Five Things That Irritate Me Most on the Golf Course

Tardiness to the first tee box ranks high on my list of golf course irritants. Seems like there is always one member of the foursome that just can't make it to the first tee on time.

There is a reason why golf courses schedule tee times and it's for the benefit of every golfer on the course. It prevents log jams, helps keep things organized, and keeps the flow going. If the course is busy, teeing off past your designated time can have an adverse affect on a lot more people than just your group.

So, out of respect to the members of your group as well as the other golfers on the course, please arrive at the course at least 15 minutes prior to your scheduled tee time. Make sure you have plenty of time to change your shoes, get your clubs out (and on the cart if  you are using one), get checked in, do a restroom stop, and be at the tee box ready to go before it's time to start.

Most golfers do pretty good about keeping trash off the course and in receptacles where it belongs. However, some golfers don't consider cigarette butts to be trash and discard their extinguished cancer sticks on the tee box, the putting green, or wherever else it happens to land.

Of course, I don't understand the concept of smoking and golfing at the same time, but if you are going to do it, at least have the decency to properly dispose of your cigarette butts. Remember, the world is not your ashtray.

This one applies to the members of my group. Don't talk to my ball!

Yelling "Sit!', or "Slow Down!" or "Come back!" or "Get Legs!" is going to have absolutely zero effect on my ball. I know you mean well. You're just trying to lend support and encouragement. But, I happen to play with balls that don't have ears, so they can't hear what you're saying anyway.

If you're talking to my ball, it most likely means I didn't hit a very good shot - and I know it, and I'm sure not very happy about it - and your comments only add to the frustration and the grief.

If  you want to talk to your ball fine, but please, leave mine out of the conversation.

People who don't play golf probably don't realize that golfers take on a certain responsibility when they are the course to help maintain the course. Unfortunately, there are some golfers who don't understand that concept.That means replacing divots on the fairway and the tee

That means replacing divots on the fairway and the tee box and repairing ball marks on the green. These "marks" are just a part of golf and they happen most often when a high trajectory shot lands on a soft green leaving a small golf ball-sized crater.

Most golfers carry a ball mark repair tool so they can fix any ball marks they leave. However, there are a ton of golfers out there, and I mean a ton, who either don't have a tool, don't know they are supposed to repair their ball mark, or simply don't care and leave it to someone else. That irritates me.

Ladies and gentlemen, please repair your ball marks people and help keep the greens in top putting condition. If you don't repair your ball marks you're going to end up with a very bumpy and uneven green that's going to make it extremely difficult to make putts- and getting that little ball in the whole is tough enough as it is.

On just about any golf course at any given time, there are golfers of varying degrees of skill from the low handicapper (the really good golfers) to the high-handicap hackers. Better golfers tend to play faster because they are taking fewer shots, but being a bad golfer is no excuse for slow play.

Regardless of your skill level, the key is to keep it moving.

That means if you hit a ball into the weeds, take a couple of minutes to try and find the ball and then move on. It's just a ball. When you're on the tee box hit the ball. Don't engage in a conversation that keeps your group on the tee box longer than necessary.

Especially when you have a group playing behind you, play ready golf. Get to your ball and be ready to hit as soon as it's  your turn. You don't have to rush and you don't have to hurry. But, keep the flow going.

Be mindful that your actions are affecting a whole lot of other people. When you finish a hole, get off the green and out of the way of the next group as quickly as possible.