Honors is the right to play first from the tee, earned by whoever scored lowest on the hole just completed; a tie carries the honor forward from the hole before. Rule 6.4 of the Rules of Golf governs order of play and defines honor simply as "the right of a player to play first from the teeing area." On the very first tee of a round, honors is set by lot, draw, or mutual agreement rather than by score. The rule carries more weight in match play, where an opponent can cancel a stroke played out of turn and require a replay in the correct order; in stroke play there's no penalty for playing out of turn, and the modern push for ready golf actively encourages skipping strict honors to keep pace, as long as it's done safely.