{"id":15543109,"date":"2024-06-20T09:55:22","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T13:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golf.com\/?post_type=article&p=15543109"},"modified":"2024-06-20T16:01:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T20:01:54","slug":"worst-golf-etiquette-violations-hall-of-shame","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/golf.com\/lifestyle\/worst-golf-etiquette-violations-hall-of-shame\/","title":{"rendered":"13 egregious golf-etiquette violations our readers witnessed on the course"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In golf, we learn to take the good with the bad. But sometimes the bad becomes more than we can bear. Not the wretched shots<\/a>. The execrable behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent survey<\/a>, we asked our audience to share memories of the most egregious on-course conduct they have ever witnessed. Thousands responded<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the replies are too numerous to reprint in full, we\u2019ve sorted them into categories and offered examples that represent the worst of the worst. Here they are, our 13 inductees into the Golf Etiquette Hall of Shame.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHECK OUT THE FULL RESULTS OF OUR GOLF-ETIQUETTE SURVEY HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Poor course maintenance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Failing to fix ball marks and fill divots is bad enough. But next-level negligence also seems common. One respondent described \u201ca dude\u201d who climbed \u201cout of the steepest side of a bunker, leaving cavernous gouges in the side of the bunker and never even glanced at the rake.\u201d Another told of a player \u201ctomahawking a putter into a green in frustration, imbedding it several inches down.\u201d And then there was the guy who, after missing a putt, \u201cswung at his ball to knock it away but missed and took a six-inch divot on the green, right next to the hole. It was unrepairable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Reckless driving<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who calls golf a good walk spoiled hasn\u2019t paid attention to what people do in buggies<\/a>. Flipping them, for instance. Four-wheeling them through bunkers. Also: Doing donuts in the fairways. Bashing into other carts. Riding roughshod over greens.  And no, one reader wrote, \u201cI wasn\u2019t with Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Fisticuffs <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Joe Louis was a golfer. So is Sugar Ray Leonard. Oscar de la Hoya<\/a> is big on the game. A lot of other players seem to think they\u2019re pugilists, based on the number of stories we heard of fights breaking out (\u201cright there on the green,\u201d one reader wrote), often in the aftermath of one group hitting into another.<\/p>\n\n\n

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4. Music on the course<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Music<\/a> is okay, most respondents said. But not when it\u2019s played at Metallica concert-level decibels. And not when it\u2019s pumped from multiple sources that aren\u2019t playing the same tune. \u201cWe had three speakers in one foursome,\u201d one respondent wrote, \u201call set to different hip-hop music loudly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Dress-code violations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The rules around attire are getting looser all the time. Hoodies are in. Shorts are allowed where they used to be forbidden. But some of our respondents are still trying to hold the line. One reported being miffed at the sight of someone playing in a V-neck undershirt. At least they weren\u2019t playing in the raw. \u201cNaked swings on a golf trip,\u201d one respondent wrote before acknowledging that the offending golfer was, in fact, \u201cme.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Taking, um, relief<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And not just behind trees or deep in the woods. In our survey, anecdotes abounded of golfers letting fly on tee boxes, cart paths, fairways and greens. One reader reported seeing a fellow player going \u2014 how to put this? \u2014 number two directly in the cup. Another told this story: \u201cClub championship. Second hole. A member of our threesome has a raging hangover and IBS. In terrible discomfort, he grabs his golf towel and bolts for the deep fescue. Disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Cheating<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Foot wedges. Hand wedges. Un-granted gimmes. The list goes on. \u201cMy opponent hit five provisional balls off of a tee and didn\u2019t declare what ball was what number and how it was marked,\u201d one respondent wrote. \u201cHe then said he found his first ball.\u201d And: \u201cA player in one of my buddy trips would hit tee shots way into the woods but somehow it was always in the clear. He was never invited back to subsequent trips.\u201d Dubious recoveries were a recurring theme. \u201cA player suddenly \u2018finding\u2019 their ball in the rough and it\u2019s sitting up so well it can be seen from 20 yards away aft real members of the foursome tramped all through the area where the ball now sits and not one saw the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n Lifestyle <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \"A <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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Golf-etiquette survey results: Sounding off on slow play, cheating, dress codes<\/a><\/blockquote>\n By:<\/span>\n \n \n Josh Sens <\/a>\n \n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

8. Public endangerment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bad shots happen. But no point adding injury to insult. \u201cNo fore call,\u201d one respondent wrote. \u201cHit me with a drive from about 100 yards away and broke a bone in my foot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Drunk and disorderly<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nothing wrong with a cocktail or two. But \u201cgetting so wasted you fall over getting out of the cart is beyond the realm of acceptable,\u201d one reader wrote. So is the conduct another respondent reported of a boozy golfer \u201cdriving a cart in circles on the green.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Slow play<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, no wonder slow play drives so many people batty. Most irritating of all, one respondent wrote, was the golfer with the habit of \u201ctaking 20 practice swing and hitting it two feet and then doing it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Excessive phone use<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Discreet texting? Fine. But many readers told of fellow golfers yacking like traders on the stock-market floor. \u201cStanding on the tee talking on the phone for several minutes,\u201d one wrote. \u201cWhen called on it, the person swung with the phone tucked under their chin. Hit about five feet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Gum chewing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tiger Woods chewed gum at Augusta National<\/a> en route to winning the 2019 Masters. Other Tour pros have embraced the practice. If you\u2019re going to copy them, though, please, keep it quiet. \u201cPlayed Pinehurst No. 2 with my dad years ago and we were paired with another older gent,\u201d one respondent wrote. \u201cHis wife was allowed to walk the course with us and was constantly snapping a piece of gum in her mouth the whole round.\u201d And a green jacket wasn\u2019t even at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. Temper tantrums<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Snapped putters. Splintered drivers. Broken axels on carts. To hear our respondents tell it, you\u2019d swear that the game is wildly popular among toddlers. To wit: \u201cA person I was playing with was playing awful. On about the 5th hole he took his entire bag and threw it into a pond and stomped off the course. Thinking he had come to his senses when I saw him coming back down the fairway, I had to laugh when he walked into he pond, picked up his bag, retrieved his car keys and then drop his bag back in the water.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the upside of bad etiquette: Now and then, it offers comic relief. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bad shots happen. So does bad behavior. In a recent GOLF.com survey, readers described the worst on-course conduct they’ve seen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15543741,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-06-20T13:55:26Z","apple_news_api_id":"dd7cab59-0c8f-45bc-95bb-1b64afbdc0a9","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2024-06-20T20:01:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A3XyrWQyPRbyVuxtkr73AqQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[40],"tags":[44412,3519],"class_list":["post-15543109","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-etiquette","tag-etiquetteist"],"acf":{"tee_time_button_status":false,"wsum-gated-content":false,"wsotp_enable_one_time_payment":false,"ad_meta":false,"article_template":"standard","featured_image_caption":"Reckless driving can turn golf into a good ride, spoiled.","featured_image_credits":"Getty Images","art_author":[{"ID":14045818,"post_author":"235","post_date":"2016-10-09 13:44:40","post_date_gmt":"2016-10-09 17:44:40","post_content":"","post_title":"Josh Sens","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"josh-sens","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-03-01 10:29:29","post_modified_gmt":"2024-03-01 15:29:29","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.golf.com\/?post_type=golf_person&p=14045818","menu_order":0,"post_type":"contributor","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"art_source":"None"},"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n13 egregious golf-etiquette violations our readers witnessed on the course<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bad shots happen. 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