Opinion & Analysis

Top 5 “Unwritten rules of golf”

Published

6 years ago

Aug 26, 2020

This past week, the conversation around unwritten rules in sport reared its head again when Fernando Tatis, Jr. ripped a grand slam in the 8th inning on a 3-0 count while his team was already up by seven runs.

Some commentators said it went against the “unwritten rules” of baseball to take a full rip in that situation, while others believe if you don’t want someone to hit a grand slam, don’t load the bases and throw a 92 mph meatball over the plate.

Golf, like baseball, is filled with unwritten rules, but what makes it different is the fact that, unlike baseball, golf is an individual pursuit, and for beginners, they can be tough to navigate and understand. It is part of the reason many people getting into the game feel intimidated or shy to ask questions since they don’t want to appear to be unknowledgeable.

So, for the sake of golfers who need a little refresher and new golfers alike, these are the top-five unwritten rules of golf—written down.

1. Don’t walk on a putting line (or through-line)

This is one of the easiest ones to understand and is part of golf etiquette. When you are on a green you don’t walk between where a player’s ball is and there estimated line towards the hole, but it’s not just that line you should worry about. In many cases, you should also take into consideration the “through-line” which extends to a reasonable distance (between 4-6 feet) beyond the hole in case the player misses.

During recreational play, this is normally not an issue but for some sticklers in competition, it can become a point of contention. Personally, I like Jack Nicklaus’ point of view, “I never worried about the through-line because I never had any intention of missing the first putt.”

2. First one to hole out gets the flagstick

In our current golf landscape, this “rule” has taken a bit of a backseat to flags being left in at all times, but if you are the first person to finish out on a hole, it is also your responsibility to pick up the flag and replace it once everyone else has finished.

This simple act is akin to the shopping cart theory

“The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing.”

“To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one which we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return the shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart. Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it.”

3. Pick up and move on when taking a BIG number

Unless you are playing a competitive round of golf, the unspoken rule on a busy course is double par and pick it up. Consider it a small opportunity to reset for the next hole or to move up to the green and putt out before playing on.

If you are worried about keeping a handicap, Equitable Stroke Control takes over anyway:

“Equitable Stroke Control” (ESC) is the downward adjustment of individual hole scores for handicap purposes in order to make handicaps more representative of a player’s potential ability. ESC sets a maximum number that a player can post on any hole depending on the player’s Course Handicap. ESC is used only when a player’s actual or most likely score exceeds the player’s maximum number based on the table in Section 4-3 of the USGA Handicap Manual

4. Find it – return it!

This one shouldn’t even need to be noted but, for the sake of general human decency let’s make it very clear—if you find something on the course, whether it be a club, headcover, or rangefinder, return it to the pro shop if someone doesn’t come looking for it on the course.

On the other hand, the one thing you can find and keep are golf balls, hoard those to your heart’s content.

5. Play from the correct tees (yes, even YOU)

This is a big one and sits at number one on my personal list of the unwritten rules. Playing from the right tees not only allows you to play fasters and have more fun, but it helps keep the pace of play around the course too.

The general rule for selecting the correct yardage/tees to play from goes like this—and also requires you to be honest about the yardage you hit your clubs

5-iron distance X 36 = The yardage you should play from

Forget how many sets of tees exist on the course, or even the color – and for the last time—stop calling the most forward tees the “ladies tees”—there are just called “forward tees.”

I once heard DJ Piehowski of No Laying Up quote a Scottish caddie, “If we’re making too many birdies and having to much fun, we can always move back a tee.”

Related Topics:

Up Next

Review: Paako Ridge Golf Club

Don't Miss

Wedge Guy: Survey your options for better scoring

Ryan Barath

Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

19 Comments

Pingback: Golf world fuming at the latest display of poor etiquette at women's college events - Fly Pin High
Pingback: Golf world left fuming with latest show of ‘poor etiquette’ at women’s college event – GolfWRX
retired04

Aug 29, 2020 at 8:47 am

length of the course to play? simple-the old “tee it forward” program promoted by Jack N. among many others, kept it simple. If you can’t reach the majority of the 3’s and 4’s with a 7 iron or less (carry yardage), you are playing the WRONG tees-and definitely not having the fun and enjoyment you should.

Reply Report comment
Suncoast9

Aug 28, 2020 at 11:29 am

While #5 is a good guideline, I would also factor in skill level. I carry a 1 handicap and hit my 5 iron 165 yards. #5 suggests I should play at 5940 yards, yet on a good day I can break par at 6600 yards. Conversely I know many golfers who hit it 180-185 and should definitely be playing shorter tees.

Reply Report comment
Todd Halpen

Aug 28, 2020 at 10:20 am

Third player to hole out gets the pin, not the first.

Reply Report comment
- Doug
  
  Aug 28, 2020 at 10:38 am
  
  Yeah, that makes a lot of sense . . . smh
  
  Reply Report comment
- Boyo
  
  Aug 29, 2020 at 10:39 am
  
  Bullshirt
  
  Reply Report comment
- ken
  
  Aug 30, 2020 at 5:27 pm
  
  Nope..ONce all in the group are on the green, the player closest to the hole gets the flag. Or asks “everyone good leaving the flag in the hole?”
  First to hole out, then holds the flag or places it out of the line of those remaining to play.
  
  Reply Report comment
Elizabeth SchofieldWallace

Aug 28, 2020 at 10:14 am

#2…With the new rules and “ready golf” we regularly send the first two players to finish the hole to the next tee. Waiting for all four to putt out adds 25 minutes to the round. Perhaps ok if you are fast players, but if you are holding the field up, sink your putt and move along.

Reply Report comment
G

Aug 27, 2020 at 11:41 am

I agree with Matt. #2 is dumb. 99.9% of the time the flag is already out before the first person holes out (pre covid). In my 40 years of playing usually the person closest to the hole (or one of the closer ones) would remove the flag after asking the person who is away, if they want it removed.

Reply Report comment
matt

Aug 26, 2020 at 2:59 pm

I’ve been playing golf my whole life, my dad is a pro, I was a junior all-American and played D1. I have never heard of #2. It doesn’t even make sense in a world before the flagsitck rule changed – which was all 2 years ago. You had to pull the flag before you putted, how does the first to hole out get the flagstick? Ok so this might be “new etiquette,” but its very new indeed. Just get the flag every few holes and you’re doing about your due.

Reply Report comment
- JOe
  
  Aug 26, 2020 at 10:36 pm
  
  You have misunderstood the “unwritten rule”.
  
  They are telling the first person that holes their ball to go and get the flag stick and be ready to place it in the cup once all the other playing patterns are finished.
  
  Reply Report comment
not all irons are the same

Aug 26, 2020 at 1:16 pm

5 iron * 36 is outdated because it depends on what kind of set a player’s using. a 5i in some sets is lofted like a 4i in others. i think a better rule of thumb would be based off of loft. a similar rule of thumb would be how far do you hit a 40* degree iron, *44. if you hit it 150, the suggestion is 6600. if 155, it’s 6820. if 160, its 7040.

Reply Report comment
disappointed in Barth

Aug 26, 2020 at 12:37 pm

ESC is no longer used. Maximum score on a hole is now net double bogey.
Also, encouraging people to keep (pick up) balls that they find is reckless. So many golfers just pick up a golf ball thinking that it must be lost when it’s actually someone’s ball in play. This is the most overlooked “unwritten rule” that gets violated on a daily basis.

Reply Report comment
- Karsten's Ghost
  
  Aug 27, 2020 at 2:25 am
  
  Same thoughts. If you don’t have a handicap, then if you miss for double, pick up triple. Otherwise, play to your max ESC number.
  
  Also agree on the balls. What? Seriously… it’s the opposite. Unless you’re dead sure it’s no one’s ball, AND you want what is likely to be either garbage, fine. But it’s obnoxious to encourage the “lookers”.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - ken
    
    Aug 30, 2020 at 5:33 pm
    
    Triple bogey max is “in the pocket”. Even if there is a stroke play betting game involved. No one wants to watch a guy plumb bob for a 9
    
    Reply Report comment
- ken
  
  Aug 30, 2020 at 5:30 pm
  
  If a ball is found in a non play area, its fair game. If in play, leave it as you find it.
  
  Reply Report comment
Golfer

Aug 26, 2020 at 12:25 pm

I hit my 5 iron (25 degrees) 195 yards and am definitely not playing a course from tees that are 7,020 yards.

Reply Report comment
- Funkaholic
  
  Aug 28, 2020 at 11:05 am
  
  That was my thought, I am a 16 handicap and I hit my 5i 200 yards, I would be a 25+ from 7200 yards. Distance is meaningless in that respect. I can hit my driver 265-275 but that doesn’t translate to Gir, I still top shots, duff them into the water, hook them off of the course and other maladies that plague higher hdcp players. 6000-6300 max for me until I reach single digits.Some say at my level I should move up to the “senior tees but, that would actually eliminate the top end of my bag which is where I struggle most, I would rather keep struggling with that until I get it under control. If the course is too short, I might as well go back to playing par 3 courses.
  
  Reply Report comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

5 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

7 days ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.

Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

Follow Club Junkie:
Instagram: @clubjunkiepod
TikTok: @clubjunkiepod
Threads: @clubjunkiepod
X: @ClubJunkiePod

Club Junkie

Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.