10 Simple Habits of Popular Golf Partners  (as reprinted from the NY Times) 1. Be on time. 2. Be quick, be quiet. On the tee box, when someone else is about to hit, it is not the time to check your pockets or your golf bag. Be still, and please do not whisper to the person next to you, because you are heard. As for being quick, select a club, read greens and plan your next shot as others are playing their shots. You should be as quick as reasonably comfortable for you. 3. Know when to speak up and what to say.  Keep you partners in a positive frame of mind.  Be optimistic. 4. Mind the flagstick.  This not a  little thing, though it may seem so. If your ball is closest to the hole when you reach the green,  pull the flag because you are going to be the last to putt. You have the same responsibilityif you have putted out; look for the flags so others do not have to. It gets on people’s nerves if you treat the flag as someone else’s problem. 5. Watch the flight of everyone’s shots. A good golf partner helps us track where the errant balls end up. 6. Help others look for lost balls. We get lost all the time. Lend a fellow duffer a hand. 7. Don’t make everyone look for your ball for 10 minutes. The rule book says you have 5 minutes to look for a lost ball. If you hit your balls so far into the woods you need a miner’s hat to find it, don’t waste everybody’s time. And hit a provisional ball before you look. 8. Maintain a good attitude regardless of how your are playing. 9. Avoid giving unsolicited advice. Nobody likes a know-it-all. Besides, if you’ve got a good tip to share, your partner is going to be really steamed at you if it doesn’t work out. 10. Be generous, be honest, be nice. Be generous with praise, because it’s a hard game and we all need a boost. Be generous at the beverage cart — don’t just buy drinks and snacks for yourself. Be honest about your score. Swallow hard and admit you made a 9. Be honest about your handicap. Be nice; compliment other people on their  good golf shots. You may want to think of your golfing day as an investment. Become a good partner, and others will want to play with you again. The ultimate payout? There is no doubt that good karma leads to good golf.