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70 most annoying golfer habits, according to annoyed golfers
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Lifestyle

70 most annoying golfer habits, according to annoyed golfers

By: Josh Berhow
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October 26, 2023
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angry golfers on the golf course

We asked our loyal readers to name the most annoying things golfers do on the course. They had some strong opinions. Here's what they said.

Getty Images

If you play golf, you know this person. Heck, maybe you’re this person. (Maybe I’m that person?!)

Regardless, when you are stuck on the golf course for four hours with your buddies or just some randoms you got paired up with, you’re bound to see some things. Frustration might boil over. Or maybe there’s a simple lack of understanding regarding proper golf etiquette.

Either way, it can get ugly. Or just really annoying.

That’s why we asked you, loyal golfers, to vent. So we posted a simple question to our GOLF.com Instagram account: What’s the most annoying thing you see golfers do? The comments section blew up (more than 600 responses!). Some people spoke generally, listing generic things that irk them while on the course, while others seemed to talk (very) specifically about individual incidents that got under their skin.

Below we’ll run through most of them — there were many repeats — for two important reasons: 1) you might learn something you do bothers other golfers; and 2) because it’s kinda funny. (Eds. note: Comments have been edited for clarity.)

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A post shared by GOLF.com // GOLF Magazine (@golf_com)

70 most annoying golfer habits

1 — Leaving a bag or cart on the wrong side of the green, which slows down play when they have to go back to retrieve it

2 — Taking a mulligan on every hole

3 — Collectively going to each person’s shot as a group instead of playing ready golf

4 — Not repairing ball marks on the green

5 — Slow play

6 — Spitting sunflower seeds on greens

7 — High-handicaps talking through every shot with caddies

8 — Recording scores on greens instead of clearing the area and doing so on the next tee box

9 — Throwing clubs

10 — Handing out swing tips before you swing — right after they hit a bad shot of their own

11 — Spending too long looking for golf balls

12 — Spending too long looking for golf balls in areas where hitting from would be impossible anyway

13 — Those who despise slow play yet play slowly themselves

14 — Needing help to find their golf ball on every single hole

15 — When a twosome wants play through a foursome with nowhere to go ahead of them

16 — Waiting for the green to clear when there’s no chance they’d reach it anyway

17 — Poor attitudes

18 — Slowing up play by using rangefinders too often

19 — Not raking bunkers

20 — Driving carts too close to greens and tee boxes

21 — Playing from the tips when it’s obviously way too difficult or far for them

22 — Kneeling on the greens

23 — Slow pre-shot routines that copy pros

24 — Walking through a putting line on the green

25 — Talking in someone’s backswing

26 — Spending too much time talking to the cart girl

27 — Standing directly behind a player when they are hitting a tee shot

28 — Excessive practice swings

29 — Too many waggles

30 — Spending too much time reading two-foot putts like they are pros

31 — Chatting or lingering on the green when the hole is finished

32 — Sitting on greens

33 — Recklessly gambling on the round

34 — Spending too much time on tee boxes looking for usable tees to keep

35 — Lingering to clean clubs or put headcovers back on

36 — Leaving cigarettes or cigars on greens

golfers with cigars on the course
Getty Images

37 — Leaving cigar ashes on greens

38 — Spending too much time digging in your golf bag looking for a second ball to hit

39 — Not getting ready to hit until it’s their turn

40 — Playing honors off the tee when it’s clearly slowing up the whole group

41 — Teeing off first on the next tee box even though someone else made birdie

42 — Cheating

43 — Asking if a putt is good and can be conceded

44 — Commentating on every shot like they are Jim Nantz

45 — Relieving themselves in areas on the course instead of using the restrooms

46 — Standing behind the hole when a player is putting

47 — Slowing down the group using AimPoint putting when they don’t know how to use it

48 — Damaging the greens with their putters

49 — Using range balls on the golf course

50 — Walking on the green with sandy shoes from the bunker

51 — Playing music too loudly

52 — Not asking other group members if it’s OK to play music

53 — Unsolicited advice

54 — Talking to another player’s golf ball

55 — Nonchalantly hitting short putts and counting them as made putts if they miss

56 — Breaking clubs

golfer breaks club over his knee
Getty Images

57 — Getting mad at bad shots they shouldn’t have attempted in the first place

58 — People oblivious to letting other faster groups play through

59 — Moving while someone is putting

60 — Having an excessive and slow pre-shot routine

61 — Retrieving the ball from the cup by using the head of a putter

62 — Fixing ball marks on greens the incorrect way

63 — Leaving clubs on the greens

64 — Taking divots with practice swings

65 — Telling everyone how far they can hit the ball

66 — Playing well ahead of your group on the hole

67 — Raking putts from short distances

68 — Leaving trash on the golf course

69 — Spending too much time lining up a shot putt for a quadruple bogey

70 — Putting driver and woods in the bottom section of the golf bag

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Josh Berhow

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.

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