Golf Etiquette Every New Player Should Know

By Understanding Stableford Scoring for Club Competitions
Comments 35
21 Aug 2026

Golf Etiquette Every New Player Should Know

Etiquette is really about respect

Kent is blessed with a remarkable variety of golf. You can spend a morning on sandy links turf beside the sea, an afternoon on chalky downland where the ball bounces for ever, and a winter weekend on heavy Wealden clay that swallows your drive without a trace. Different courses, different challenges, but the same quiet code runs through all of them. Etiquette is not a set of hoops to jump through. It is simply respect: for the course, for the people in your group, and for the members queuing behind you.

Nobody expects a new player to know everything on day one. What members notice is whether you make the effort. Here is what actually matters.

Repair your pitch mark, and a couple more

A pitch mark left alone takes roughly three weeks to heal. One repaired within a few minutes heals in two or three days. On soft Kent greens, particularly after autumn rain, a well-struck wedge can leave a crater that is obvious from the fairway, and that is your responsibility — not the greenkeeper's.

Carry a repairer in your pocket and use it properly:

Push the prongs into the edges of the mark and work gently inwards towards the centre.
Never lever upwards. That tears the roots below and leaves a scar that lingers.
When the edges meet, press the repaired patch flat with the sole of your putter.

Then look around. Repair one or two other marks while you are waiting to putt. It takes seconds and it is one of the small, unspoken traditions that bind a club together.

Divots deserve the same attention. On the fairway, replace the turf and press it down with your foot. On the tee, use the sand-and-seed bottle from your bag and fill the hole level. If your club asks you not to replace fairway divots — some do, particularly on sandy links where the turf simply does not knit back — follow the local instruction and use the mix instead.

Leave every bunker better than you found it

Kent's bunkers vary enormously. Links sand is firm and shallow; inland sand can be deep and soft, and a plugged lie in a steep-faced trap is a genuine hazard. What is not acceptable is leaving your footprints for the next player.

Walk in and out from the low, shallow side of the bunker — never climb the steep face.
Take the rake in with you rather than raking from outside, so you leave no fresh prints.
Rake smoothly behind where you stood and where you swung, then smooth your entry and exit tracks.
Leave the rake outside the bunker on the grass, lying flat and pointing away from play, or in the stand if one is provided.

If the sand is wet and compacted, a light drag with the rake is enough. Do not leave ridge lines that a following player will have to flatten before they can play.

Keep quiet and keep still

Sound travels further than you think on a still Kent morning. A phone buzzing in a back pocket during someone's backswing is remembered far longer than a slice into the trees.

Put your phone on silent, and leave the bag if you can.
Never talk, rattle clubs or unzip a waterproof while another player is playing.
Stand still and out of the line of sight — behind or to the side of the player, never directly behind the hole or in their eyeline.
Do not stand in or walk across another player's line of putt. Walk around the hole, not between the ball and the cup.
Keep trolley movement to a minimum when players are on the tee.

A quiet, attentive group is also a faster group, and that matters more than anything else.

Pace of play is the golden rule

Slow play is the single most common complaint at every club in the county. You do not need to rush — you need to be ready. A brisk four-ball can complete eighteen holes comfortably in three and a half hours on a typical Kent course, and the group behind will judge you kindly for it.

Practical habits that keep you moving:

Play ready golf in social rounds. If you are ready and it is safe, hit. Do not stand on ceremony.
Walk to your ball at a steady pace and start your thinking on the way. Choose your club before you arrive.
Leave your bag on the side of the green nearest the next tee, and never in front of the green.
Mark your card on the next tee, not beside the green.
If you lose a ball, look for the permitted time and then let the group behind through with a friendly wave.
If your group has lost a clear hole on the group in front, invite the faster group through. Nobody minds; everybody remembers the courtesy.

Small courtesies in and around the clubhouse

Kent clubs are generally relaxed, but most still ask for smart casual dress and no changing in the car park. Check the noticeboard before you arrive and you will never be caught out. Shake hands on the last green, thank your playing partners, and buy the round if it is your turn. Offer to mark and return the card properly, and call your partner's score out clearly.

Get these habits right and you will be welcomed back anywhere — from a quiet nine-hole club in the Weald to a windswept links on the coast. Etiquette, done well, is invisible. It simply makes the day better for everyone on the course.

Etiquette

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Explore rolling parkland, coastal links and downland layouts that make the county a fine golfing destination for visitors.

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5 Comments

Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply
- John Abraham says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
  
  I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
  Reply
  - Robert Sonnysays Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
    
    I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
    Reply
Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply

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