• We'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from all at Golf Monthly. Thank you for sharing your 2025 with us!

What’s the worst display of etiquette you have ever witnessed?

This thread is pure quality. I have been playing golf for 20 years and I have never seen anything like this so I feel like I am missing out. See a few walk ins due to golfers having a bad one but that's it. How boring.
 
? Did you have any idea what he was referring to?

I'm glad someone asked, because I'm stumped.

From reading these, I think I've been pretty lucky. The 'worst' thing I've seen came just last week. I walked off the 7th towards the 8th with my partner in tow and, when I was 10 yards from the tee, a guy playing on his own came off the 4th and pegged his ball up on the 8th tee. As I walked towards him he said "Are you playing this hole?" so I replied "Well, yeah, it's the one after the last one...". So he picked up his ball in a huff and said "Well thanks very much. You've just made my quick practise round a lot longer."

In actual fact, I was doing him a favour, because the course was clogged up in front of us with a party of 20 in front of the pair in front of us, but behind us was absolutely clear. No need to be an arse about it.
 
Bad etiquette is never a good thing but I'm glad I got to read these stories, a well spent 20mins that's made me laugh.

Similar to above, I've had somebody looking for a ball from an adjacent hole in the rough walk up to my ball and start checking if it was his. Considering he was looking for it before I teed off he must have known it wasn't there originally but fortunately he didnt decide to throw it anywhere and everyone was happy.
 
Foursomes match catches up with a fourball comprising one (newly joined) member and three guests. Playing foursomes properly the non-striking partners were walking uyp the fairway to be in place tpo play next shot. After being stuck behind the fourball for goodness knows how many holes and not being asked to play through, one of the foursomes asks if they can play t5hrough as they are a foutrsomes playing a match and they are faster etc. Member turns on the guy and gives a mouthful of 'you've f***** been pressurising us for blah blah blah - you can get stuffed - we shoulod we let you through - we're playing a reasonable speed and you lot are up our backsides' - anbd so it went on. Guy kept his cool and explained firmly but politely that as they playing faster they could ask to play through etc. Eventually they were let through. Pity for the member that our polite foursomes 'guy' was chairman of greens and had a word with our secretary about the incident. Member was hauled in by the sec and given a very firm dressing down.
 
Never really come across anything as bad as some of these stories. The worst one I can come up with is playing a muni course, standing waiting on 2nd tee for easily 8 or 9 minutes as the two in front look for their ball, after they give up and matey drops one and hits, I address my ball check he's moving off then hit a great drive right up the middle, landing probably a good 30 yards behind them. They both look round and gesture I hold up my hand to apologise as it had gone much closer than I thought it could have.

They then wait for us on the next tee, and we are thinking they are going to let us through, only to be confronted with a foul mouthed tirade that got very heated. They ended up skipping a few holes and we still caught them by the 16th.
 
Top