Putting is considered one of the most difficult skills to master in the all of sports. It requires concentration and patience, and because of this, a set of etiquette rules has developed around behavior on the putting green. The green is a sacred space for golfers – the difference between a great round and a terrible one often hinges on one’s putting game – and there is nothing more frustrating to a golfer than a playing partner behaving badly at the pin.
Even before you get to the green you must treat it with deference. Never drive a golf cart on the green, or even to the fringe. Leave your clubs in the cart or off to the side of the green, and only bring your putter along with you when you do step onto the green.
If you made a great approach shot, congratulations – but leave the flag in the hole until all the players have reached the green. Only after all the players are on the green can the flag be removed from the flag, and placed to the side of the green.
The player furthest away from the pin putts first. If your ball is closer, and lies directly in line with the further player’s ball, you should remove your ball from the green, replacing it with a ball marker. If you do not have a ball marker you may use a coin. Do this by placing your marker directly behind the ball, and then lift your ball. Do not lift your ball and then estimate where to put your marker.
Maintain silence when somebody is attempting a putt, and stay still to avoid distracting your partner. Whenever on the green, be aware of where all the ball lie and try to avoid walking in the putting line of another player, if at all possible. Your spikes could easily upset the delicate turf of the grass, creating a bumpier path for the other player’s ball to follow. Along the same lines, do not let your shadow fall in anybody else’s putting line or over the hole. Putting is difficult enough without shadows distracting you.
A player will occasionally request that the flag be left in the hole, especially if he or she has been left with a long, hilly putt that restricts his or her vision of the hole. If this is the case, you are in charge of tending the flag. Stand near the flag, holding it until the player is ready to putt. Again, make sure that your shadow is not in the player’s putting line or over the hole, and be aware of other players’ putting lines. After the ball has been struck, you may pull the flag out of the hole, and move out of the way. Make sure you pull the flag out in time, because the putting player can be penalized if his or her ball strikes the flag.
Once everybody is finished putting, return the flag and check the green for any divots you may have inadvertently caused. Replace these divots as best you can, and move on to the next hole quickly, so as not to delay any parties playing behind you.
It sometimes seems like there are more rules of etiquette than rules of play in golf, and nowhere is this more apparent than on the green. But when you consider that most etiquette is designed with the welfare of other players in mind, and consider how difficult it is to make a putt, it is easy to know what to do at all times. The green is sacred; treat it with reverence.
