From Brent Kelley,
Your Guide to Golf.
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8. Keep Up the Pace
Slow play has always been an issue on golf courses, and it's even more important as a beginner to be aware of your pace of play. You don't want to keep golfers behind you waiting, just as you probably don't want to be kept waiting yourself by slow groups ahead.

Always be prepared to play when it is your turn to hit. Don't wait until it is your turn to figure out which club to use, or to determine the line of a putt; use the time while others are hitting to make those decisions, so that when it's your turn you can step right up and play.

If your group is slower than the group immediately behind yours - if your group is holding up another group - it's good etiquette to allow the faster group to play through. Not all groups will want to do this, but many will, and all that do will be very grateful for your show of etiquette.

See also:
• The basics of good golf etiquette
• How long does it take to play a round of golf?
• How to improve your pace of play

9. Water Hazards
Water hazards should be clearly marked on golf courses. Yellow stakes or lines indicate a water hazard; red stakes or lines indicate a lateral water hazard (a lateral water hazard is a water hazard that runs alongside, rather than across, the line of play).

You can try to play a ball that is in the water, but that's generally a bad idea. Instead, for "regular" water hazards, take a 1-stroke penalty and drop a ball at any point behind the spot where your original ball crossed into the water hazard, but on the same line of play (think of it this way: look at the flag, and look at the spot where your ball crossed into the water hazard; now imagine a straight line drawn back from the flagstick to that spot; then imagine that line extending back behind you - that's the line on which you must drop).

For lateral water hazards, drop within two club lengths of the spot where the ball crossed the margin of the hazard (no nearer the hole), or on the opposite side of the hazard at an equidistant spot.

10. Course Care and Safety
Golf courses are there to be enjoyed by all golfers, so part of your responsibility is taking care of the course while you are on it. If you are using a golf cart, always observe the posted cart rules. Even better, a good idea is to keep the cart on the cart paths at all times (carts damage the grass). Never drive a golf cart close to or through a hazard (bunkers, ponds, etc.) or within 50 yards of a putting green.

Always repair your ballmarks (also called pitch marks) on the green. Ballmarks are indentations sometimes made in the putting green when a ball thumps to the surface.

Always repair your divots in the fairway. Divots are the scrapes or chunks of turf sliced off (or dug up) by iron shots. Repairing a divot might mean picking up the sod that you've chopped up and placing it back in the resulting scrape; or it could mean pouring sand or seed into the spot of the divot. If sand or seed are provided by the course (usually in a container that rides on the golf cart), that's what they want you to do.

Always rake sand bunkers after you've hit your shot to smooth out the sand so that ensuing golfers don't have to play out of your footprints. (And by the way, another basic rule to know is that, when in a bunker, you are not allowed to ground the club; that is, your club must not touch the sand except in the process of making the stroke.)

And always be aware of other golfers on the course, especially during your swing. Golf clubs can do serious damage if they strike another golfer, and so, too, can golf balls at close range. Don't play your shot until the group ahead is out of range.

See also:
Beginners FAQ: Where can I drive the golf cart on the course?
How to repair ballmarks
How to repair divots
How to take care of sand bunkers
Protect your health on the golf course

More Rules & Etiquette Resources
• Golf Etiquette Primer
• The Rules of Golf
• Beginners FAQ