud jokes while others are putting!

It’s more and more common for golf to be a setting for conducting business. Ninety percent of the CEOs from the Fortune 500 companies play!

Many corporations are discovering that golf is a great way to evaluate a prospective employee.

Here’s a quick review of golf etiquette (hey, we all need this!) and some tips on what to wear to impress!

Dress appropriately for Golf.

Show up looking presentable! If you're playing with the guys from the office, think of this as a professional engagement requiring appropriate dress.

Most private country clubs have a dress code that usually requires:

	A golf shirt with a collar. Unsure of what constitutes acceptable clothing for a game of golf? Sticking to name brand golf wear is a very safe bet.
	Shorts are OK, but they must be designed for golf; not gym shorts or cut-offs. They should be no shorter than just above your knees.
	Denim apparel is usually not appropriate.
	Pants and/or shorts should have belt loops, but no cuffs since they trap dirt.
	Wear a leather belt. The belts that Tiger wears, with a silver tip, are stylish.
	Golf clothes are often bright and colorful, but you don’t need to wear all the colors at the same time! Colors are like kids and employees. Some work together, and get along just fine; others always fight. Choose one bright color and pair with neutrals (tan, black, white). Maybe the first time you play with your boss a classic combination of brown or blue with khaki would be a wise choice. And only one plaid (or patterned) element in your attire, please!
	Wear proper golf shoes – not running shoes, or sandals! Just about every country club on the planet has switched from metal spikes to require soft spikes or a “built-into-the-sole” tread design. Bring a pair of street shoes. You may be having lunch or a drink in the clubhouse afterwards. Change into your golf shoes in the locker room, not at your car in the parking lot.
	If you’re wearing long pants the socks should match your trousers. If you opt for shorts, wear light colored socks with white or saddle style shoes; black socks with black shoes. The black socks and shoes looks slightly nerdy, but if you want to wear black shoes with shorts that’s the best combo!
	Hats are a good idea. They help keep the sun off your face, and may improve your vision. Either baseball style or straw golf hats are appropriate.
	If you’re playing in cooler weather (like most 6 am tee times!) a golf sweater, vest, or jacket is practical.

Dressing appropriately shows respect for the member who invited you, the other members of your group, and for the great and ancient game of golf.

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Basic Etiquette

Before the Match

BE ON TIME! Arrive at least 20 minutes before your tee time. If you get there 45 minutes early you'll have time to hit some balls on the driving range, and practice your putting. Practice before the match – not on the course. Sometimes there’s even some wagering to be negotiated!

Order of play

Usually on the first hole the player with the lowest handicap tees off first. After leaving the tee, the person whose ball is farthest from the green plays next. On subsequent holes the player who won the previous hole gets the honor of teeing off first.

Teeing Off

"If you must,
only one practice swing"

Pick up your tee after hitting your drive.

Quiet, Please!

When you’re on the greens or the teeing ground think library. (Quiet!) Don’t talk when another golfer is preparing to hit.

Keep your voice down during play, since fairways are often close to each other.

And absolutely no cell phones or beepers!

Three Laws of Safety

1. Make sure no one gets hit by a ball, a club or a cart.
2. Wait until the players ahead of you are out of range before hitting.
3. Yell “fore” loudly if your shot has a potential of hitting any other players.

Five Rules of Cart Driving

1 Keep the cart on the cart path as much as possible.
2. Follow signs and don’t speed.
3. The 90-degree rule: Stay on the path until you reach a point parallel to your ball then drive to the ball.
4. Never drive a cart near the greens or teeing grounds.
5. As you approach the green, determine in which direction the next tee is located and leave your clubs, or park your cart toward the next tee and even with the green.

Proper Pace

Be prepared and play quickly when it’s your turn – remember your group and all groups following are waiting for you.

Ready Golf means that the player who is ready to hit can do so even if not the farthest away from the hole. Just agree about this before play with the others in your group.

Develop a pre-shot routine so that you don’t take several practice shots every time you hit! Take only one practice swing. Many of the professional golfers don’t even take a practice swing. Watch the pros, most of them just hit the ball without all the jiggling and worrying. Less thinking, and fewer wiggles may improve your play.
Be quick and decisive when you choose which club to use.

When finished putting, players should immediately replace the flagstick and leave the green.

Write your score on the scorecard when you reach the next tee not on the green.
Lost ball? Look for a few minutes, but not more than five. If you don’t find it, play a new ball and take a penalty.

Most golfers save time by not putting the head covers on after each shot.

Care of the Course

Fairways: Repair divots by retrieving and replacing the grass
chunks then pressing them down with your foot, or if provided,
using the seed mixture.

Bunkers: Enter the bunker, rake in hand, from the low side
nearest your ball. Remember the following players must play
the ball as they find it – even from your footprint! So cover your tracks! Rake the sand after your shot with the rake
provided -- and leave the rake outside the bunker with the
handle running parallel to the fairway.

Greens: Repair ball marks, both yours and others you may find.
Use a ball-mark repair tool or a tee to pull back the grass that is bunched up, and then press it down with your fingers or your putter.

Green Etiquette

1. Putt-Putt: The player furthest away from the hole putts first. After you putt,
you have the option of putting out, if your ball is near the hole (two feet or less).

2. At all times on the green, avoid stepping on the putting line where another player’s ball may travel. Failure to do this is a major faux pas!

3. Make your mark: If your ball is near the hole, or in another players line you should mark your ball with a coin or ball marker. Place the marker directly behind your ball opposite the hole. If your marker would be in the line of another player, move it a club head length to the side. When it’s your turn to putt, place the ball on the ground in front of your marker then
remove the marker.

4. Flag: The flagstick stays in the hole until everyone is on the green, unless a player requests its removal. If your ball strikes the flagstick when putting on the green, you incur a penalty. From off the green, your ball may hit the flagstick without penalty.

To remove the flagstick, pull it straight up to avoid damaging the rim of the hole. Take it to the edge of the green and gently lay it down so the bottom knob is off the green and it can’t make a mark on the green.

If a player needs the flag left in, to better see the hole for his putt, you may tend the flag by holding it at arms length and standing to the side of the cup. Make certain your shadow does not fall over the cup, or across the putting line, and that you are not standing on anyone else’s putting line. Hold the flag down to keep it from flapping, and stand still. After the player putts you can lift the flagstick out before his ball reaches the hole.

Play fairly, and keep an accurate score.

One final thing. Have fun; it’s only a game OR your corporate future -- but that's a different game.

                                   -- Andy Gilchrist

Special thanks for technical assistance to
James Stith, golf professional in Palm Desert, CA
and to almost professional Robert McConnell.

"Have a ball!"

CLICK HERE for Golf Shoe Styles, History and How to Shine them!

Why Play Golf?

To Answer the Question,
First take this TEST Of TRIVIA

The year is 1923......do you know who was:

1. President of the largest steel company?

2. President of the largest gas company?

3. President of the New York Stock Exchange?

4. Greatest wheat speculator?

5. President of the Bank International Settlement?

6. Great Bear of Wall Street?

These men should have been considered some of the world's most successful men. At least, they found the secret to making bundles of money.

Almost 80 years later do we know what actually became of these men?

ANSWERS:

1. The president of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, died a pauper.

2. The president of the largest gas company, Edward Hopson, went insane.

3. The president of the NYSE, Richard Whitney, was released from prison to die at home.

4. The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cooger, died abroad, penniless.

5. The president of the Bank of International Settlement, shot himself.

6. The Great Bear of Wall Street, Cosabee Livermore, committed suicide.

In 1922, professional golfer, Gene Sarazen (b. 1902), won both the US Open, and the PGA Championship. What became of him?

Well, besides going on to win all of the four major championships that comprise the Grand Slam of golf, he played golf until he was 92, died in 1999 at the age of 97, and was financially secure at the time of his death.

Sarazen was also the first golf professional to wear white buck golf shoes trimmed with tan or black leather.

CONCLUSION:

Stop worrying about business, the market and everything else and start playing golf!!

Special thanks to Ben for providing us with this informative and lifestyle changing information.

-- Andy Gilchrist

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