Blog
Instruction, equipment advice, course guides and the rules of golf — practical reading for every handicap.
An invitation to play at a private golf club is a treat. You may get to play a course you couldn't otherwise access, with a host who's a member. But private clubs often have their own customs, and as…
Tipping in golf can be confusing. Should you tip the caddie, and how much? What about the person who loads your bag onto a cart or cleans your clubs? Customs vary enormously between countries and…
Golf etiquette doesn't stop at the 18th green. Many golf clubhouses, especially at traditional private clubs, have their own customs and rules covering dress, shoes, hats, phones and behaviour. They…
Since the rules changed to allow golfers to putt with the flagstick in the hole without penalty, golfers have debated whether it helps. Some always leave it in; others always take it out. The answer…
The Rules of Golf were modernised significantly in recent years, but many golfers still play by old rules, rules they half-remember, or rules that never existed. Some myths cost golfers penalty…
In a competition, can you ask a playing partner what club they hit? Can your caddie help line you up? Can you tell an opponent how a putt breaks? The rules on advice and caddies catch out many…
Look at any scorecard and you'll see two numbers for each set of tees: the course rating and the slope rating. They're central to the handicap system, because they let golfers compare scores on…
Golf balls sometimes move when they shouldn't: you accidentally knock your ball with the club while addressing it, the wind blows it on the green, or a playing partner kicks it while searching. The…
It's easy to do: two balls finish close together in the rough, both the same brand, and you hit the wrong one. Playing a wrong ball is one of the most common rules breaches in golf, and in…
The Rules of Golf apply everywhere, but every course is different. Local rules let a course or committee adapt the rules to its own conditions: winter weather, damaged areas, environmentally…
Waiting on every tee, standing in the fairway while the group ahead putts out, a five-and-a-half-hour round: slow play frustrates golfers and can wreck your rhythm. You can't always control the pace…
A forced carry is a shot where you must fly the ball over a hazard, such as water, a ravine, a canyon or a waste area, to reach safe ground. Island greens, completely surrounded by water, are the…
