The first and foremost rule of golf and golf etiquette is safety. This rule applies to young and old alike. Without some good common sense and a notion of how hard golf balls and clubs are, a golf course can be a very dangerous place. So here are some safety rules to always follow on the golf course:

• Don't take practice swings toward another person (rocks and sticks and grass can fly up and hit them in the eye. Besides, it's rude!)
• Don't swing your clubs when someone is walking around, standing close by or in a position to be hit by the club - and don't walk around when someone is swinging golf clubs.

Golf Carts

Local notices regulating the movement of golf carts should be strictly observed. Golf carts (pull or power) should never pass over or stay in the tee-off or putting green area.

Quiet

Quiet is required on the golf course. Golf requires lots of concentration, and even if the people in your immediate group don't seem to be bothered, there are other groups all around you. So keep you voice down. Walk, don't run. Running around is annoying, distracting and causes damage to the course. Walk quickly, but lightly.

Consideration for Other Players

The player who has the honour should be allowed to play before his opponent or fellow-competitor tees his ball. No one should move, talk or stand close to or directly behind the ball or the hole when a player is addressing the ball or making a stroke. No player should play until the players in front are out of range.

Priority on the Course

In the absence of special rules, two-ball matches should have precedence over and be entitled to pass any three- or four-ball match, which should invite them through. A single player has no standing and should give way to a match of any kind. Any match playing a whole round is entitled to pass a match playing a shorter round.

Pace of Play

In the interest of all, players should play without delay. If a player believes his ball may be lost outside a water hazard or out of bounds, to save time, he should play a provisional ball. Players searching for a ball should signal the players behind them to pass as soon as it becomes apparent that the ball will not easily be found. They should not search for five minutes before doing so. They should not continue playing until the players following them have passed and are out of range. When the play of a hole has been completed, players should immediately leave the putting green.

If a match fails to keep its place on the course and loses more than one clear hole on the players in front, it should invite the match following to pass.

Hitting Into the Group Ahead of You

Minding your "Pace of Play" will help you stay with the group ahead and you will be sure not to delay any groups playing behind you. At the same time you are being careful to stay with the group ahead, you must also be careful not to be so close that you hit your ball into that group. If your ball was to hit one of the players in that group it could be very tragic, so be careful that all golfers are out of range before you hit.

Sometimes there are golfers who get very impatient if a group is playing slowly ahead of them; that is understandable. However, it is never acceptable to try to speed up that group by hitting a ball at them to send them a message that you are getting tired of waiting. If you are tired of waiting, walk ahead to their group and ask them to speed up play, but never hit into them.

Play Ready Golf Whenever It's Appropriate

If you are not playing golf in an actual tournament, or other sanctioned event, it is okay to play "ready golf." Ready golf means the golfer who is ready to hit can do so even though he or she may not be farthest away from the hole. Just agree ahead with the others in your group that you will play ready golf when it makes sense. That way they won't think you are just unaware of the rules. It is good courtesy to acknowledge that you are playing ready golf to move things along.

Stand behind the player who is hitting or out of the peripheral vision of the one who is hitting. Be sure you are out of range of the golf club. Watch the shots of everyone in your group. Sometimes people end up hitting straight into the sun or for some other reason they will be unable to see where their ball landed. If you are courteous enough to watch the flight of each golfer's shot they will be very grateful for the help in finding their ball. It will also save a lot of time since you will lose far fewer balls by pro-actively watching where they went.

Remember to be quiet - don't talk, or giggle about their bad swing, or rattle through your bag for your clubs, or crumple up a bag of potato chips. Be sure to keep all carts (pull carts and motorized carts), off the tee area. Golf carts on the tee can make ruts in the ground that are difficult for the grounds crew to repair. And since the tee markers are moved around the tee on a regular basis, the ruts could easily damage a part of the tee that will later be used as the teeing ground.

Divots

One thing that is important to note when you play a shot out of the fairway grass 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." If 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.

Losing a Ball

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, 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.

Bunkers

Enter the bunker from the low side of the bunker nearest your ball (don't climb down the wall of the bunker). Maintaining the high edges of the bunker is difficult and if they cave in it is hard to repair them.

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. Leave the rake outside the bunker with the rake handle running parallel to the fairway.

• Treat the green as you would the library - be very quiet
• When your group is finished putting out, carefully replace the flagstick without damaging the sides of the hole, move off the green and proceed to the next tee
• Mark your scores on the next tee, not on the green - this will allow the next group to begin their shots to the green as soon as you are done and benefits all the groups behind you
• To allow for the greatest efficiency when leaving the green, be careful to place your clubs off the green and on the shortest route from the green to the next tee. This way you avoid having to walk back across the green to get your clubs while others are waiting for you.

Spikes

The first thing to realize when you walk onto the green is that the grass is very delicate and even your very footprints can be damaging to the green. If you wear spikes on your shoes it will be especially damaging because when golfers twist their feet to turn, they tear out the grass and leave big gashes on the green. Also if the grass is very wet the spikes can leave big holes in the surface of the green. So, if you wear spikes on your shoes, be sure to wear soft spikes to protect the greens and keep them rolling true!

A player should ensure that any divot hole made by him and any damage to the putting green made by a ball is carefully repaired. On completion of the hole by all players in the group, damage to the putting green caused by golf shoe spikes should be repaired.

Repairing Your Ball Marks

When a ball lands on the green very often it will make a dent in the surface of the green. Depending on how hard and fast the ball was traveling, how hard the greens are and how wet the weather has been, that dent may vary from a little bump to a great big gash. When your ball makes a mark on the green you should take out your handy-dandy "ball mark repair tool" and fix it. By fixing the mark you will be ensuring that the golfers who play behind you will have a smooth surface free from blemishes.

Marking Your Ball

When you are on the green the Rules of Golf allow you to mark and clean your ball. The cleaning part helps to ensure you will get a nice even roll on your putt; the marking part ensures that you will put the ball back in exactly the same spot when you are done cleaning.

Place a coin or a ball marker directly behind your golf, on the opposite side of the ball as the hole. Don't put your ball marker in front of your ball because you may put an indentation in the ground in front of your ball, causing your own shot to go off course when you hit it.

If your ball is in the direct path of another golfer's shot, you may move your mark up to a club length to either side. Of course, when the other golfer has played the shot, you must return your mark to the original position.

After you have cleaned your ball, if your spot on the green is closer to the hole than any other golfers in your group hang onto your ball until it is your turn. That way your ball won't be a distraction to someone putting before you.

Stepping Over the Ball Path

Another thing to notice as soon as you step out onto the green is the location of everyone's ball. The reason you should carefully note where all the other balls are is so you don't step on the path on which someone else will momentarily putt.

If you step on the path of a ball lying on the green what will happen is that your footprint will make a little hole or depression right where that golfer is going to send their putt. That depression may cause their ball to go off course, making them miss their putt. They will not be too happy if that happens.

The best route to your own ball is to walk behind any other balls laying on the green. But if that is not possible, then step over the imaginary line between any ball and the hole. By walking around or stepping over another player's ball path you demonstrate your awareness of their ball and your courtesy to them as a player.

Removing/Tending The Flagstick

When a golfer is putting, the flagstick must be removed from the hole before the ball enters the hole. To remove the flagstick from the hole, simply pick it straight up to avoid bashing it against the rim of the hole and damaging the edge. Take the flagstick to the edge of the green and gently lay it down so the knob on the end is off the green. If you just drop it on the green it may leave a big gash on the surface of the green. That's a no-no!

Sometimes, however, due to a long putt or an odd angle or the sunshine or shadows, or who-knows-what, the person putting may not be able to see the hole very well. In this instance another golfer in the group (perhaps that would be YOU) can 'tend the flagstick' for that golfer. Tending the flagstick is a courtesy you extend to the other golfers in your group whenever they need that service, and if you do it properly they will quickly see that you are well schooled in the art of golf etiquette.

Here is the proper way to tend the pin for another golfer:

• Stand to the side of the cup, left or right, depending on which side your shadow falls (be sure your shadow does not fall over the cup or across the line the golfer is putting on);
• Stand about arm's length distance from the cup with your feet away from the hole (to avoid damaging the cup), and be sure you are not standing on anyone else's putting line in the process;
• With your arm nearest the flagstick reach out and hold the flag against the flagstick to keep it from flapping in the breeze;