What Is The Honour In Golf?
The person who has honour in golf is the golfer who has the right or obligation to tee off first. In strokeplay the person with the lowest gross score on the previous hole has the honour. In match play it is the person who won the previous hole. In match play, if the previous hole was halved the honour remains with whoever had it on that hole. In strokeplay, if two or more players scored the same then they maintain the order these players teed off on the previous hole.
On the first hole, honour is determined by the competition organiser. If this does not apply, then it is by agreement among the players or randomly determined, such as by tossing a coin. But a fairly common agreement is that the golfer with the lowest handicap tees off first on the opening hole.
Honour is more relevant to match play than strokeplay. To quote the rules of golf: “In match play, the order of play is fundamental; if a player plays out of turn, the opponent may cancel that stroke and make the player play again. In stroke play, there is no penalty for playing out of turn, and players are both allowed and encouraged to play ‘ready golf’ – that is, to play out of turn in a safe and responsible way.”
Once play on a hole has begun, the player furthest from the flag plays next. However the rules allow for players, by agreement, to play out of turn for safety, convenience, or speed of play. However a player may not play out of turn simply to gain an advantage.
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