How do you feel about "Honors"??

tdinbr

Water hazards are tough!
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Played with someone new last week in our group and he was a bit of a stickler for the rules of golf, in particular the honor rule, where whoever scored the lowest on the last hole tees off first on the next hole.
I prefer to play "ready golf" and could care less who tees off first, as do the other guys I always play with. I had won the last hole and was not ready to tee off first because I stopped at the water cooler between holes. I said to them, "Go ahead, doesn't matter to me" and was told by this guy that it should matter to me since that's the way the game should be played. I think he may have been a bit upset because I was beating him in skins and he's a better player than I am (in his mind).
So I guess my question is.....how important to you is the "honors" system? Do you or your playing group always follow it??
 
totally depends on who i'm playing with. my old man loves to tee off first (mostly b/c he's impatient) so he always does, no matter what. i prefer to honor the "honors" b/c it's fun to dethrone someone who has them.
 
I and the people I usually golf with follow it for the most part. I don't have a problem with it. Is it really a big deal who tees off first? Not really, but golf is game full of rules and those are the rules. But that's just my opinion.
 
Im all for ready golf as most on here will tell you...However, if you are playing for skins, the honor rule is kind of a big deal. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Person teeing off kind of sets the hole for everybody else
2. Risk taker or playing it safe
3. Honors has its priviliges and set backs.

I think when gambling is being done, rules such as honors should be obeyed if they can.
 
Im all for ready golf as most on here will tell you...However, if you are playing for skins, the honor rule is kind of a big deal. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Person teeing off kind of sets the hole for everybody else
2. Risk taker or playing it safe
3. Honors has its priviliges and set backs.

I think when gambling is being done, rules such as honors should be obeyed if they can.

All good points!! Never thought of it that way really......also never really played skins before. This was my second time ever.
 
I am a huge fan of ready golf, especially when playing with a variety of skill levels/handicaps...

My dad likes to honour the 'dad rule' when I am playing with him. It stipulates that regardless of the previous hole score, he gets to tee off first, because when he hits after I do, he swings too hard trying to get it to my ball haha..

All that said, I think it should be established prior to the round beginning. If you have been invited or invited someone to play golf with you, I think it's more than reasonable that you'll be able to work within their requested rules.
 
Most of the time my buddies and I play ready golf, and whoever is ready is good to go. We do have some newer players that join us sometimes and if they birdie a hole or get the honor we will do it just to help kinda "celebrate" his good hole. We don't normally gamble, but JB does have some good points if you are.
 
i play ready golf and couldnt care less who tees off first. if you're ready to go, hit it
 
i normally play ready golf... speeds up play... and i dont gamble and am not a tournament golfer unless its for charity...

a single once joined our group and he was all about the honor and who's away... and this guy was always away... we waited(and the 3 groups behind us) for him and his 5 min preshot routine and his need to go back and forth to change clubs 3 or 4 times just to duff it... but this was an extreme case...

i usually ask from the time i join up or someone joins us... "we're playing ready golf... is that okay?""are you guys playing ready golf?"
 
Like most have said, completely depends who you are playing with. One guy I play with pretty regularly always follows the honor rule. He has a mental block and if we don't tee off in the correct order he thinks he'll hit a bad tee shot. Another guy I play with plays at a completely crazy pace, and always ends up teeing off first because he basically runs from the cart to the tee box (If I beat him there he wouldn't care, but I like to move a little slower than that). He takes 0 practice swings the whole round, reads 0 putts, and still shoots in the mid 70's. I guess hitting your driver 300+ and your 8 iron 220 yards on typically shorter courses will help you to do that.
 
always play ready golf dont care who hits first as long as I get to hit
 
Usually in the groups that I play in, if you get par or better, you get honors unless you're otherwise engaged. When we were in Florida, it was mostly birdie or better got honors (A lot of pars down there!). Otherwise it's whoever is ready can hit.
 
Like most have said, completely depends who you are playing with. One guy I play with pretty regularly always follows the honor rule. He has a mental block and if we don't tee off in the correct order he thinks he'll hit a bad tee shot. Another guy I play with plays at a completely crazy pace, and always ends up teeing off first because he basically runs from the cart to the tee box (If I beat him there he wouldn't care, but I like to move a little slower than that). He takes 0 practice swings the whole round, reads 0 putts, and still shoots in the mid 70's. I guess hitting your driver 300+ and your 8 iron 220 yards on typically shorter courses will help you to do that.

You golf with JB often then? hehehe
 
I prefer ready golf unless it is tournament play.
 
Usually in the groups that I play in, if you get par or better, you get honors unless you're otherwise engaged. When we were in Florida, it was mostly birdie or better got honors (A lot of pars down there!). Otherwise it's whoever is ready can hit.

That's a good call, and something that is pretty common when I'm playing.. Usually a birdie is significant enough to let that person have the teebox.
 
Played with someone new last week in our group and he was a bit of a stickler for the rules of golf, in particular the honor rule, where whoever scored the lowest on the last hole tees off first on the next hole.
I prefer to play "ready golf" and could care less who tees off first, as do the other guys I always play with. I had won the last hole and was not ready to tee off first because I stopped at the water cooler between holes. I said to them, "Go ahead, doesn't matter to me" and was told by this guy that it should matter to me since that's the way the game should be played. I think he may have been a bit upset because I was beating him in skins and he's a better player than I am (in his mind).
So I guess my question is.....how important to you is the "honors" system? Do you or your playing group always follow it??

I'd rather that my playing companions play at a decent pace than worry about honors or who's away. If you are playing in a match play competition, then it matters, but stroke play or casual golf of any format, play away when you're ready, as long as you aren't in someone's line, or otherwise in a position to bother them. And I don't see what difference it makes if we're playing skins. We play skins a lot, and we still play ready golf. If everyone is ready to go, then fine, let the guy have his honors... otherwise... :violin:

If I'm ready to play before the guy with honors, then I'm going to play. If he wants to claim his honor then he'd better get his act together and be ready when it's his turn. "Time waits for no man", nor do I. :golf2:
 
I agree 100% --- Honors if gambling, Otherwise "READY" golf rules !
 
My friends and I typically play ready golf unless someone gets a birdie. Then we revert to Honors. It does keep the game moving a bit. Also, if I play with a new foursome we usually start out with Honors but eventually someone ends up seaying ready golf and we go with that.
 
You golf with JB often then? hehehe

haha they do seem similar in that aspect. I doubt JB is doing research on the bacteria strain ecoli at the moment though so that kind of ends the similarities there.
 
Unless its a tournament, I personally dont worry about, "honors". Im all about ready golf. That way you arent wasting a lot of time and backing up the golf course.
 
I like the little rituals about golf like who has the honor. Doesn't really bother me if no one cares and doesn't follow it, but I thinks it's a nice touch. I also think in most cases whomever is away should play first. Doesn't mean you can't play ready golf and still observe these rules/rituals. One thing I'm finding out in the men's club at my new club is sometimes poor etiquette is the norm. Guys are moving, talking, and hitting whenever they feel like it. Doesn't affect my game, but it irritates me a little bit.

Kevin
 
I usually play ready golf, unless the group I'm with prefers to go by honors. Since I don't gamble on the course, and haven't played any tournament stuff in years that aspect hasn't come into play.
 
The guys I play with, it's ready golf all the time, hit and keep moving. No body should complain about us playing slow!!
 
Its absolutely necessary in Match play and any sort of gambling. Match play, if the first one hits a bad tee shot, you can go iron off of the tee and play safe.
 
Now that I think about it, the people I've played with the most, we always seem to go by "Honors". Unless everybody really stunk it up on a hole. But if somebody makes a birdie, or if all but one of person stinks it up on a hole, we go by honors. Then from the fairway, its all "ready" golf. I always make sure I'm not moving while somebody else is about to hit, and I make sure I'm not hitting at the exact same time.
 
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