G-O-L-F: The Code of Conduct for Golfers

The famous amateur golfer and founder of the Master's tournament, Robert Tyre Jones Jr. once said "In golf, customs of etiquette and decorum are just as important as rules governing play. It is appropriate for spectators to applaud successful strokes in proportion to difficulty, but excessive demonstrations by a player or his partisans are not proper because of the possible effect upon other competitors."

"Most distressing to those who love the game of golf is the applauding or cheering of misplays or misfortunes of a player. Such occurrences have been rare at the Masters but we must eliminate them entirely if our patrons are to continue to merit their reputation as the most knowledgeable and considerate in the world."

Robert Jones was right. Etiquette and decorum is as important as rules governing the play. Golf is not merely a game of balls and sticks and getting the ball into the hole, it's foremost a game that requires the discipline to observe the rules and decorum of the game.

Although some Golf etiquette is not part of the formal rules of golf, golfers are customarily required to respect and observe them. The purpose of golf etiquette is to make the game of golf safer, more enjoyable to golfer and to minimize possible damage to golf equipment and courses. Several golf associations and courses have their own set of etiquettes, such etiquettes must be observed by all golfers, whether playing as a professional or an amateur. Golf etiquettes can be summarized as follows

G - Gain the respect of others by respecting others as well. This is a derivative of the golden rule "treat others as you would like to be treated." This includes, not making any loud noise, standing too close behind, near or front of other players, being quite when others make their shots and not distracting others while they are playing.

O - Obey the rules set by the club, the course or the tournament. This requires knowing what the rules are and making sure to stick with it.

L - Let safety be your primary concern. It includes not playing your shot as long as any player is in front of you and may be in hit distance to you, never swing in the direction of another player when practicing your swing, not swinging your club until you know that others in your group are at a safe distance and yelling out, "Fore!" if your ball appears headed toward another player or another group

F - Fix damages that may be done to the course and avoid damaging other's equipment or the golf course. This includes replacing flagstick carefully as to not damage the hole, avoiding any damage of the green by replacing divots (chunk of grass displaced when an iron or wedge shot is played) and repairing any damage caused spikes, and pitch marks and using the rake when playing in the bunker in order to leave the bunker in perfect condition.

A golfer has the obligation and responsibility to make sure that the rules, etiquettes and decorum of golf are followed. The entire golf etiquette may be summarized in this one simple statement: "Play the course as you find it, play the ball as it lies and play fairly."