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Arnie's 10 Rules for Good Golf Etiquette

Canadan said:
Arnie is the absolute best.

I get the complaints about cellphones, but no one needs to shut off the world for four hours just to golf. Set it to vibrate if it's in your pocket or silent if it's in a cup holder in cart. Boom, zero distraction.
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Well, we must remember that Arnie comes from a world prior to very modern communication. Actually anyone probably over 35 or so grew up without cel phones and this constant need to now walk around with a traveling computer strapped to us. These things have now worked their way into society and become a necessity rather than a luxury. Even you (if you don't mind me saying so) appear to be (via your posted opinions in other threads) a traditionalist as far as golf. Honor, respect, dress, behave like a gentleman yet you can advocate for phone usage (so long as not disturbing anyone). And I agree with that however it just goes to show how things change and the modern age of computers has worked its way into our lives from a social luxury to now a social necessity even to the point of changing our views for whats now acceptable vs tradition.

I have to be honest, while I understand and also have no issue with phones (if used with proper etiquette) I would still argue that it does go against things from a more traditional point of view. Just a tad surprised "you" wouldn't think so. Its kind of in a way like having to learn the accepting of lessor dress etiquettes nowadays 9as in that other thread). That's not just with golf but imo in general for where ever we go and whatever we do, when people are dressed up the overall environment is usually in general one that is of a more well mannered one. But its is getting so that (to my dislike) more and more the norm for people to dress lees and less for more and more things in and at places where it never use to be the case. At 50yrs old and a bit of a traditionalist myself its just something I needed to eventually accept as society has changed. I know its something you don't care for and don't yet accept and are very insistent about in your opinions, but its why I find it a tad strange that you don't view the phones in the same way. Traditional preservations of the games honor, respect, and etiquettes should by all rights dictate (to one who values them whole heartedly) to actually leave the phone in the car. Just surprised is all.
 
rollin said:
well, the rule is "stroke & distance" for a lost ball. Your technically suppose to go back or just hit a provisional for the sake of when knowing your first ball has a good possibility of not being found.

But there are a few scenarios and problems with this. Many amateurs have just as much chance at also hitting an errant provisional ball too. Not an issue for better players but certainly for many. And also many times a ball may be hit borderline woods/weeds/whatever where the person or group feel its a very findable ball but only after truns out that's not the case. Or also when you all believe a ball was hit well enough in play and yet is simply hidden somewhere like under a leaf, in a divot, in the rough, etc....or perhaps a blind shot that hit a sprinkler head and went god knows where. There are imo just too many scenarios for not hitting a provisional or not believing you need to hit one but only after the fact. What can you do?

As said, I look at it for counting 2 strokes because I feel its the best way to make up for the "distance" part of the penalty. I mean if ya went back and hit again (like we are suppose to do) then we would be hitting 4 from that next shot so hitting 3 is not really reflecting a more honest score. However I will only do that when I know that I hit a bad errant shot that went significantly into the woods/weeds/ whatever. If its a borderline shot or errant but into an open area we don't have the advantage of a hundred sets of eyes watching our ball. Heck, we even lose balls in the rough after pretty good shots. So then I'll give myself just the 1 stroke unless of course it was an organized competition where that rule must be followed. Its just not a fair penalty imo while the pro's ball is always found for him via all the coverage and eyes. Not only do they avoid "stroke&distnace" but as a result of the help they don't even lose one stroke. So imo why in the world should we suffer both S&D (or 2 strokes). Its just not right imo. And is also why 5 minutes is much too long. They don't even need a minute due to all the help so why in the world is 5mins the rule? The whole thing (the penalty and the time to search)needs to be rethought for lost balls. I mean you can hit a ball in lateral water and drop/stroke but hit into lateral woodline (basically same exact shot and yet it becomes "stroke and distance"?). Imo that just shouldn't be.
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99% of amateurs play this way anyway. Even the men's club at a couple of the local courses voted to "take 2 strokes and drop" rather than play S&D. They're not supposed to do this, but they did as their "local rule." So they take a drop near where they think their ball went and they're lying 3 hitting 4 for the imaginary S&D penalty. It's a rules violation, and if a person gains an advantage from playing from the wrong place after they've dropped a new ball they're supposed to add 2 additional strokes to their score for that hole for a serious breach under 20-7c. If there is wagering going on, this will come up.
 
tahoebum said:
I know plenty of guys who shoot in the 90's and 100's who can get around in 3:15 or less. We have a handful of low single digit players at our club that not many will play with, including me, because they can't finish a round in under 4 hours. At least they let everyone play through. It's painful to watch them read putts and go through their routines on the putting green.
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I'm one of these. I shoot 90s on an "average" course and might not break 100 on a hard one. That's the definition of a hack. Give me a walkable course that is open and a push cart, and I will get around in 3:15. I will also have a blast doing it.

Arnie's 8 rules are great ones, well except his one about it being a sanctuary when he's hitting. I'm quiet, still and polite when other people are swinging, but I'm not going to do all of that while someone is in a practice routine. When it's time to hit, sure. Until then, it's my responsibility to be getting into position and be ready to go.

I also think parallel play is perfectly fine as long as it's safe. The exception is on the green. There's absolutely no issue (other than the possibility for more lost balls) with two balls being in the air at the same time in my book. That's not going to impact my swing at all, so swing away if you are ready, regardless of who is "out."

And lost balls? Five minutes is way too long for the average player. Sure, if you're in a PGA event with hundreds of thousands riding on it, I can understand that. You also might have the skill to recover. For the average hack that might look 2-15 times per round, drop and hit if you can't find it within 30 seconds. They make a million more balls every day and if you can't afford to lose them, then golf may not be the right sport.
 
InTheRough said:
99% of amateurs play this way anyway. Even the men's club at a couple of the local courses voted to "take 2 strokes and drop" rather than play S&D. They're not supposed to do this, but they did as their "local rule." So they take a drop near where they think their ball went and they're lying 3 hitting 4 for the imaginary S&D penalty. It's a rules violation, and if a person gains an advantage from playing from the wrong place after they've dropped a new ball they're supposed to add 2 additional strokes to their score for that hole for a serious breach under 20-7c. If there is wagering going on, this will come up.
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If I'm playing in an officially sanctioned event, and a player fails to play a provisional and tires to take a drop where he thinks his ball went and says, "I will just drop here and play 4." You can bet I am throwing a fit. That isn't even close to right. The danger of OB or an area where lost balls are possible is that if you go in once, you may end up going in again. Dropping and playing 4, 5, 6...etc takes that out of the equation. If I am a competitor, I call BS right then and there.
 
Rule 8: I don't actually mind cell phones as long as people are considerate. It is entirely possible to have your phone with you and not be a distraction. Having a long conversation is one thing, but sending off a quick text or email while waiting for the group in front or getting a gps location isn't a problem if you don't make it one.
 
rollin said:
That is so not true and couldn't be furthest from truth. It is one of the biggest misguided logics there are.
There are tons of good mid and low cap players who are the slowest players of all. especially around the greens. And very often, better players who are slow are oblivious to the fact that they are too slow and because they are good they falsely believe it cant be themselves who are slow.
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I agree. I play ABCD skins every weekend and some the A players are the slowest in the group, while most of the D players do just fine.
 
InTheRough said:
99% of amateurs play this way anyway. Even the men's club at a couple of the local courses voted to "take 2 strokes and drop" rather than play S&D. They're not supposed to do this, but they did as their "local rule." So they take a drop near where they think their ball went and they're lying 3 hitting 4 for the imaginary S&D penalty. It's a rules violation, and if a person gains an advantage from playing from the wrong place after they've dropped a new ball they're supposed to add 2 additional strokes to their score for that hole for a serious breach under 20-7c. If there is wagering going on, this will come up.
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I don't think this is something that a club can just take as a "local" rule...........That is why we have the gift of the provisional ball.

Local rules normally are reserved for things on the course, like a power line that runs through our course, or not hitting out of landscaped area's.
 
rollin said:
Well, we must remember that Arnie comes from a world prior to very modern communication. Actually anyone probably over 35 or so grew up without cel phones and this constant need to now walk around with a traveling computer strapped to us. These things have now worked their way into society and become a necessity rather than a luxury. Even you (if you don't mind me saying so) appear to be (via your posted opinions in other threads) a traditionalist as far as golf. Honor, respect, dress, behave like a gentleman yet you can advocate for phone usage (so long as not disturbing anyone). And I agree with that however it just goes to show how things change and the modern age of computers has worked its way into our lives from a social luxury to now a social necessity even to the point of changing our views for whats now acceptable vs tradition.

I have to be honest, while I understand and also have no issue with phones (if used with proper etiquette) I would still argue that it does go against things from a more traditional point of view. Just a tad surprised "you" wouldn't think so. Its kind of in a way like having to learn the accepting of lessor dress etiquettes nowadays 9as in that other thread). That's not just with golf but imo in general for where ever we go and whatever we do, when people are dressed up the overall environment is usually in general one that is of a more well mannered one. But its is getting so that (to my dislike) more and more the norm for people to dress lees and less for more and more things in and at places where it never use to be the case. At 50yrs old and a bit of a traditionalist myself its just something I needed to eventually accept as society has changed. I know its something you don't care for and don't yet accept and are very insistent about in your opinions, but its why I find it a tad strange that you don't view the phones in the same way. Traditional preservations of the games honor, respect, and etiquettes should by all rights dictate (to one who values them whole heartedly) to actually leave the phone in the car. Just surprised is all.
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I relate the game of golf to my experiences, and phones, at least for the last 15 years, have been a part of that. I see your comparisons to other traditionalist attitudes but for me, silent phones do not fall in line with other conversations because they don't present anything visibly to anyone (so far as I can tell). That's my personal perception because as you mentioned, they are very much a part of the equation nowadays - With the exception of ringers being turned on, or loud conversations when others are attempting to play.

It's not that my goal is to get golf back to tie's and sanded tees, I just have an appreciation for the respect and presentation that comes with etiquette including the dress code. Silenced (or pocketed on vibrate) phones very much fall in that realm for me as a sign of respect.
 
blugold said:
If I'm playing in an officially sanctioned event, and a player fails to play a provisional and tires to take a drop where he thinks his ball went and says, "I will just drop here and play 4." You can bet I am throwing a fit. That isn't even close to right. The danger of OB or an area where lost balls are possible is that if you go in once, you may end up going in again. Dropping and playing 4, 5, 6...etc takes that out of the equation. If I am a competitor, I call BS right then and there.
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This is why my provisional is never a driver or other long club. I've called people out on this and it's surprising how much grief I've gotten in league for it.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I don't think this is something that a club can just take as a "local" rule...........That is why we have the gift of the provisional ball.

Local rules normally are reserved for things on the course, like a power line that runs through our course, or not hitting out of landscaped area's.
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Like I said, they're not supposed to do this, but that's the way they play it. It's an unwritten "local rule" that no one talks about officially, hence the quotation marks (if I was speaking they would be air quotes). :wink:
 
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Very good rules of golf to "live by" while on the course.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I don't think this is something that a club can just take as a "local" rule...........That is why we have the gift of the provisional ball.

Local rules normally are reserved for things on the course, like a power line that runs through our course, or not hitting out of landscaped area's.
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I think a league could do it if everyone was playing under the same conditions and a non-USGA league handicap was being used. But as for a course doing it, I don't think so.
 
Dave Alvarado said:
If you're the highest handicap, you're already the slowest player. Fast players go straight to their ball with a club or two in hand, take a practice swing, and hit the ball. Slow players walk to their ball, walk back to the cart for their rangefinder, get a range, go back to the cart for a club, take a few practice swings, then hit the ball.
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Wow, this is about the most ridiculous things I have seen here in a while. While your comparison of fast and slow could be kind of correct, even though it is not really, the high handicap thing is laughable.

Tom Watson once said that he enjoyed his rounds with his friends who couldn't break 100 because they didn't take forever to hit.

rollin said:
That is so not true and couldn't be furthest from truth. It is one of the biggest misguided logics there are.
There are tons of good mid and low cap players who are the slowest players of all. especially around the greens. And very often, better players who are slow are oblivious to the fact that they are too slow and because they are good they falsely believe it cant be themselves who are slow.
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Agreed.
 
Great post. There is a reason why even the best pros have trouble referring to him as something else than "Mr Palmer." First he made golf something to watch on TV, gave people someone to root for. He is the reason why golfers today get the payday they do (both in purses and endorsements). Also, he has respect for not only the game but those who watch it. I have heard he has taken young players aside in the past to go over their on course behavior. Finally, everything in the original post is something I agree with. If you are having trouble finding your ball and there is a group behind you let them play through even if you haven't spent 5 minutes looking. 5 minutes a hole is 90 minutes over 18 holes (even if happens on half of them that is 45 minutes). As for playing "ready golf" I do think this is something to speak about with your group prior to taking the initial tee. If it isn't busy then no worries, but given how long rounds can be (especially on weekends) it makes sense to put a premium on playing efficiently as a group.
 
Den60 said:
Great post. There is a reason why even the best pros have trouble referring to him as something else than "Mr Palmer." First he made golf something to watch on TV, gave people someone to root for. He is the reason why golfers today get the payday they do (both in purses and endorsements). Also, he has respect for not only the game but those who watch it. I have heard he has taken young players aside in the past to go over their on course behavior. Finally, everything in the original post is something I agree with. If you are having trouble finding your ball and there is a group behind you let them play through even if you haven't spent 5 minutes looking. 5 minutes a hole is 90 minutes over 18 holes (even if happens on half of them that is 45 minutes). As for playing "ready golf" I do think this is something to speak about with your group prior to taking the initial tee. If it isn't busy then no worries, but given how long rounds can be (especially on weekends) it makes sense to put a premium on playing efficiently as a group.
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If I may ask, how is "he" the reason players get the pay they make today? All sports pay nowadays dwarfs that of old timers. Tom Brady earns more in one game played vs what Joe Namath made in an entire 3 year contract. So many more examples that I can bring up that are staggering. That's just a reflection of different times we live in.

As for TV, sure his talent and genuine attraction to fans gave reason for rooting for him. But that was really just a matter of coincidental timing where TV and coverage were coming of age. It was an enormous boost for media (at the time) and spreading of news and info. Much like Tiger (relatively speaking for his era) just so happen to come along in coincidence with the huge boom in modern social media and computer age. Was it the chicken or the egg? The technology itself is what (relatively speaking) boomed in both eras and hence is what brought about the awareness on both ocassions. The great play of those players certainly added to it all but not they did anything different had they missed the "right times", but simply coincidentally happened at the right time and place.
 
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rollin said:
If I may ask, how is "he" the reason players get the pay they make today? All sports pay nowadays dwarfs that of old timers. Tom Brady earns more in one game played vs what Joe Namath made in an entire 3 year contract. So many more examples that I can bring up that are staggering. That's just a reflection of different times we live in.

As for TV, sure his talent and genuine attraction to fans gave reason for rooting for him. But that was really just a matter of coincidental timing where TV and coverage were coming of age. It was an enormous boost for media (at the time) and spreading of news and info. Much like Tiger (relatively speaking for his era) just so happen to come along in coincidence with the huge boom in modern social media and computer age. Was it the chicken or the egg? The technology itself is what (relatively speaking) boomed in both eras and hence is what brought about the awareness on both ocassions. The great play of those players certainly added to it all but not they did anything different had they missed the "right times", but simply coincidentally happened at the right time and place.
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Because he was the first to get people who weren't golfers watching golf because they were rooting for him. We really haven't seen anything else that matched what he brought to the game in that sense until Tiger. Even Nicklaus couldn't match Arnie's personality and I recall hearing there were a lot of people who didn't like Nicklaus at first because they thought he was too serious on the course, not likable like Palmer. I'm sure golf would have still grown without Palmer but he accelerated its popularity.
 
He was also credited being the first for branding & marketing himself.
 
bulldog said:
He was also credited being the first for branding & marketing himself.
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And the first one, I believe, to own and fly his own jet. I love the ESPN commercial with him at the soda fountain adding tee and then lemonade.
 
bulldog said:
He was also credited being the first for branding & marketing himself.
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Not sure about that nor exactly what you refer too but fwiw Hogan branded a line of equipment since the 50's if that what you mean.
 
Canadan said:
I relate the game of golf to my experiences, and phones, at least for the last 15 years, have been a part of that. I see your comparisons to other traditionalist attitudes but for me, silent phones do not fall in line with other conversations because they don't present anything visibly to anyone (so far as I can tell). That's my personal perception because as you mentioned, they are very much a part of the equation nowadays - With the exception of ringers being turned on, or loud conversations when others are attempting to play.

It's not that my goal is to get golf back to tie's and sanded tees, I just have an appreciation for the respect and presentation that comes with etiquette including the dress code. Silenced (or pocketed on vibrate) phones very much fall in that realm for me as a sign of respect.
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Well said. My home course for the past several years had a sign posted at the 1st. & 10th. tee, that stated cell phones must be turned off. In the past year, the course board of directors, have changed these signs and the policy to say phones "must be silenced" on the course.

The fact of the matter is that this is a newer issue (cell phones) that golf was never faced with in the past, but is now part of our everyday life. I for one, always have my phone on vibrate, in my bag and I often just leave in my vehicle.

Music & headphones are another topic. Again just part of our current world. My course still has a ban on music and the use of headphones on the course for safety reasons. I for one, go to the course to be outside, socialize and play golf with family and friends with nothing but the normal sounds on a golf course. There is a place and plenty of time for music away from the course. Being on the board, I do not ever see these two things changing. We feel we have moved to the year 2015 on cell phones, but the use of headphones is both dangerous and a possible liability to the course.

Just be respectful of other's on the course. Pretty simple stuff.
 
Good fundamentals laid out by Arnie for sure, although I hate tucking in my shirt and only do it when absolutely necessary.
 
caeleric said:
what i'm getting at is that arnie wants a slower player to pick up the pace once he realizes he's the slow player. but how do you figure that out???
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If you are:
- Last guy off every green.
- Last one to the next tee.
- Still digging in your bag after everyone tees off.
- Still 100 yards from you ball when everyone is hitting second shots.
- Getting told to pick up the pace.
- You ask the guys in your group and they say you are slow.
You are slow.

In our tournaments you get 40 seconds after its your turn to hit the ball. If you take that long on a day when it isn't windy or when you aren't in contention you likely look slow to others.

Canadan said:
Arnie is the absolute best.

I get the complaints about cellphones, but no one needs to shut off the world for four hours just to golf. Set it to vibrate if it's in your pocket or silent if it's in a cup holder in cart. Boom, zero distraction.
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...or set your sounds to bird songs. It works well and no one notices it.

And FWIW, I always thought Arnie was one of the best dressed guys on tour...
 
Tedfroop said:
If you are:
- Last guy off every green.
- Last one to the next tee.
- Still digging in your bag after everyone tees off.
- Still 100 yards from you ball when everyone is hitting second shots.
- Getting told to pick up the pace.
- You ask the guys in your group and they say you are slow.
You are slow.

In our tournaments you get 40 seconds after its your turn to hit the ball. If you take that long on a day when it isn't windy or when you aren't in contention you likely look slow to it.
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none of the above applies to me that I'm aware of. I think the guy I play most of my golf with is just very fast. but I'm still trying to get faster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
caeleric said:
none of the above applies to me that I'm aware of. I think the guy I play most of my golf with is just very fast. but I'm still trying to get faster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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A twosome with a clear course you should be around the two hour mark....

The biggest thing I see most people could do to speed up is to walk like they were trying to get somewhere.
 
Tedfroop said:
A twosome with a clear course you should be around the two hour mark....

The biggest thing I see most people could do to speed up is ride.
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For 18? 2 hours is pretty darn quick, even with a cart at my home course.

Also, FIFY
 
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