My colleague Jonny Leighfield recently wrote about Sam Horsfield walking off the course after nine holes in Open Final Qualifying at West Lancs.
The Englishman received some criticism but defended himself, saying he felt unwell after a rushed journey to Lancashire and a lack of sleep.
In The Open Championship of 2008, former champion Sandy Lyle walked off after 10 holes in testing conditions, blaming a nerve problem in his hand for the withdrawal.
You may like
Was it okay for those elite players to walk off during their rounds? Well, the simple answer is, yes (if they were telling the truth, which we must assume they were.)
If Horsfield was feeling dizzy and unwell, he was protecting his health by leaving the course. If Sandy couldn’t grip the club properly because of injury, then he was within his rights to retire hurt.
There are, of course, circumstances when it’s okay to walk off a golf course during a round. It should be noted that I’m talking about competition rounds here.
If you injure yourself and can’t continue, then obviously you can walk off. Providing it’s not a leg injury, in which case you might need to phone the pro shop for a lift.
If there’s an emergency and a family member or friend needs your immediate assistance, you are going to pick your ball up straight away and leg it to their aid… Well, you should do at least!
If there’s a biblical rainstorm and the greens flood, you’re not just going to stand around out there like a lightning rod. You’re going to walk off the course.
If your entire group has posted an NR and the pace of play is diabolical, you might come to an agreement that all of you will walk off. It won’t be good for your handicap record, but hey.
This question is not about those situations though. This question is really, is it ok for you as an individual to walk off a golf course during a competitive round, simply because you’re playing badly or are fed up.
That’s a different matter. I think that, generally speaking, it’s not good etiquette to storm off the course in a huff. It doesn’t look cool if it’s a competition round.
When Bobby Jones gave up on the 11th hole at St Andrews in the third round of The Open Championship of 1921, he didn’t leave the course. He finished the remaining holes and even went out again in the afternoon.
He would later say, the NR was not his finest moment but at least he had the manners not to leave his partners in the lurch.
Quiz on Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen’Playing badly is not a reason to throw in the towel’
If you’re playing in a two ball. It’s absolutely not okay to walk off in a fit of pique during a competition. That would leave your playing partner with nobody to mark their card. That’s unacceptable.
If you’re in a three or four ball and the course is packed in front, it’s not good form to walk off and leave the other two or three out there. It will make the pace of play even slower for them.
If, however, there’s a clear course ahead and your partners would fly round a good deal more quickly if you weren’t holding them back, taking millions of shots, then it might even be considered polite for you to walk off.
You might choose to walk off if you recognise your poor play is slowing down the field behind and your remaining partners will be able to press on.
If you’re playing a team event and you would hurt your team’s chances by stomping off the course, it’s not okay to give up just because you’re in a bad mood.
Playing badly is not a reason to throw in the towel and walk off. Even if your score is gone, you might just rediscover your game by persevering.
Unless your play is so bad that it’s affecting your partners or the pace of play in the competition, you should stay on the course until the final putt drops, however many strokes you’ve taken.
You’ll feel better for sticking it out and, when you’re enjoying a drink in the clubhouse and laughing about it with your playing partners, you’ll put it in perspective. Far better that than walking off in a fury and getting straight in the car with steam coming out of your ears!
