The Short Answer
Golf has plenty of official rules, but some of the most frustrating habits aren’t written in the rulebook. They’re the little things golfers do that make the game worse for everyone else.
The biggest offenders? Destroying turf with unnecessary practice swings, leaving bunkers a mess, ignoring divots, leaving broken tees behind and forcing your music on everyone around you.
They may not cost you a penalty stroke, but they absolutely cost the game a little bit of respect.
5 Golf Habits That Should Be Against The Rules
Stop taking giant divots on practice swings
Practice swings are supposed to help you prepare—not tear up the course. If you take a chunk of turf, fix it.
Always rake the bunker after playing from it
A bunker is hard enough. Don’t leave the next golfer with your footprints and explosion marks.
Replace or fill your divots
Good course conditions don’t happen by accident. Every golfer has a responsibility to leave the course better than they found it.
Pick up broken tees
Those little pieces add up, clutter tee boxes and can create maintenance headaches.
Keep your music to yourself
The range and golf course aren’t your personal concert venue. If everyone hasn’t agreed to it, grab headphones.
Golf has a rulebook thicker than most novels so it’s no surprise that players get rulings wrong from time to time. That’s understandable. However, certain habits should be against the rules. They may not cost anyone penalty strokes but they’re annoying enough that maybe they should.
Golf is supposed to be fair. It’s supposed to be respectful. But it’s not if you’ve got any of these habits.
Taking divots on practice swings
If your practice swing accidentally catches a little turf, it happens. But if you’re the kind of golfer who takes two or three full practice swings that dig up flounder-sized chunks of grass (and then don’t even fill them), you’re part of the problem.
The practice swing doesn’t need a big old chunk of earth to be effective.
While we’re on this topic, if you’re making a practice swing with your driver and taking chunks out of the tee box, you may want to take a lesson.
Leaving bunkers unraked
Why are we still having this discussion?
If you play out of a bunker, grab the rake. It takes just seconds to smooth the sand.
I once heard a golfer say he wasn’t going to rake the trap because it was late in the day and “the crew would handle it in the morning.” There was still a group behind him. Maybe I’m overthinking it but raking the bunker seems like something to do regardless of the time of day.
Not replacing or filling divots
Some courses ask you to fill your divot with a sand/seed mixture while others want you to replace it entirely. Most don’t say, “Don’t worry about it—we’ll just clean up your mess later.”
You can’t complain about course conditions if you’re part of the reason the fairways are a mess in the first place.
Maintaining great playing surfaces is hard work. Taking five seconds to fill a divot takes far less effort than logging your bunker shots into a score-tracking app.
Leaving broken tees scattered
You might think broken tees are harmless, especially if you are playing with something biodegradable, but golf course superintendents would beg to differ. Those little shards pile up quickly, especially on par-3s, and they make tee boxes look pretty bad.
More damaging than poor aesthetics is that broken tees can damage sensitive reel mowers used on tee boxes. They get jammed or dull the blades, costing the course time and money.
If there’s a tee tray, use it. If not, pocket it until you see a trash can.
Playing music at the driving range
Not everyone showed up at the range to hear your playlist.
I don’t enjoy music when I practice and I dislike it when I’m trying to focus. If I go to the range, I’m there to work on my game, clear my head and maybe make some progress. I can skip the Morgan Wallen.
Earbuds are a perfect fix for this. They are affordable and you can listen to the music of your choice while practicing. If you also like to bring your music to the course, the same applies. Unless the foursome can agree on music, it’s a no-go.
Final thoughts – and one more idea
There are certainly other annoying habits of golfers but there’s one more that probably deserves a mention.
You start talking: “Well, on the first hole …” and suddenly you’re halfway through describing your 97 with play-by-play detail. Meanwhile, your golf partner nods politely but is obviously no longer listening.
It would take the most patient of friends to follow along with your 18-hole audiobook, unless you just shot a 69 or holed out from the fairway. Read the room. Golfers like talking about golf but that doesn’t mean we want the entire story of your round.
So let’s raise the bar a little. Save the turf, rake the bunker, pocket the tee shards, turn the music down and save your 18-hole recap and make it more of a highlight reel.
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