10 mistakes every golfer must avoid during every round mistakes,every,golfer,must,avoid,during,every,round,sbnation,com,golf,golf-opinions

10 mistakes every golfer must avoid during every round mistakeseverygolfermustavoidduringeveryroundsbnationcomgolfgolf opinions


With summer in full swing across the United States, you can play with anyone, anywhere, anytime. We highlighted the 10 things all golfers should do during a round, but now we want to list 10 mistakes all golfers should avoid every time they play:

10. Never leave your cart in front of green; always towards back or near next tee

You should park your cart at the closest point between the green and the next tee. That point should also be in the back of the green, so you are not walking towards the fairway you just played, further delaying the group behind you. Cart etiquette is important, but so is using common sense.

9. Speaking of carts, keep them 30 feet away from greens and tees

You should never bring your cart close to the green unless you have a medical condition forbidding you from walking a considerable distance.

The same can be said for teeing areas.

8. No need to take more than three practice swings

The pace of play on a course is important. And no, you are not on the PGA Tour. So do not take more than three practice swings and waste everyone’s time, including yours.

I usually take two to get in a rhythm, then swing away.

7. Don’t arrive less than 20 minutes before tee time

Scrambling to the first tee in a dizzying hurry is terrible, but it angers the pro shop staff, too. Be there on time so you can ease into your round and have a proper warmup.

6. Don’t skip out on the putting green beforehand

You will have more strokes on the green than anywhere else. It’s essential to get the speed of the greens down beforehand so you don’t make a mess of things over the first couple of holes.

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

5. Missed ball marks damage greens

Fix your ball marks.

Fix your ball marks.

Fix your ball marks.

Nobody wants to play on damaged greens, and nobody wants a good putt disrupted by a bump.

4. Don’t place wedges/clubs in rough

Every golfer has made the mistake of leaving a club behind at some point.

If you bring your wedge or short iron to a green, put it on the green or fringe—somewhere easily visible. I usually place clubs next to the flagstick—a good reminder not to forget them, too.

3. Replace divots, fix ball marks

Treat the golf course like your own home.

Replace divots and use dirt mix if available. And always, always repair your ball marks on the greens. Fix another one, too. A course’s most valuable assets are the greens—take care of them.

2. The five-minute rule

If you need to take more than five minutes looking for a golf ball, it is clearly not in the spot you think it is—or it is buried in the rough where you would struggle to hack it out.

Take a drop and move on.

1. Don’t be too hard on yourself

It’s a frustrating game that even angers Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler, and Bryson DeChambeau. Have fun.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Olympics: LIV golfer calls out PGA Tour players on South African team olympics,liv,golfer,calls,out,pga,tour,players,on,south,african,team,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-news,liv-golf


This past Monday, the International Golf Federation released the golfers who will represent their home countries at the 2024 Olympics in Paris later this summer. That list includes seven LIV Golf players who will represent their nations.

Then, on Thursday, ahead of the LIV Golf Nashville event, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, and Dean Burmester—all South African players—detailed what it felt like not to make the South African Olympic team. PGA Tour players Erik van Rooyen and Christiaan Bezuidenhout will represent the country instead.

Grace felt strongly that the Olympic committee got it wrong.

“These are the two guys [Burmester and Oosthuizen] that should be representing South Africa this year,” Grace said ahead of the Nashville tournament.

“I think that’s maybe a good call for each country to pick or try to get their own solution on how they get the criteria right for guys to qualify. But the system at this stage is not very accurate. We all know that. We all talk about it, week in and week out, but these should be the two guys probably representing South Africa.”

Burmester won his first LIV Golf title in Miami earlier this year. Not to mention, he has three other top-10 finishes. The worst performance came at LIV Las Vegas, but for the most part, he has played well.

At the two major championships, Burmester tied for 12th at the PGA Championship. He then captured 69th place at the U.S. Open last week.

Oosthuizen, meanwhile, has two runner-up finishes this year at LIV Adelaide and LIV Jeddah. Two more top-10s followed suit at Mayakoba and Miami. While he has been successful, the Olympics are not high on his radar.

“I grew up with the four majors being your main events, and I don’t really see the fit of professional golfers playing golf in the Olympics,” Oosthuizen said.

“I had the opportunity to go to one of the Olympics and pulled out at the end. It was more getting scheduling-wise getting everything—I think it was close to a major, and that was my main focus always, majors, so the Olympics didn’t fit into my schedule that year.”

Oothusizen represented his country at the World Cup and in the Presidents Cup before, so missing the Olympics is not a big deal to him. Regardless of tour affiliation, he wished the two participants good luck.

“I hope the boys play well and that they perform well, and it’s still going to be a strong South African team playing,” Oosthuizen said.

Burmester followed suit, praising van Rooyen and Bezuidenhout for their performances. Van Rooyen has one runner-up finish, three top 10s, and seven top 25s. As for Bezuidenhout, he has second place at the American Express. He also has three top 10s and nine top 25s. Bezuidenhout was solo fourth at The Memorial in one of his most recent starts.

“Christiaan and Erik are going to do South Africa proud, and they’ve also played some great golf in their own right,” Burmester said.

“I think Louis and I look like Olympians, first of all,” Burmester said. “It would be an honor to go to the Olympics and represent your country. I think it’s the field we have, and those two guys are going to have that opportunity, so it’s super special, and we can only wish them well.”

Taking the high road and wishing two of their fellow South Africans luck in Paris is the proper way to handle it. While they did not get chosen to play in the Olympics, it seems they understand why.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.