9 holes vs 18 holes?

[juanrjackson]

I know that 18 holes is considered a full round...but there is a 9 hole muni down the street from me that I starting playing last year....now I even volunteer there so I can play for free. Now I find that I enjoy playing 9 holes over 18....mostly because of time...because:

(1) I can tee up at 7am on the weekend & be home sipping coffee at 9:15am. I have played some 18 hole rounds that took 5+ hours

(2) it is easy to sneak in 9 holes after work.

Any comments??

[juanrjackson]

Also...does anyone prefer 9 over 18 holes?

[AmenCorner]

I will say no, but only because I don't live very close to where I play. Therefore, if I'm going to make the effort to get to the course, I want to play 18. But if I lived on a course, than I'd be all about playing 9 holes, especially after work.

[Comeback City]

9 holes is nice if there's a time restraint or something but I definitley prefer 18.

[Marinemike]

Also prefer 18. 9 is just enough to make me mad if I have the time for 18.

There is something to be said though for being able to get your fix in 1.5 hours early in the morning or late in the evening.

[Undr Par]

I perfer 9 holes over 18 myself, with 2 small children at home (time is against me) and playing 9 also allows me too walk over riding in a cart as well, normally on a busy weekend most courses up here suggest (strongly) when playing 18 that you ride (it's also basically cost sufficent as well).

to each his own though.....

[RocketSauce]

i prefer to play 18. i just feel like 9 holes goes by waaay to quickly and the fun is over to fast

[ApocG10]

Sure. When the mornings get really warm, I can tee off at 6am, play 9 holes, shower and dressed at the club locker rooms, stop at Tim Hortons, and be in my office my 8:30..

[Tulsa]

Playing for whatever time you have available is certainly better than not. If I can get in only 9 holes after work, I'm all for it. If I have the time available, I prefer 36 holes to 9 or 18.

There's nothing like being on a well manicured lawn that I didn't have to mow!

[WhiteSlice]

18 when its at like 3 or 4 in the afternoon because then you can fit everything you need to fit in before that and focus on your game.

[shankapotamus]

I prefer 18 because it seems like I generally am playing my best in between the ninth hole and the 13th hole and I hate walking off of the course right when I am heating up.

[uttexas]

I really struggle to make time for 18 these days. I strongly prefer the first tee time if playing 18.

I read somewhere that 18 holes is one of golf's biggest obstacle to becoming more popular.

[Chas]

I used to sort of disparage the 9 hole round, but I now see that this is a silly mistake. Sometimes it's 9 or nothing because of time constraints, or 18 may be ill advised because of high temps in the summer.

Also, I find that nine is plenty long enough for me to feel that I've made some progress on my game by identifying issues to work on as well as stress-testing the latest swing fix. Towards the end of a full round I sometimes feel like I've maxed out when it comes to learning and I'm mostly on autopilot.

But really, it's all good and surely beats the alternative.

[Harold]

I like 18 but I often play 9's once a week as my practice time since I not a range rat and then mostly only practice pitching, chipping and putting. I don't goof around when playing 9's but rather get a small bucket's worth of a real game with real shots on real grass.

[NorCalGolfer]

I read somewhere that 18 holes is one of golf's biggest obstacle to becoming more popular.

that doesn't bother me none. All that matters is I love golf. The less people at the course the better IMO. I realize courses may not make as much money to spend back on the course, but I think they still do alright.

oh..and I prefer 18. nothing like being in the middle of a heated battle coming down the stretch..

[Scottydoint]

I prefer 18 holes.

[Sherlockian]

Up until a couple of months ago, I preferred 18. Now with my newer "restricted free time", 9 is the way to go. I can leave work at 5, play 9 on the way home, and still be in my recliner sipping a beer by 7. I am getting to play 4 to 5 times a week now, instead of maybe one. 9 holes also provide my daughter and I with a couple of golf outings a week, she can't handle 18 right now. Another plus is the actual course I play, it is only 9 holes and fairly short. I take my pencil bag with 4 clubs; 5 wood, 7 iron, PW, and putter (and still break 45 regularly).

[lumpuckeroo]

I prefer 18, but the in rural community that I grew up, most of the neighoring towns only had 9 hole courses. We ended up playing a lot of 9 hole rounds.