Can you get good playing once a week?

Just wondering if you can actually improve by playing 18 only once a week and hitting up the range once or twice??

Im thinking of getting rid of my membership because a) I play alone ALL the time which is really starting to suck and b) I play a lot but I am leaving all the same shots on the course

Which is why I think I may stop my membership and put that money towards lessons.

If I do that, I'll only be able to play once a week, is getting down into the single digits even possible if Im only playing once a week? I'll be practicing a ton but its nothing like actually hitting shots that count.

Just wondering what your guys's take is on this.

Take care

Jim

It's hard to say. On one hand, I believe that the improvement you see is directly related to how you practice. Having a very specific purpose when you're at the range or on the course for a practice round is key. If you're leaving the same shots on the course every time, why not play a few practice rounds, and specifically hit from the spots you have problems? In that case, the membership is still of benefit to you.

And yeah, playing alone does suck, but then again, you can flip that around and look at it as a positive in that you should have absolutely no distraction when practicing those shots you were talking about above. Now that I say all that, my thought is to keep the membership

If you are leaving the same shots out there over and over again, it sounds to me ike you need to go play at some other courses. You've played that one so much it's goten stale on you. I've had this happen to me before, and I don't frequent a "home" club because of it.

Besides what kind of club is it that you end up playing by yourself all the time? Who the hell runs this joint?

I went from a 16 to a 9 in 2yrs playing about 70 rounds per year and rarely practicing (maybe 10 times a year). This was when I lived in Toledo and could only play 7-8 months a year.

I only played about 50 rounds this year and I went from an 8 or so to a 6.2 at one point...

of course maintaining my handicap is getting difficult these days, especially since I am a new dad now and play even less.

I belonged to a public course like you did a few years ago. That is the year I had the most improvement. I went from 16 to an 11. I was also just out of college and played 100+ rounds that summer (Working my college job still). If you are bored playing golf by yourself why don't you try to pair up with people at the course. I do it all the time and I like it. I don't say much but at least you have a bit of time between shots, aren't waiting on the group in front of you, and I find it more enjoyable than playing alone. People are generally nice.

Can you get better playing once a week? No IMO. But if you are practicing a few times a week then yes. If you practice well and work on the right things that might be the quickest way to improvement. Not sure because I have never dedicated tons of time to the range. I have practiced my short game a ton when I was poor (it is free) and I saw results via consistancy.

Lessons and solo range sessions would improve your ballstriking no doubt about it. I sure wish I would dedicate myself to such a regimen. I think that I could get to single digits by doing so....even with my screwed up knees.

Hopefully the practice facility you attend has provisions for some short game work, too. It would be really aggravating to be hitting the ball solidly and accurately on the course only to have your short game bite you.


Strictly playing solo does really suck. I've got some experience with that, for sure.

I work an oddball schedule that makes it impossible to get in a regular Saturday group. I do play with a number of friends and coworkers at random times.

These past two months I've played very little at all due to some family illness issues....things are improving greatly and I sense that in January it's gonna be ON.

There is a mens association at one of the local courses that I'm thinking about joining. The pro told me that they have groupings from this association that play all the time and that I can fall into these slots with ease. It will be a great way to meet some guys with simular interests.

Maybe your home course has something like this.

Playing alone can be great for your practice and just for some quiet time to get out and breathe fresh air and clear your head......but the game is best, in my opinion, when it's shared with friends.

Good luck

I know what you're talking about when you feel you're playing the same shots every time. I get the exact feeling since I play nowhere but my home course which is the only course in town, the nearest course is a crappy executive course 90 kms away that is too expensive for what it is.

But at least you get to know if you've improved or not; seeing if you're driving it farther, hitting better approaches, and comparing scores. It's not that really bad after all.

I also know about playing solo, but I do like playing solo, at least every once in a while (I played 9 holes solo today and played good; 2 pars, 6 bogies and a double, which is good for me) specially when most people I will have to play with are not really enjoyable to be around with.

I have an 18 planned tomorrow morning with a good mate, hope it turns up good.

It depends on how good you wish to be. If you plan to just enjoy the game and get around the course, then playing once a week with a couple days at the range will be ok.

Single digits playing once per week is certainly attainable.

By practicing just my short game, I was able to get down into single digits.
Forced myself to do this by leaving my PW, GW, SW and putter in my car's trunk for four months. The rest of the clubs stayed bagged in the garage (except when playing 18)
Dedicating myself to 140 yards and in (50% wedge/50% putting practice) dropped strokes off the H.I. rapidly.

It depends on what you mean by good.
Here in Australia, we a have a slightly different handicapping system - we are changing to yours soon. Here, a person off a handicap of 6 would almost always break 80 and a person off 4 would have par figure rounds reasonably often. I mention this because from what I understand of the American handicapping system, a "scratch" marker rarely plays to par figures, whereas here he would be disappointed not to.
Anyway-----to my point. I know of many guys who consistently score in the high seventies to very low 80s who have no time for practice and play once a week. These are competition rounds with no gimmes and mulligans, which so many American "golfers" seem so fond of
There are many guys off 10 or 11 here (a 10 marker here would be extremely pissed off to score more than,say, 84 in good conditions) who only play weekly.

Once a week on course and twice on driving range with a purpose can do a lot. In between, watching games and reading about golf anything will help too.

I'm in the camp that only gets to play once a week also. During tournament weekends I get two rounds in with a trip or two to the driving range on my lunch break, but other than that it's one round Sunday morning then home in time to watch some football and cry that my fantasy team is losing to the power house in the second round of the playoffs...oh wait, nevermind. There's snow on the ground!

Seriously though, I do play one round a week as stated above and have improved a lot on my putting doing so. Every now and then it is frustrating knowing that if I would have more time in the day that I could practice more and probably get better. And now I've got my first child on the way too, so that may get rid of the once per week thing!

So to answer your question: yes, you can get good/decent by playing once a week. I echo the above comments in that you should try to sprinkle some practice with a purpose throughout also.

In word yes...do the math. take the winter off 12 weeks. you still have 40 rounds and 80 practice times. If you use your practice time with a plan of attack you will hit single status no problem. The key is to practice with plan and be productive with the time.

If you are doing the right things correctly, you can. If you take lessons and know what to improve on, and more importantly, how to improve, it can be done. I think the big key is once you get good, is staying there.

I was at a point a few years ago where I was playing and practicing but wasn't improving. I took some lessons and got much better over time. I didn't play but maybe once every other week at the time. Eventually it just all clicked. I knew what I needed to do, and how to fix it if it started to go bad. Now I am lucky to average playing once a month but I still maintain a handicap in the 5-7 range. If I get to play a few times in a couple of weeks I score really well. If I don't play for a month, it still isn't bad. My short game has always been pretty good, so that was a big help, I just needed help keeping the ball in play.

Just wondering if there are any par 3 courses around you and if so you can pkay them for about the same as a session at the range and really work on your short game and have the advantage of putting also.I am going to start that this summer and see if it helps,all you have to do is ussually carry a 6,wedge and putter.You can stop after work 1 or 2 days a week and see if it helps,that is if you have any around you......

Definitely. Playing once a week is 100x better than playing zero times a week. Remember that.

[QUOTE=kleraudio;401067]Just wondering if you can actually improve by playing 18 only once a week and hitting up the range once or twice??

Actually what you describe is my routine...like u I can play year round (50-60 rounds). But I can't spend 5 hours playing golf more than once a week. There are dozens of ranges here and I can get out at lunch 3 or 4 times a week to hit 30 or 40 balls and hit a few putts.

The only drawback is the 8 months when its 95 w/ 95% humidity going back to the office sweating like a pig.

With that routine you can easily get to single digits...however, my experience is my ball striking is OK but I can’t get to the low singles simply because my comfort level on the course sucks. Playing the game and hitting balls are two different skills

If you played one round a week, and practiced a few hours a week on short game only, I think you would improve.

But if you're sick of playing alone, join a league. It's fun, and competitive enough that you learn how to play under pressure.

Playing alone can get boring, but a 4-ft putt to win a match is exciting! Plus when you have a match every week, those solo rounds will have a purpose.