How to Respect the Game

Course manners are just as important as the basic rules. Here are 10 points of etiquette that apply from tee to green.

1. Never talk while a fellow player is teeing off.

2. Take only one practice swing in the tee box.

3. Remain in the tee box until everyone in the foursome has teed off.

4. Always replace your divots in the fairway.

5. Don't slam your club into the ground.

6. Be ready to play at all times (aka play "ready golf").

7. Rake the sand trap after every bunker shot.

8. Fix your ball mark on the green.

9. Don't walk or cast a shadow in another player's putting line.

10. Pick up your ball for the hole once you have reached double bogey.

So You're Thinking of Playing

Golf isn't easy. It takes practice, time and lots of patience. Before you play a round, though, it's critical to take a golf lesson or two from a Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) of Australia professional, who can teach you the proper fundamentals before you ever step foot on the course. "I still see salespeople that come to corporate golf outings, with no [golf] shoes and no clubs," says Bill Storer, president of Business Golf Strategies. "Why in God's name would you ever think that would be OK?"

Suzanne Woo, founder of BizGolf Dynamics, works with many beginners and businesswomen who are interested in learning the game. Woo believes in first setting realistic golfing expectations for her clients. "If [CIOs] are unrealistic about their abilities, they might also be unrealistic about the business relationship," Woo says, which can be a red flag to others - if a CIO overstate his golf abilities, then how do the others know that he isn't overstating his commitment to the relationship?

The biggest concern for beginners should be keeping up with the other players in the group, or the pace of play in golfspeak. Woo says one effective tactic for a beginner is to let everyone know that you are a beginner on the first tee but also to tell them that you will keep up the pace of play. "Using some golf buzzwords will set them at ease," Woo says. If the beginner also knows what his Official Australian (AGU) handicap index (indicates a golfer's skill, based on previous rounds) is, or says that he'll practise the 10-shot rule (stopping play on that hole once he has reached 10 shots), that can also clue the others in on his seriousness of the outing.

David Guzman, a former CIO who's now chief research officer of The Yankee Group, doesn't mind playing with beginners so long as they keep up the pace and don't get too down on themselves. "If you are lousy, don't fret about it," he says. "We were all there at one point, and there is a fraternity of patience. So do not continually apologize, it gets tiresome."