Playing as a Single

[Mw1991]

Sometimes I get out on the 9 hole course by myself especially if I get the first time out. I can play 9 in 1:15 and get home before my wife knows I was gone lol. It's great to walk on your own and fully be able to focus on your own game. 
 

95% of the time that I play as a single I'm getting paired up because the courses are so busy around here. 

[charliebrown]

On 7/15/2023 at 8:14 AM, RSinSG said:

All of my golf is with others. I’m a member of 2 men’s leagues and work at another course where I often hook up with others. For as long back as I can remember (and I’m a geezer) I think I’ve gone out as a single <10 times. 
 

For the last two summers we’ve been staying in a 5th wheel we set up on my sons 25 acres in Orofino, ID so we can escape the heat, help my son with projects and be close to grandkids. There is a 9 hole course nearby that is rural, but beautiful and a good challenge due to the setup. Downside is the pro shop doesn’t open until 8:00 which makes walking tough in the summer.  I recently learned they don’t care what time walkers start as long as you pay after your round. I now tee off at 6:45 or so and enjoy a peaceful walk in a beautiful setting. I play against myself hitting two balls for the entire round, have the course to myself and only see the occasional grounds worker. I do see lots of deer which adds to the walk. I’ll be back to my normal league play soon, but for now I’m enjoying the solitude.

Instead of beating balls off of range mats, I go out early evening ans play as a single. Sometimes a group will come up behind me and I let them play through. "Practicing" like this off of real grass is a pleasure. 

[becoh]

Played a few rounds as a single. Much rather prefer to mess around with my buddies, but overall it's a nice experience. Almost like an extended practice session.

[greenlight]

Mix of both. If you can’t enjoy golf as a single (without waiting) then you don’t love golf enough. If you can’t enjoy with others, then you don’t like people enough.

[Shankapotimous]

I love playing as a single. On the weekends, it's hard here, so I would always get paired up. 

 

During winters, we go to my in-laws who live in The Villages. For me, 60-70 degrees is perfect. For them, it's too cold for golf. I always end up playing by myself 2 rounds per day for a whole week. Sometimes I would play par 3s multiple times. I would leave the house at 7am and come back at 5pm. Best times ever. 

 

I especially enjoy courses where I can walk. Nothing better than early tee time! Getting 18 in before everyone gets out of bed is the best.

[WorkItBothWays]

I love playing solo when my course is quiet (summer evenings in Scotland). I play the vast majority of my golf this way. I find it great for my mind.

 

I'm a naturally quick player but I detest when the pace of play is rushed and a course is overly busy. Most of the time I can play at the pace I want.

 

I highly recommend solo golf.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

When the off season does hit and I do play as a single, I run into a lot more of the "Power Beats" music on the course....... 

[vandyfan]

On 7/25/2023 at 12:21 AM, hoselrocket256 said:

Nothing beats a round in the early AM by yourself

 

While I can certainly appreciate the tranquility of an early morning, dew sweeping round with perfect weather and no one in front of you...I still think playing with friends that are close in skill level is more fun. I may be in the minority but I don't really enjoy playing by myself much. There is some version of me that likes the "performative" aspect of golf and that is missing when it is me solo. I understand NO ONE cares what I shoot or how I play but I like executing shots with the pressure of others watching me. 

 

All that said, I go up to the adirondacks and play a really rustic and low key 9 hole golf course up there. That is one course that I really like playing by myself because the course is so basic and the conditions are so spotty that it feels more like a hike with a golf ball rather than "real golf." It is a spiritual experience that I wouldn't want all the time but I like doing it twice a year or so. 

 

On 7/29/2023 at 2:41 PM, bcjim said:

Playing as a single is fine.  Actually like it and meet mostly great people when I play without my usual group.

 

Playing alone is no good for me. No pressure means no focus. 

 

Exactly @bcjim. I feel the same way. 

[smashdn]

On 7/30/2023 at 5:52 PM, Mw1991 said:

Sometimes I get out on the 9 hole course by myself especially if I get the first time out. I can play 9 in 1:15 and get home before my wife knows I was gone lol. It's great to walk on your own and fully be able to focus on your own game. 
 

95% of the time that I play as a single I'm getting paired up because the courses are so busy around here. 

 

Guys in carts will roll up on me while I am walking and just go out of their way to let me know I don't have to walk and can get in the cart with them.  Odd that walking is a largely foreign concept here unless you are a high school kid.

 

The front nine at my club is very walkable but I have seen exactly one person walking.

[LBB]

On 7/30/2023 at 12:57 PM, charliebrown said:

Instead of beating balls off of range mats, I go out early evening ans play as a single. Sometimes a group will come up behind me and I let them play through. "Practicing" like this off of real grass is a pleasure. 

Haven't done it recently, but the most times I was sent off as a single were mostly just practice sessions for me where I'm hitting multiple balls just to get more practice off the turf and not perfectly flat lies.

[RoyalMustang]

Haha-escape the heat! I'd take that heat over the what feels like 50 consecutive days of 105-118 heat index days we've had here and it being 86 degrees when I go out at 7am. 

 

I sure do miss the PNW, especially this time of year. Long and warm days with the nights just starting to get a bit crisp. Probably a little less at 1500 feet but still, not bad at all! 

 

I play 70% of my round as a single: I golf at odd times, mostly late evening, to avoid conflicting with family and work. Nobody is out there after 3pm for the most part. And anytime here it is under 60 degrees, people head for the hills, so nobody is out here in the winter. 

[RoyalMustang]

20 hours ago, smashdn said:

 

Guys in carts will roll up on me while I am walking and just go out of their way to let me know I don't have to walk and can get in the cart with them.  Odd that walking is a largely foreign concept here unless you are a high school kid.

 

The front nine at my club is very walkable but I have seen exactly one person walking.

 

I get that too! I think to myself "what part of me doesn't look like I want to walk? 1) literally everyone else here is in a cart and I probably would have figured out I could take one too if I wanted and 2) I am probably the most fit guy around here: it's pretty obvious that I am in decent shape and it's probably no coincidence that I'm walking right now". 

 

I think it's course by course though, or city by city. When going to other areas of Texas like Austin, 50% of people were walking. Probably 30% at a nice private club I played at recently.  It really caught on during COVID and lots of people realized that they enjoyed the game more that way, so they kept doing it. Plus, it brings really nice low-impact fitness benefits. I probably burn an extra 2500 calories a week walking our long, hilly course. That's like 10 beers! 

 

[North Butte]

40 minutes ago, RoyalMustang said:

 

I get that too! I think to myself "what part of me doesn't look like I want to walk? 1) literally everyone else here is in a cart and I probably would have figured out I could take one too if I wanted and 2) I am probably the most fit guy around here: it's pretty obvious that I am in decent shape and it's probably no coincidence that I'm walking right now". 

 

I think it's course by course though, or city by city. When going to other areas of Texas like Austin, 50% of people were walking. Probably 30% at a nice private club I played at recently.  It really caught on during COVID and lots of people realized that they enjoyed the game more that way, so they kept doing it. Plus, it brings really nice low-impact fitness benefits. I probably burn an extra 2500 calories a week walking our long, hilly course. That's like 10 beers! 

 

Most of those people assume you are too cheap to pay for a cart and are offering to help you dodge paying the cart fee. Simple as that. Being cheap is literally the only reason they can think of not to ride. 

[smashdn]

42 minutes ago, RoyalMustang said:

 

I get that too! I think to myself "what part of me doesn't look like I want to walk? 1) literally everyone else here is in a cart and I probably would have figured out I could take one too if I wanted and 2) I am probably the most fit guy around here: it's pretty obvious that I am in decent shape and it's probably no coincidence that I'm walking right now". 

 

 

At the club I am a member of there is zero walking culture.  Again the only time you see it is some odd extenuating circumstance.  Last night I went out and played and as I made the turn had a guy and his son tee off behind me and he was carrying.  I offered them a ride then but they refused.  I was waiting to hit my approach on 12 and waved him up to go ahead and hit off 12 tee.  When he came up I offered again on the cart and this time he accepted.  Ended up playing the rest of the back nine with he and his son.  The back nine is a more challenging walk than the front by a fair amount.  Members keep their personal carts there but the cart storage is full and there is a list at the moment.  They do have a handful of rental carts (and that was what I was in since there is no room for my cart at the club) but they were all issued out when the other guy teed off.

 

Two guys walking might play faster than two guys in a cart though.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

21 hours ago, smashdn said:

 

Guys in carts will roll up on me while I am walking and just go out of their way to let me know I don't have to walk and can get in the cart with them.  Odd that walking is a largely foreign concept here unless you are a high school kid.

 

The front nine at my club is very walkable but I have seen exactly one person walking.

 

Walking in the US is uncommon. In some places it's because of the summer heat. Then you have the speed golf idea that driving to the ball and waiting is faster... Of course, some are too hilly to be walkable.

 

In the winter I'm gonna start walking when course loads drop down and the casual golfers put up their clubs until next year. (That's not meant to be disparaging)

 

Rushing to the ball in the of season seems to hurt my game.

 

 

[smashdn]

3 minutes ago, Mikey_HACKilroy said:

Rushing to the ball in the of season seems to hurt my game.

 

I am thinking I will start the same in the fall and winter as well.  I love to walk nine when it is cool enough that the walk keeps you warm.  Maybe I will start a trend there but I doubt it.

 

I agree that when you walk and are able to get straight behind your ball and really think through what you are faced with as you walk up on it you get more in the zone and I seem to stay in the shot a little better than riding.

 

And as a single, you can really focus on your shot and not another conversation going on.  Not that conversation is bad, just you can't fully focus on golf when other subjects are being discussed.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

18 minutes ago, smashdn said:

And as a single, you can really focus on your shot and not another conversation going on.  Not that conversation is bad, just you can't fully focus on golf when other subjects are being discussed.

 

I have been fortunate at least to have been able to go solo in most rounds in my own cart. 😁

[RoyalMustang]

49 minutes ago, North Butte said:

Most of those people assume you are too cheap to pay for a cart and are offering to help you dodge paying the cart fee. Simple as that. Being cheap is literally the only reason they can think of not to ride. 

 

I wish that were the case! My $3k/year after 1pm membership includes cart use. I asked for a discount but they don't have a policy for it.  My last club had a $250/mo cart surcharge which I was able to avoid. 

 

At least the pro shop guys love that I don't take a cart; I often get there late and play till dark. They would have to hang out if I had a cart out on the course but this way, they can go home 30 minutes earlier as it's usually dead in the evenings.  

[RoyalMustang]

58 minutes ago, smashdn said:

 

At the club I am a member of there is zero walking culture.  Again the only time you see it is some odd extenuating circumstance.  Last night I went out and played and as I made the turn had a guy and his son tee off behind me and he was carrying.  I offered them a ride then but they refused.  I was waiting to hit my approach on 12 and waved him up to go ahead and hit off 12 tee.  When he came up I offered again on the cart and this time he accepted.  Ended up playing the rest of the back nine with he and his son.  The back nine is a more challenging walk than the front by a fair amount.  Members keep their personal carts there but the cart storage is full and there is a list at the moment.  They do have a handful of rental carts (and that was what I was in since there is no room for my cart at the club) but they were all issued out when the other guy teed off.

 

Two guys walking might play faster than two guys in a cart though.

 

that's usually the case: the last tournament I played had 2 of us walking and the other 2 in a cart. Unless one of us was in a hazard, we were waiting on the other 2 guys much more than they waited on us. The only time it may not be that way is that if the walkers are playing back tees and the cart guys are playing forward tees: they will always get to the next tee box sooner but then end up waiting and aren't ready to go when the guys at the back tees have hit. 

 

We had that issue in a different tournament and it really slowed us down. When walking with cart guys, I usually tee off last as it takes me the longest to get to the tee box. I'm almost always faster from tee to green though on any non par-3 

Edited August 3, 2023 by RoyalMustang

[RoyalMustang]

32 minutes ago, Mikey_HACKilroy said:

 

I have been fortunate at least to have been able to go solo in most rounds in my own cart. 😁

 

My course won't let you do that, even if it is your personal cart. They make everyone share; it's weird. 

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

13 minutes ago, RoyalMustang said:

 

My course won't let you do that, even if it is your personal cart. They make everyone share; it's weird. 

 

Mostly, I've just been fortunate to pay a round with 2 others that were friends. One time my solo cart ride was based on a no show.

 

Some courses here let you pay extra for solo, but not many. I wish I had my own personal cart, but towing it around seems like I'd spending money just to avoid fees lol.

 

 

[Mw1991]

On 8/2/2023 at 12:23 PM, smashdn said:

 

Guys in carts will roll up on me while I am walking and just go out of their way to let me know I don't have to walk and can get in the cart with them.  Odd that walking is a largely foreign concept here unless you are a high school kid.

 

The front nine at my club is very walkable but I have seen exactly one person walking.

It's very course dependent around here. There are quite a few courses where walking is simply out of the question becuase of how far the holes are apart. My home muni is super walkable but I usually ride july/august. It's just to hot. 

[North Butte]

I guess I've always looked at it opposite from most people. I don't pick a course and then decide whether I'm going to walk or ride. I know I'm going to walk so there are plenty of courses I don't even think about playing because they're not walkable (at least not walkable by a fat 60-something year old). 

[smashdn]

21 hours ago, RoyalMustang said:

 

My course won't let you do that, even if it is your personal cart. They make everyone share; it's weird. 

 

It is likely to minimize wear and tear on the turf.  We don't have paths the entire length of the holes so you have to scatter when you get to the end of the path.  There are some places that get worn worse than others. Just places where most tend to drive as something funnels traffic that direction.  Oddly enough, one of the worst spots is on a par five in a spot you wouldn't really even find your ball often in the fairway because it is out of the driving zone and not up to where you would lay up to.  I guess people just get out of the fairway in this one spot.

[caniac6]

First off yesterday with a cart, and played 9 in a bit less than an hour.  It was raining lightly when I started, but took off the rain jacket after the first hole, and put it back on as I was loading the car. Very enjoyable.

[benstarks]

One of the only downsides to playing solo for me is that I can tend to play a little too quickly sometimes and not give shots or putts any attention. Weird because if you're on your own you probably have plenty of time to read putts and so forth. Overall it's awesome to have that time to yourself out playing the game we all love!

[North Butte]

16 minutes ago, benstarks said:

One of the only downsides to playing solo for me is that I can tend to play a little too quickly sometimes and not give shots or putts any attention. Weird because if you're on your own you probably have plenty of time to read putts and so forth. Overall it's awesome to have that time to yourself out playing the game we all love!

Some of us play way better when we don't give shots and putts attention! I have a hair-trigger brain, it's always ready to over-think things at a moment's notice. More time to think is just more time to talk myself into some sort of nonsense. 

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

38 minutes ago, benstarks said:

One of the only downsides to playing solo for me is that I can tend to play a little too quickly sometimes and not give shots or putts any attention. Weird because if you're on your own you probably have plenty of time to read putts and so forth. Overall it's awesome to have that time to yourself out playing the game we all love!

 

I do the same thing, and frankly need to stop. I am always thinking "I'm taking too long" but then there's nobody behind me!!! What gives?!?!

 

Yesterday, I finally figured out that if I relax my eyes enough it'll make a sort of "magic eye poster" out of the green surface so I can see the plane and slope better. I missed the first putt out of a slight error in speed, but the line was perfect.

I find that if I consider the shot itself and not the "make sure I swing right" part.... the shot is quality, and the putting gets easier.

 

[renobleiii]

I used to leave work early and play as a single a ton pre-pandemic. But feels like every muni in my area has tons of groups every afternoon now. 

[fixyurdivot]

On 7/15/2023 at 8:14 AM, RSinSG said:

All of my golf is with others. I’m a member of 2 men’s leagues and work at another course where I often hook up with others. For as long back as I can remember (and I’m a geezer) I think I’ve gone out as a single <10 times. 
 

For the last two summers we’ve been staying in a 5th wheel we set up on my sons 25 acres in Orofino, ID so we can escape the heat, help my son with projects and be close to grandkids. There is a 9 hole course nearby that is rural, but beautiful and a good challenge due to the setup. Downside is the pro shop doesn’t open until 8:00 which makes walking tough in the summer.  I recently learned they don’t care what time walkers start as long as you pay after your round. I now tee off at 6:45 or so and enjoy a peaceful walk in a beautiful setting. I play against myself hitting two balls for the entire round, have the course to myself and only see the occasional grounds worker. I do see lots of deer which adds to the walk. I’ll be back to my normal league play soon, but for now I’m enjoying the solitude.

 

Retired in rural Montana, I frequently played solo rounds, particularly weekdays during shoulder seasons, and did the "2 ball" format myself.  It actually is quite relaxing and a fantastic way to practice.  Range time is fine, but simply does not compare to on course play.