Golf has an unwritten code that every player is expected to follow. None of it is complicated — it's mostly common courtesy, care for the course, and not slowing everyone else down.
Pace of play is the number-one etiquette concern on every golf course. A single slow group ruins the round for everyone behind them. The goal on an 18-hole course is roughly 4 hours total for a foursome — about 13 minutes per hole.
As a beginner, these habits help:
Golf requires concentration. When a player addresses their ball and starts their pre-shot routine, stop talking, stop walking, and stop rattling clubs. This applies even when you're 30 feet away — motion in a player's peripheral vision is distracting.
Wait until the ball is in the air (ideally until it lands) before resuming conversation. This is the single easiest etiquette habit to build, and it shows respect for your playing partners.
If you hit a shot that could reach another group or any person on the course, shout "FORE!" loud and immediately — before the ball lands. Don't wait to see where it's going. Shout in the direction the ball is traveling so people know which way to duck.
A golf ball traveling 100+ mph can cause serious injury. "FORE!" gives people time to turn away and cover their heads. Never skip it because you think your shot is fine — it only takes one bad bounce.
Divots — when you take a chunk of turf with your iron shot, replace the divot and press it down with your foot. On many courses (especially those with sand mixes), you fill the divot with sand from the bottle on your cart instead.
Ball marks — when your ball lands on the green and leaves an indentation, fix it with a tee or a ball-mark repair tool. Push the edges toward the center and smooth it flat. Fix yours and any others you see nearby — unfixed ball marks become dead patches within a day. A repaired mark heals in 24 hours; an unrepaired one takes weeks.
Sand bunkers — after you play out of a bunker, rake it smooth. Most bunkers have a rake left nearby for this purpose.
Golf courses spend enormous effort maintaining turf. A few habits:
On the first hole, the order is usually decided by a coin flip, a tee-toss, or just whoever steps up. After that, the player who had the lowest score on the previous hole has "honors" and tees off first.
In casual and recreational play (which most beginners play), this is often ignored in favor of ready golf — whoever is ready goes. That's fine. But in any semi-formal round or competition, observing honors is the polite default.
As of 2019 USGA rules, you can putt with the flagstick in the hole — and many golfers prefer it for longer putts. When you're off the green (chipping), leaving the flag in is standard. When you're putting from close range, it's personal preference.
The etiquette part: if you pull the flag, don't throw it on the green (it damages the surface). Lay it gently to the side. Whoever is first to finish the hole tends to replace the flag when everyone is done.
Golf is one of the only sports where you call penalties on yourself. Count every stroke — including the ones in the water, the whiffs (when you swing and miss), and the penalty drops. A whiff counts as one stroke even though the ball didn't move.
Casual rounds among friends can be flexible about this. But if you're tracking a handicap or playing in any kind of competition, honest scoring is required — and it's the only way your handicap means anything.
Chip Caddie logs your score hole-by-hole during the round so you don't have to mentally track and remember it. It also estimates your handicap from your real scores.