We have all forgotten how to behave at a golf event. Here are the Dos and Don’ts for spectator etiquette

The explosion of the 2025 Ryder Cup has left a lot of etiquette-based debris and destruction in the game.

The fans of Bethpage truly redefined what you absolutely cannot do at a golf event when you’re a mere onlooker outside the ropes.

But what you often hear players say about the Ryder Cup is: We get the abuse when we are away from home, and so do they. What is left is an equal mix of toxic mess that rocks the game to its core.

What you might also hear from American fans, who filled Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry’s ears with horrific comments at this year’s matches, is that we’re soft. We Europeans need thicker skin, they’ll say.

So what is right and what is wrong? With mixed messaging from players and fans alike, who knows what to do when we next find ourselves on the ground at the Ryder Cup, The Open, or other such tournaments?

How are we meant to behave at a golf event? When are we allowed to shout and scream, and when are we absolutely not allowed to shout and scream? Why are we shouting and screaming anyway?

Before you head to Birkdale next year for The Open, or set off for the Belfry for the British Masters, or even in the States, make sure you take this golf spectator etiquette checklist with you:

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This is what you can do…

• If you are at The Open, you absolutely can and should applaud a wedge shot from 70 yards away that finishes 40 feet from the pin, leaving a double-breaking 3-putt. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get close to the flag on a links course?

• If you witness a hole-in-one at a golf event, you don’t need an invitation to go crazy. I think this is an exception that even the most boring, stern traditionalists will concede. One for the real nutters to take note of.

• Clap loudly and/or joyously cheer for any of the following: a hole-out eagle, a long putt that drops in the hole, a chip-in, or any type of eagle, come to think of it. I’m open to more suggestions.

• Give a little ‘Come On’ to your favourite player. This is OK, right? They might be your favourite, or perhaps you’ve backed them with the bookies and you want some tangible influence. But don’t leave your decibel meter at home, though. There’s a good lad.

• You absolutely should and must wear the polo shirt from the iconic club that you and your family spent your bucket list golf trip playing. A golf event should be a celebration of the game’s club symbols, so let’s see as much variety as possible. I actually mean this one.

• Definitely scream ‘mashed potato’, ‘I’ve abandoned my child’, and/or ‘light the candle’ after a player has hit a shot. That is entirely normal behaviour. Especially for a grown adult. Maybe shout all of them at once.

• Miserably groan when a player hits his ball into a bunker. Tour professionals who play golf every day are famously poor at bunker shots.

• Queue for hours in the merchandise shop, get ripped off when buying a polo shirt and subsequently miss two hours of the golf that you are literally there to watch.

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This is what you can’t do…

• To remove all risk of trouble, maybe just don’t make any noise, full stop. Perhaps the odd whisper to your companions to ask how their day is, but mostly treat a golf event like a library. That usually works.

• Do not wear face paint to a golf event, unless you are a four-year-old. You could be the most pleasantly behaved angel on the property, but you’ve crossed the line from the moment you dab your brush on the palette.

• Continuing the children’s birthday theme, don’t wear fancy dress. Golf events, namely the Ryder Cup, look like a circus half the time when you’re walking the grounds, and this trend can pop up at other tournaments, too. Just wear normal clothes, it isn’t that difficult.

• If you are hired by the PGA of America to motivate the crowd at the Ryder Cup before play starts, don’t start a ‘F*** You Rory’ chant. That should go without saying, really.

• Don’t call Shane Lowry fat. Again, one you’d think a grown adult should know by now, but seems to slip the mind of some.

• Apparently, you can’t wear golf shoes. You will be on the end of vitriol and abuse from your pals, who rip the Michael out of you for wearing golf shoes on a golf course while watching golfers. Don’t wear golf shoes.

• Don’t take binoculars. This is a real one. This might sound stupid, but so many golf fans do it. We are not at sea, nor are we bird-watching. Buy some glasses or, better yet, stay at home and watch it on the tele.

• At the Ryder Cup specifically, do not be that person who is at the front gate hours before they open, ready to sprint through and cause a stampede. It is genuinely dangerous and idiotic behaviour, and you are absolutely asking to fall flat on your face while a load more clowns trample on you.

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What do you make of these golf spectator rules? What would you add to these golf spectator rules? Which golf spectator rules do you ignore? Let us know in the comment below. Tell us on X!