Playing

Before You Start

• Be ready to play your shot when it is your turn. Have your club, ball, gloves and tee ready to go - it will speed the game up.
• Turn mobile phones off.
• Stand still and stay quiet when others are playing and make sure your shadow is not across their line of vision.
• Wait until the group in front is out of range before playing.
• Stand facing the person playing, but behind the line of the ball - you are not in the way and it is the safest place to be.
• Check the local rules on the back of the scorecard or winter rules with the club pro before teeing-off. They may be useful later on.
• Keep buggys off tee and greens.

On the Course

• After the tee shots, the player furthest from the hole plays first.
• Put your divots back, repair pitch marks on the green and rake bunkers after you have extracted yourself from them.
• On the green, avoid standing on another player's line of putt.
• When approaching a green, see where the next tee is and leave your clubs on that side of the green while you putt.
• In matchplay, conceding putts usually happens when the ball is 'within the leather'. That means the distance between the hole and the ball is less that the distance between the putter head and the bottom of the grip. Mind you, if it is a crucial putt then it is OK to see if they can handle the pressure!
• Mark your score card on the next tee whilst it is not your turn to play, not on the green. The score won't change (unfortunately!).
• If you think you have lost a ball, play a second 'provisional' ball from the same spot to save you walking back if you do lose the first one. It doesn't cost anything.
• If you accidentally hit your ball in the direction of another person, warn them by shouting 'Fore!' Hold your arm up as another warning, particularly if you are shouting against the wind or lack the vocal capacity of a foghorn.