When playing golf, there are rules to determine who hits first off the tee on any given hole. During competition, golfers are expected to follow these rules or otherwise be penalized for playing out of turn.
So how do you know who goes first and whose turn it is on the first tee of a hole during a round of golf?
How do you determine who hits first off the tee of a hole?
The Rules of Golf give us a clear idea of who hits first and the order of play afterward for tee shots during each hole of a round of golf. The player who hits first off the tee is said to have the honor or honors, and that's because they have the honor of hitting first since they had the best score on the prior hole.
For example, if there's a foursome playing golf together, the golfer with the lowest score on the prior hole then goes first on the next tee. Then the remaining golfers tee off in the order of their scores, all the way to the golfer with the highest score on the prior hole.
In the event of a tie for the lowest score, the players tied for the lowest score then go back to the prior hole and compare scores to break the tie. They go back as many holes as is required to determine who goes first. The same is true for breaking ties for other positions in the order of play. The tiebreakers can go all the way back to the first hole.
Of course, if golfers choose to play ready golf, then they can go in whatever order they'd like.
How do you determine who hits first off the first tee of a round?
The only exception to this rule is the first tee of a round of golf. In competition, there are separate rules who determine who goes first. In the first round (and often times the second round) of a tournament, the order of play is determined by random draw.
After the initial round or rounds, players are grouped based on their total tournament score through the prior round. Within the groups that are decided based on total score, the players hit in order of their total score with the player posting the lowest total score going first, and then subsequent players taking their turn in order of score, with the worst total score in the group going last.
