Ask Linda #42-Who hits first?

Hi Linda - I like your answer to #41 [see Ask Linda #41-Divot nightmare]. I do believe she should have hit her ball before the bozo because he was on her hole. Am I wrong that the person playing on the correct hole has preference?

Also, if you are going to continue these "Golf Rules in Plain English" (which I love), how should we store them? You have got to write a book.
Lulu

Dear Lulu,

There is no hard and fast rule about who should hit first when a player from another group has hit a ball onto your fairway. Technically, it is your fairway, and you should have the right of way. However, who hits first may depend on the circumstances: Who gets to his ball first? How many players will be inconvenienced by the player either having to wait or playing first? How will it effect pace of play?

Personally, I feel that the people playing the correct hole should be in charge. It is their decision whether to invite the visitor to play first or make him wait in the wings while they complete their shots. If my shot strays onto the wrong fairway, I always wait safely behind a tree and take my cue from the golfers who are playing the hole.

It really comes down to good manners -- if people always exhibited proper manners on the golf course there would be little need for a section on Etiquette in the rule book!

With regard to storing my columns, I will leave all my columns on the blog. You can access them there at any time. If you want to store them yourself, you can highlight each column and copy and paste them into a Word document. If you have subscribed to my blog, you are receiving each new column in an e-mail and can store them in a folder in your e-mail program.

Thanks for the compliment, Lulu. Knowing you're enjoying these columns makes the effort seem very worthwhile.

Linda

Copyright © 2008 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.