"Who goes first?" is one of the most common questions beginner golfers ask. The good news: golf has a simple, logical system — and most recreational groups use an even simpler version called ready golf. Here's everything you need to know.
| Situation | Who plays first | Details |
|---|---|---|
| First tee of the round | Determined by agreement or lot | Before the round starts, there is no honors system yet. Players agree among themselves (coin flip, rock-paper-scissors, scorecard listing order) or the committee determines the order in competition. |
| Every subsequent tee (stroke play) | Honors: lowest score on previous hole goes first | The player who scored lowest on the hole just played has "honors" and tees off first on the next hole. Ties carry the same order forward from the previous tee. |
| Every subsequent tee (match play) | Honors: winner of previous hole goes first | In match play, the player who wins the hole earns honors on the next tee. After a halved (tied) hole, the same order from the previous tee continues. |
| Approach shots from the fairway or rough | Farthest from the hole goes first | Once everyone has teed off, the player whose ball is farthest from the hole plays next. This applies regardless of which side of the fairway each ball landed on. |
| On the putting green | Farthest from the hole putts first | The player whose ball is farthest from the hole putts first, regardless of whether balls are on or off the putting green. Under ready golf, the player who is ready may putt first to keep pace of play moving. |
| After a penalty, provisional, or lost ball | Play continues when ready | After taking a penalty stroke, dropping a ball, or playing a provisional, the regular order resumes. If taking relief near your original position, play when it's your turn in normal order. |
Before you tee off on hole 1, decide the starting order with your playing partners. Common methods: the name order on the scorecard, a coin flip, or a practice swing contest (who swings best gets honors). In competitions, the committee usually assigns the order. Once you've played hole 1, honors takes over for the rest of the round.
After each hole, the player with the lowest score tees off first on the next hole. If two or more players tied, they keep the same order they had on the previous tee. Honors is about who goes FIRST on the tee — after the first shot, play proceeds by distance (farthest from hole goes next).
Once everyone has teed off on a hole, whoever's ball is farthest from the hole plays their second shot first. Then the next farthest, and so on. When in doubt, quickly look at your distance vs. your partners' and go if you're farther. This rule applies everywhere outside the teeing area — rough, fairway, hazards.
On the putting green, the same rule applies — farthest from the hole goes first. However, under ready golf (increasingly common), the player who is ready and has their ball marked can putt first if it keeps pace moving. In serious competition, stick to strict farthest-first order.
Ready golf means you play when you are ready, rather than waiting for the exact correct order. It is encouraged for recreational play under Rule 6.4 and the R&A/USGA pace-of-play guidelines. All players in the group simply agree to play when ready. On the tee, this often means the player who is set up hits rather than waiting while someone else checks the scorecard for honors.
| Aspect | Traditional order | Ready golf |
|---|---|---|
| On the tee | Strict honors — lowest score on previous hole | Whoever is ready goes first |
| In the fairway | Farthest from hole always goes first | Player who is ready and won't distract can play |
| On the green | Farthest from hole putts first | Short tap-ins can be holed immediately |
| Pace of play | Slower — requires coordination | Faster — no waiting for someone to check the card |
| Penalty for wrong order | Match play: opponent can make you replay; stroke play: usually none | N/A — out of turn is the point |
| Best for | Formal competition | Recreational rounds, busy courses |
There is no automatic rule for the very first hole — it is determined by agreement or lot among the players. Common methods: the scorecard listing order (player on line 1 goes first), a coin flip, or whoever arrives at the tee first. In competitions, the committee assigns the starting order. After hole 1 is complete, the player with the lowest score earns honors and tees off first on hole 2.
"Honors" is the right to tee off first on a hole. In stroke play, honors goes to the player with the lowest score on the previous hole. In match play, honors goes to the player who won the previous hole. Having honors is a minor tradition and etiquette point — in recreational play, it often gets waived in favor of ready golf, but in competition it is observed closely. When two players tie a hole, the same honors order from the previous tee carries forward.
"Ready golf" means playing when you are ready rather than following strict order-of-play rules. All players in the group agree to play whenever they are prepared, instead of waiting for the farthest-from-hole player to go first every time. Ready golf is officially encouraged by the USGA and R&A to help pace of play. It does not affect the score or the rules — it just lets the round move faster. Many recreational groups play ready golf without even knowing the term.
Yes — ready golf is permitted under the Rules of Golf (Rule 6.4b exception) when the committee allows it, and many competitions explicitly adopt it. In individual stroke play competitions, playing out of turn in stroke play has no penalty unless it was done intentionally to give one player an advantage. In match play, however, your opponent can require you to re-play the shot if you played out of turn — so check the competition format before using ready golf in match play.
Traditionally, the player farthest from the hole putts first. This applies regardless of whether other balls are on or off the green. In ready golf, the player who is ready to putt first (ball on the ground, ball marker in hand) often goes ahead to save time. For short tap-in putts, most recreational players will hole out immediately rather than waiting for official order — this is generally fine in casual rounds.
In stroke play, there is no penalty for playing out of turn unless the committee has specifically enabled a local rule against it, or if players agreed to play out of order to give one player an advantage (which would be serious misconduct). In match play, the rules are stricter: if you play out of turn, your opponent may immediately ask you to cancel the stroke and replay it in the correct order.
If two players are truly the same distance from the hole and cannot agree on who is farther, they can use a yardage device, pace it off, or simply agree on one player going first. In practice, this rarely causes real issues — someone just picks up their club and goes. If the group is using ready golf, whoever is ready first plays first.
In traditional order-of-play, yes — everyone on the tee hits their drive before anyone plays from the fairway. Under ready golf, this also becomes more flexible: if a player's drive is in a completely different part of the hole from everyone else and they won't distract anyone, they may play their second shot earlier to save time. Just communicate with your group before doing so — no surprises.