Playing alone...is it bad?

[enduro]

I play alone during the day sometimes so I can really take my time. It gives you the chance to really focus and think about things. The more you do this you're able to think of these things when playing with others. Things become natural.

I don't play multiple shots when playing alone. That's for the driving range. If I hit a bad shot I have a lot of time to think about it; what I did right, what I did wrong, etc.

It gives you a chance to really spend a lot of time on the greens setting up your shot.

You can really take your time and think about your shots and your game. And whatever else you want.

I enjoy golfing alone and with friends.

[dag2000]

I love playing alone.

[wrx_junki]

Lately, when I do get grouped with strangers I get quite annoyed at them so I wish I could play alone but that isn't an option. Their golf etiquette is horrendous and I do not want to nitpick at all their wrongdoings or they'd think I was some golf nazi. Most of the time you see guys hole their putts out and then just shoo off the green without a second thought. Guys talking while your teeing off. Not fixing their ballmarks even though they see me going around fixing quite a few ballmarks that do not belong to me. DIGGING THEIR PUTTER into the cup to fish out their golf ball........... Too many other things that bother me.

[jfrain2004]

I prefer to play with my usual buddies but sometimes if I want to bag the free beer on Sat afternoon it requires that I sneak in some undercover time on my own. Hitting balls in a range is no substitute for standing on a tee looking out on a tight fairway. On my own I will play maybe 3 - 4 balls per hole if there is plenty of time and to keep focused I mark each hole but take the score of my WORST ball each time. Other times when playing 2 off the tee I play 2 ball worst ball, ie hit one down the middle and one into the rough then I will play my next two shots from the rough. That really tells you what level you are at.
To practice chipping I'll circle the green with up to 20 balls and track my up and down average. I cannot see how it is possible to get the touch required by simply playing with 3 others on a Sat or hitting a bucket of balls in a driving range

[Greg]

I play by myself during the week, usually just 9 nine holes a couple times a week, as I work in the evening and play in the afternoon before work. I like playing by myself as I can focus more on my game, my best scores have come playing by myself and ive hit my best shots too, my frequent weekend playing partner is a much better player than I am and hits it a lot farther off the tee too, I dont necessarily try to compete with him but I think I do sometimes try too hard and forget to relax, he's usually a shot a hole better than me, he's in the 80's, im barely breaking 100. Yes I could go to the range and I do at least a couple times a week, but its easier than actually playing, one bad shot at the range is nothing, a bad shot playing might be the difference in par and bogey or worse. The range sometimes make me think im hitting the ball better than I am.

[mbowker64]

I play alone often. Best time for me to practice

[flopdarock]

i played alone today which was amazing seeing that the course was pretty busy...
i was supposed to wait on a 3some but the 1st green cleared without them being there so the starter told me to go on ahead and if they catch up with me to let them join... we had a pretty good laugh cuz we knew the group in front was known to play pretty fast and he knew i could keep up if not pass those guys if they let me play thru (which they didnt)...
i was always getting off the green by the time the guys behind reached the teebox... so i had a pretty enjoyable friday round by myself

[skb9]

i played alone today, didn't like it very much, no one saw my good shots

[Doynish]

When I play alone I play a couple balls, using that time to really work on my game, and not focus on score.

[ks8829]

I enjoy playing alone and did so for so many years, you meet so many nice people and good golfers also.

What I do not enjoy is when the group is slow and we fall behind and have a hole open in front of us with the marshal driving behind us.

[tm22721]

Depends on whether you are an extrovert (gets energy from being around others) or introvert (loses energy while being around others).

Most Americans surveyed are extroverts. Seems to be our unique strength because most other countries survey as being introverted.

[gir]

I love playing alone. Most of the time, I'd rather play alone. Sometimes I just don't really feel like getting into small talk about where I live, what am I doing in school, where do I work, blah blah. I just wanna work on my game. And then plus when I hit bad shots, I'll be pissed, and in no mood really to be joking around. But if I'm playing well, then having people around is ok, ha.

[Chas]

What I do not enjoy is when the group is slow and we fall behind and have a hole open in front of us with the marshal driving behind us.

Yes, that's probably the worst part of playing as a solo walk-on with a group who know each other. I've learned to ignore it when the others talk amongst themselves a bit too much. It's good practice at dealing with distractions in a way. But if they play too slowly, which does happen fairly often, I don't know of a way to gently get them to speed up, except to point out that we're starting to fall behind a bit.

As a solo playing with a group of 2 or 3 you have to take the rough with the smooth to some extent. But that's OK, I almost always really enjoy it and I've met some very interesting people that way. It's (almost) all good.

[Nick]

I don't really know too many people who play and since im new to the game, ill be playing at winthrop university's public course. It's 9 holes but for 10 bucks you can play as many rounds as you want. i don't think too many serious golfers play there, i don't want to bother anyone while i learn the game.

[Chas]

That is a near-ideal situation IMO, wish that I'd had it in younger days. Make the most of it. That's probably how some of those young chaps that I meet got to be so good, especially around the green.

[Nick]

That is a near-ideal situation IMO, wish that I'd had it in younger days. Make the most of it. That's probably how some of those young chaps that I meet got to be so good, especially around the green.

Yeah, they have a frisbee golf course that i play at right around the golf course and i hardly ever see people playing there so it should be a great way for me to work some stuff out. I can't wait to get out and play for the first time. I have been hitting the range working on putting and sand shots.

[Stillhacken]

When playing with other people just remember nobody cares about your game. They have their own demons to worry about. Keep up the pace of play and use proper etiquette, thats all anybody really cares about.
If you are still nervous tell them your handicap at the beginning of the round and they will expect you to screw some shots up.

[Nick]

When playing with other people just remember nobody cares about your game. They have their own demons to worry about. Keep up the pace of play and use proper etiquette, thats all anybody really cares about.

yeahi had started another thread asking for some tips on general course etiquette and got a lot of tips. I think i would rather play by myself a few times through so i can work out my game a little without the pressure of other players. Thanks for the tips though they are much appreciated!