Stupid Golf Problems: What’s the etiquette on hitting an “extra” practice shot ?

“I’m gonna hit another one.”

A perfectly common phrase in golf. Probably one you’ve said many times before yourself. The question is, what’s your reason for teeing up another or throwing an extra one down? What preceded it?

It took me awhile to find it, but my good Twitter friend Brian Kirschner’s spicy reply to a rather innocent meme from a few weeks back sparked this conversation. The meme was a joke about Scottie Scheffler’s mini-meltdown at Memorial over he and caddie Ted Scott getting the wind wrong on the par-3 16th. It went a little something like this:

Funny. Relatable. Something we’ve all encountered. BK took it a step further:

Jeez. Hardo take. Or....

He’s right?

As is the case with many of these stupid golf problems, this one is entirely circumstantial. If you clearly just pumped one out of bounds or to an area you might not find the ball, you quite literally have to hit a provisional under the Rules of Golf. If you’re trying to keep it moving and the group doesn’t care about the official rules, you can simply play it lateral, too.

However, if you just hit a really poor shot and want to “hit another” just because, I think other people in your group, guys like Brian, have every right to roll their eyes and quietly think you’re selfish. What, we all came out to watch you play a practice round? Are we playing golf here or what?

This is doubly true if you’re playing a match for any amount of money. You don’t get to take full swing practice shots. You don’t get to “find” your swing when we’re in the middle of a $10 Nassau.

Now, oddly enough, Brian’s reply was focused more on and around the greens, which was a topic last week during the fog delay on Thursday at the U.S. Open. Apparently, in USGA events, you are well within your right to hit practice putts or chips on the green you’ve just completed. This was news to former U.S. Open champ Jim Furyk, as well as news to us. Of course, there is almost always a local rule against this at PGA Tour events. But in USGA events, it’s 100 percent allowed, so long as you are not unreasonably holding up play behind you. As BK put it, though, he doesn’t care if you’re not holding up play. Keep it moving. Fair enough.

But I’m very guilty of raking a miss and hitting an extra putt, so I can’t talk on that front. That said, it’s almost always frustrating when I do so, because you always make the second. So perhaps I’ll start heeding Brian’s advice.

With all that said, if you’re out there playing for no money, by yourself or with a buddy or two, and you or your buddy is just going through it, can’t get the ball airborne, chopping it up, etc. Take as many practice balls as you’d like, as long as you’re not holding up anyone behind you. Working through it is perfectly acceptable when you’re out for an evening 9 or simply wanting to see how Player B stacks up. But in a foursome, in a game, in any kind of more official setting, I’m with Brian. We’re playing a legitimate round here, lads, go to your next shot.

Unless, of course, it’s a USGA event.

Do you have a "stupid" golf problem? A question you're too ashamed to ask your close friends? A conundrum that needs to be talked out in a public forum? We're here to help. If you have etiquette-related inquiries or just want to know how to handle some of the unique on- or off-course situations we all find ourselves in, please let us know. You can email me (chris.powers@wbd.com) or send me a DM on Twitter/X (@Cpowers14) or on Instagram (@cpthreeve).