Rules, Etiquette & When to Take One | GRIPIT GOLF
What is a mulligan in golf? Learn what it means, when golfers take one, proper mulligan etiquette, and why GRIPIT believes everybody deserves a second shot.
There are hundreds of rules in golf.
Some make sense. Some require a rules official, a diagram and possibly an attorney.
And then there's the best rule in golf.
The one that isn't actually a rule.
The mulligan.
Technically, you won't find the mulligan anywhere in the official Rules of Golf.
Spiritually?
It may be the greatest contribution recreational golfers have ever made to the game.
So, What Is a Mulligan in Golf?
A mulligan is golf's unofficial do-over.
Hit a terrible shot? Take another ball, try again and pretend the first one never happened.
That's it.
No complicated drop procedure. No penalty-area geometry. No consultation with your playing partners regarding nearest point of relief.
Just:
“I'm taking a mulligan.”
New ball.
New swing.
New you.
It's most commonly associated with casual and recreational golf. In a competition played under the official rules, that first shot still counts. Your buddies on a Saturday morning at the muni may be considerably more forgiving.
And that's an important distinction.
A mulligan is a social agreement, not an official golf rule.
The Sacred First-Tee Breakfast Ball
There is, however, a particularly important subspecies of mulligan.
The breakfast ball.
You arrived six minutes before your tee time.
Your warm-up consisted of carrying your bag from the parking lot.
You took three practice swings next to the cart.
Now you're standing on the first tee with three strangers watching you.
You swing.
FORE RIGHT.
That ball is currently beginning a new life somewhere near the maintenance shed.
Breakfast ball.
Drop another one.
Nobody saw anything.
How Many Mulligans Can You Take?
This is where civilization begins to break down.
One mulligan?
Reasonable.
One per nine?
We can have that conversation.
A breakfast ball plus another mulligan because “technically the breakfast ball wasn't my mulligan”?
We're entering dangerous territory.
Seven mulligans followed by:
“Put me down for 84.”
Sir.
We need to talk.
There isn't an official limit because, again, mulligans aren't official. Your group gets to decide.
The GRIPIT recommendation is simple:
Establish the rules before the round.
One per round? Great.
One per nine? Fine.
Breakfast ball? Obviously.
Unlimited mulligans?
At that point you're not really keeping score.
Which, frankly, is also okay.
Just don't start telling everyone you shot a 69.
We already know a guy.
Mulligan Etiquette: Don't Be That Golfer
We're enthusiastically pro-mulligan.
We're even more enthusiastically pro-pace-of-play.
So there are a few unwritten rules.
Don't take mulligans in competitive golf. If the round matters, play by the actual rules.
Don't hold up the course. If the group behind you is standing in the fairway while you're hitting Provisional Mulligan IV, pick up the ball.
Make sure your group is playing the same game. Don't quietly erase three shots while everyone else is counting theirs.
Don't brag about the score afterward. An 82 with six mulligans is a wonderful afternoon. It just isn't an 82.
And perhaps most importantly:
Buy the beer.
This resolves an astonishing number of golf-related disputes.
Why Do Golfers Take Mulligans?
Because golf is absurdly difficult.
That's part of why we love it.
You can hit the best drive of your life on Saturday and return Sunday seemingly having forgotten how arms work.
A mulligan acknowledges something recreational golfers already understand:
Sometimes one swing shouldn't ruin the next four hours.
Golf is supposed to be challenging.
It's also supposed to be fun.
Those ideas can coexist.
The GRIPIT Rule of the Mulligan
Around here, we're pretty straightforward about this.
We believe everybody deserves a second chance.
First tee with no warm-up?
Mulligan.
Phone rings during your backswing?
Mulligan.
Bird starts screaming at the top of your backswing?
Mulligan.
Absolute hosel rocket into somebody's backyard?
We're not here to judge.
Fourth mulligan on the same nine?
Okay.
Now we're keeping an eye on you.
Embrace the Mulligan
There's actually something bigger hiding underneath the joke.
Golf has a wonderful ability to make otherwise rational adults furious about something they're voluntarily doing on their day off.
We'd rather not.
Hit the bad shot.
Laugh about it.
Take another if the situation allows.
Keep moving.
Because twenty years from now, you're probably not going to remember whether you shot 91 or 94 on some random Saturday.
You'll remember who you played with.
You'll remember the ridiculous shot your buddy tried through the trees.
You'll remember the 30-footer somebody accidentally drained.
You'll remember laughing in the cart.
You'll remember the beer afterward.
That's the golf we're interested in.
So here's the official unofficial GRIPIT policy:
Take the mulligan. Keep pace. Buy the beer.
We'll see you on the next tee.
GRIPIT GOLF
Premium gear. Public golf. Good times.
EMBRACE THE MULLIGAN.
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