Etiquette in the fairway (which is the closely mowed area between the tee and the green), is very similar to etiquette on the tee, except that in the fairway the players are obviously, more spread out depending on where their shots all landed. Once again, it is important to be aware of where the other members of your group are located before you hit. You want to be sure that you are not hitting your ball near where someone is standing or looking for their ball. And you want to determine whether it is your turn or if you should wait for someone else to go ahead of you.

Divots

One thing that is important to note when you play an iron shot out of the fairway is that your club will often cut out a big chunk of turf and send it flying through the air. This huge chunk of real estate is called a “divot.”

It is quite normal to “take a divot” and it actually can be a sign of a well-hit shot; you will see the pro’s on TV do it all the time. The only problem with divots is when you walk along the golf course and see those divots strewn about like so much ‘Fairway Roadkill.’ If those divots are replaced back into the place from which they were hit, they have an excellent chance of growing back without leaving a trace.

So, if your shot causes a divot to be dislodged from the fairway (or really, anywhere on the course), walk over, pick it up and put it back into the spot from which it came and lightly step on it to help it to grow back. Everyone who plays golf in that spot after you will be very grateful.

(It should be noted that not ALL types of grass will benefit from replacing divots. Some of the Bermuda grasses, often planted in warmer climates, are bred to spread and grow quickly over the top of the hole left by your divot. The preferred method of repairing a divot with that type of grass is to place a mixture of seed and sand in the divot and press it down. You will find that material supplied by the course in a container on your golf cart. So, if you are unfamiliar with the type of grass on the course, ask before you begin your round what the course prefers you do with divots. They will be grateful for your concern.)

Losing a Ball

One of the least fun parts of playing golf is losing a ball. It’s frustrating, it’s expensive, and guess what! It’s going to happen to YOU eventually. When it does don’t fret about it, just reach into your bag and pull out another ball and pick up from where you left off. You DO HAVE another ball, don’t you?

Here’s what happens when you lose a ball: Suppose you hit one into the woods or the rough; you can look for the ball for a few minutes (the rule used to be five minutes, but in the interest of ‘pace of play’ that time has been limited to three minutes), but if it seems like you are going to take any longer than a few minutes, and there is a group behind you, let the group behind play through.

Don’t hold up the entire course because you lost a ball. Being courteous to those behind you is especially required if you, or someone else in your group has already lost a ball in that round. The people in the group behind will quickly lose patience if you lose a lot of golf balls and take a long time to look for each one. The amount of fun you (and those around you) have on the course will be greatly diminished if you are arguing with the people in the groups around you.

Remember to take their interest into consideration too. Good golf etiquette sometimes means putting your own interests second to those around you.

Bunkers

In many places along the fairway or tucked up next to the greens you will run into one of the biggest challenges on the course — the bunkers.

If your ball lands in the bunker there are a few “rules of golf” and a few “rules of etiquette” for you to know. Here are the main things to know, and each one is marked to show whether it is a “golf rule” or an “etiquette rule:”

• enter the bunker from the low side of the bunker nearest your ball (don’t climb down the wall of the bunker) [etiquette rule]; (maintaining the high edges of the bunker is difficult and if they cave in it is hard to repair them)
• since the rules of golf forbid “testing the conditions,” before a shot, don’t pick up the sand or kick it around to determine how wet or soft it is (however, you are allowed to “skootch” your feet down into it to get a good stance) [golf rule];
• also to avoid “testing” don’t touch the head of your club in the sand before your shot [golf rule];
• when you are finished with your shot (or shots) from the bunker, use the rake provided by the course to rake out all evidence of your ball, your shot and your footprints [etiquette rule];
• leave the rake outside the bunker with the rake handle running parallel to the fairway [etiquette rule]. Take note that some courses differ on where they want the rakes placed around the bunkers. If the score card does not indicate how to handle it, then ask before the round. If you can’t get the info you need, just pay attention to where the course has laid them out and do it that way – when in Rome, and all that…

If you have properly raked the bunker, there will be no trace of your presence there after you have left. The reason that good golfers are so careful to rake the bunkers properly is so that no golfer coming after them will have their ball land in a footprint or a club mark left by you. It is difficult enough to get out of a bunker without being further hindered by an inconsiderate golfer who went before you.