Before you go out on the course and play your first round of golf you need to understand a little about the rules and etiquette of the game. You’ll learn a lot more as you go along and become more experienced.

The rules of golf

If you are new to the game of golf the rules can be difficult to understand and even more difficult to remember. The latest golf rule handbook issued by the R&A has over 150 pages so you will not know them all – even the professionals have Rules Officials following their games, as they are not certain of some of the rules!!

Breaking the rules is not the same thing as cheating, because usually when a player breaks a rule they’re not doing it deliberately – they do it without realising.

Cheating is the worst possible thing that you can do in golf.

Golf is a game of sportsmanship and everyone expects you to be an honest person.

 The rules of golf.

The rookiegolf Rules

The first few times you go out on the golf course you will have so many things to concentrate on you won’t be able to think about all the rules, so we’ve come up with 6 rookiegolf rules to help you.

The rookiegolf rules are suggestions to help improve your playing when you are first learning the game. Once you improve you will find you do not need to use these suggestions and can move on to playing by the official rules.

rookiegolf rule 1 : Get ready to play.
Make sure you are ready to play when it’s your turn. Think about your shot when you are walking to your ball. Once at your ball, decide on your shot, select your club and play.


rookiegolf rule 2 : No mulligans.
Even though you may see adults taking 2nd and 3rd shots until they hit one they like, it doesn’t mean you should do the same. You may hit another bad shot, make extra divots for the greenkeepers to repair and upset other members of your group. It also holds up others. Mulligans are not allowed in the rules of the game so don’t play them.

REMEMBER: the two worst crimes in golf are CHEATING and SLOW PLAY

rookiegolf rule 3 : Don’t be slow.
During your first few rounds you may hit your ball into places you can’t get out of easily, such as rough and trees. Don’t worry about picking your ball up and moving it to improve your lie. You may even want to use a tee on your shots the first few times you play. This way you will speed up play for your group and the groups behind you. At first your score is not very important, what you need is the chance to go out and play some shots without feeling that you are holding everyone else up. If anyone tells you that you are breaking the rules simply explain you are learning the basic shots and trying to speed up play. No one will mind.


rookiegolf rule 4 : That’s enough.
If there are golfers behind you playing quicker than you then let them through, but you don’t have to let everyone through. If the course is busy you will never finish! Why not take a maximum of seven shots on each hole. If you are not on the green by then, pick up your ball and move on. Take up to three putts on the green and then move on. This will speed up play for everyone. Keep a record of how many times you have to pick up the ball – as you improve you will see this number fall.


rookiegolf rule 5 : Keep your eyes open.
Always watch the flight of your ball once you have hit it. There is nothing worse than hitting a good shot and then losing the ball because you didn’t see it fall into the rough. Watch the ball when someone else hits it and tell him or her where it finished.


rookiegolf rule 6 : Lost ball
If you should lose your ball then don’t spend too long looking for it. The rules allow you five minutes to find your ball, but when you first begin to play you may lose a number of balls and spending five minutes looking for each one will add up to a long time! Have a quick search of the area you saw your ball land and if you can’t find it then play another ball and put it down to bad luck. Don’t worry about losing golf balls, as it will always happen.

When you first take up golf, other golfers will understand you following the rookiegolf rules. They won’t get upset if you make mistakes, and, they will do all they can to help you.

But they won’t be happy if you don’t follow Golf Etiquette.


Golf Etiquette

What is golf etiquette?

People who don’t play golf might tell you it’s about stuffy, old-fashioned rules.

WRONG!

Golf Etiquette is simply a guide to How to Behave on the Golf Course.

When you start to play golf it is important that you play safely and sensibly and think about other golfers.

The clubs and balls you will be using are very hard and can easily cause serious injury if someone is hit.

Following golf etiquette helps to:

Keep everyone safe on the course

Keep the course in good condition

Keep the game moving and prevent slow play

And….. means everyone can enjoy the game

Do's & Dont's of Golf Etiquette

DO
  • Be ready to play when it is your shot
  • Wait until the group in front have moved away from the area you are hitting to.
  • Stand quietly when someone is playing a shot, even if they are on the hole next to you.
  • Repair divots and pitch marks on the green. It helps protect the course and makes it easier for the player behind you.
  • Allow others to play through if you’re searching for a lost ball.
  • Rake the bunker after you play a shot out of it. If there is no rake try to smooth the sand with your club and feet.
  • Leave the rake outside the bunker in a position where it won’t affect a ball falling into the bunker.
  • Replace the flag after you have finished a hole.
  • Always remember to shout "fore" if your ball looks as though it could land close to another golfer.
  • If someone shouts "fore" to you, turn away and protect yourself – don’t look around to see who it is!
  • ENJOY your game.
 
DON’T
  • Move ahead of the person playing the next shot. This is dangerous, and it can put the player off his shot.
  • Make unnecessary noise on the course.
  • Walk onto the line of anyone’s putt.
  • Take trolleys onto or too near the green as they will damage the grass. (It’s easier for you if you leave your trolley just beyond the green on the way to the next tee. It means you can move off quickly and won’t delay golfers behind you.)
  • Hang around the green to fill in your scorecard and chat. You can fill in your scorecard as you are walking to the next tee.


THE FOLLOWING POEM SHOULD HELP YOU REMEMBER THESE IMPORTANT POINTS

Slow Play
By R. U. Guilty

Be ready on 1st tee, and stand –
with ball on peg and club in hand.

On next tee, saving time is not hard.
One drives off and one marks card.

Don’t leave trolleys in the way
or those behind must wait to play.

Keep up with the players ahead of you,
to lose a hole is strictly taboo.

Lost ball? Where is it? Not a clue?
The following players, you must call through.

If a slowcoach you must stay,
please start later in the day!


Another tip to help you with etiquette and the basic rules is to send for an excellent little book by the R & A called "Don’t Be a Golf Menace". You can get this free by writing to:
The Rules Secretary,
Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews,
Fife.
KY16 9JD

 Royla & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews


Golfing Lingo

Right, you’ve learnt about etiquette and we’ve guided you on how to cope with the rules. The next thing to understand is the golf lingo. Like all sports, golf has its own special terms.

Here is a beginner’s guide from the Telegraph’s paper for teenagers – T2:
Talking golf...
Woods The longest clubs in your bag – use them when you want to hit a really big shot. Just to confuse you most woods are now made out of metal (call them metals if it helps). The other Woods, of course, is the best golfer in the world.
Irons Most of the other clubs are called irons. They come in different sizes and with differently angled heads (the bit that makes contact) depending on how far and high you want to hit the ball. The shortest club - the sand iron – is used to play out of bunkers.
Drive Stop thinking cars or chauffeurs. A drive is the term used when you’re playing with your longest wood – which is called a driver.
Pitch Nothing to do with where you play golf which is called a course, but a short shot that is hit in the air to land the ball near the hole.
Tee Not a misspelt drink, but a plastic or wooden device used by players for their first shot at each hole. The tee raises the ball from the ground making it an easier target (don’t be fooled – it’s still mission impossible).
Links It’s not a breed of cat or an antiperspirant. It’s a golf course – such as Carnoustie in Scotland – that’s situated by the sea.
Par For every hole there is a certain number of shots in which the experts say a player should be able to hole their ball. It’s either 3, 4 or 5 depending on the hole’s distance and difficulty. When you start, though, you’ll probably find yourself taking 13, 14 or 15 shots. Everyone does.
Birdie Nothing feathered, but a score of one less than par for a hole. Sticking to the birds theme, a shot played two under par is called an eagle and three under par an albatross.
Bogey Don’t worry. It’s not what you think, but it’s still bad news for a golfer. It means you have scored one over the par for the hole. Any worse and you’re talking double and triple bogeys. Enough said.

We hope you enjoyed this fun guide to golf lingo. Our thanks to T2 for allowing us to include it.

Rookiegolf.com will be bringing you the meaning of more golf terms in future, so keep watching this space.

If you have any amusing explanations of golf terms then send them to us by email and we will try to include them on the site.

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