How Do I Cope with Mulligans?
Dear Molly: I don’t think of myself as obsessive-compulsive about rules and I don’t mind bad golf, but it seems to me too many players are dropping too many balls for mulligans. I feel like I need permission to go forward! What can I say to discourage the extra shots?
With November comes what I sometimes call “practice season” in Colorado, and that means mulligans, like elk droppings and frost, can be found anywhere and everywhere. Mr. McMulligan and a pal were paired with two mulligan-happy golfers in one round and kept walking on up ahead of them. Happily, he came home in one piece but still feels your pain.
For those of you unclear on the definition, a mulligan, sometimes known as a breakfast ball, do-over, replay, correction shot or “DH” (standing for “didn’t happen”), costs us nothing. It’s a freebie, legitimately useful in situations such as:
- We’re playing a round just for practice, and it won’t delay anyone behind us if we try that shot again.
- It’s the offseason in Colorado and we can’t post the round anyway.
- We’re playing as a single behind a full house, so we kill time by playing our own little one-person best ball for the practice.
- We’re playing a team game or fun round that we’re not going to post and our opponent or companion says, “Take a mulligan.”
- We’ve rushed to the first tee without warming up. After our drive goes 10 feet into the weeds, we “reload” for a “breakfast ball” and restart the round, playing by the rules from there. (We wouldn’t do this in any tournament or competition, but it’s pretty common in recreational rounds.)
So the mulligan can be a practice shot or a gift. But in neither case is it to be taken lightly. For one thing, the mulligan can be dangerous. Once we’ve taken a shot, our companions likely will walk or drive ahead of us. So if the folks you’re playing with routinely just reach into their pocket, drop another ball and hit it, immediately ask them, “Hey, before you take a mulligan, would you mind giving the rest of us a holler so we stay back?”
The other thing is, the mulligan may help move play along faster if it improves over a shot that’s likely lost or terribly situated. But, as you’ve experienced, it can also delay the shots of others. So here’s where a conversation is in order, maybe, “Hey guys, we’re falling behind a little bit. Should we maybe save some practice shots for the range?”
Finally, a note for you mulliganistas out there: Repeatedly taking mulligans is bound to annoy companions who are playing by the rules of golf, so be sure to take the temperature of your foursome.
Also, try to resist preceding “Mulligan!” with a bunch of four-letter words regarding your previous shot. The whole point of the mulligan is to forget that one and move on.
Do you have a question about golf etiquette, golf relationships or the culture of golf in Colorado? Email it to Molly McMulligan, the CGA’s on-the-course advisor on how to have more fun on the golf course, and follow @MollyMcMulligan on Instagram. Her creator, researcher and writer is golf journalist and CGA member Susan Fornoff.
MORE FROM MOLLY
How Do I Make Sure I Don’t Annoy Better Players?