Going to course alone.

[KillaK]

When I am on vacation I golf a lot as a single...

I was just about to say the same thing about golfing as a single on vacation - I'm married with a kid and when we go on vacation I always bring the clubs and get up super early to play. My best experience so far was golfing in maui and kauai in hawaii - both islands has public courses where locals play - both times i got paired with people who told me all the beaches to hit, restaurants to eat at and things I should check out. Also I find people are always happy to help you navigate around their home course.

I noticed your name cape cod beachfront golfer - I've also play some of the 9 hole courses around dennis, harwich and chatham - 20 bucks for 9 holes can't beat it and every stranger I got matched up with showed some great hospitality. I've also had some of my best rounds playing as a single - for some reason you tend to focus more, prob because you dont want to look like a fool out there.

[AceDunk]

Hate playing by myself. I only go out alone when I know I'm going to get paired up with other people. A big part of the game for me is enjoying it in the company of others. When I'm with other people I tend to get more excited when I hit great shots, and less frustrated when I goof up. When I'm by myself I guess I feel like it doesn't matter because no one is there to see my shots, good and bad. Practicing though is a different story. Very rarely I will play a few holes by myself hitting multiple balls as others have mentioned but that's not really playing.

Plus, gotta have someone there to see your aces and albatrosses or they didn't happen!

[zeg]

I almost always go to the course alone, and I'd say about 60% of the time I get grouped or (more often) paired up for a round. Usually it's in my interest to have someone else along, as it helps me keep my cool when things go badly. I've never had a bad playing partner this way, and have had some very interesting conversations with people who I'd probably never run into anywhere else. The courses I play are small enough that there's never any trouble getting out, and they certainly aren't bothered by singles.

[longdrive23]

I usually find it helpful in searching for the ball (even if it is in the rough) when playing with others. Losing it on the rough is the most annoying thing possible, worse than hitting a bad shot!

In general, I agree, playing alone would mean meeting people whom (without golf) I'd never encounter...

[c. lassiter]

I've been walking on as a single for years, always get paired with someone, virtually all of them have been good guys / gals.

Just two bad experiences in all those years - once paired with a threesome of guys who had evidently never played before (the jeans and button down shirts should have tipped me off) and averaged 15 strokes per hole on a course that is not at all suited for a beginner, another time with a guy who couldn't break 100 but spent most of the day telling me that I was either teeing it too high, or too low, or where to aim, or how to read putts, etc.

But most people are great, and meeting other golfers is one of the things I enjoy most about the game.

[double_j]

Hate playing by myself. I only go out alone when I know I'm going to get paired up with other people. A big part of the game for me is enjoying it in the company of others. When I'm with other people I tend to get more excited when I hit great shots, and less frustrated when I goof up. When I'm by myself I guess I feel like it doesn't matter because no one is there to see my shots, good and bad. Practicing though is a different story. Very rarely I will play a few holes by myself hitting multiple balls as others have mentioned but that's not really playing.

This. I usually go to the course alone but don't really like playing by myself. You do tend to lose some of the good parts about golf and I tend to have a harder time focusing and thinking of the round as anything but practice. It almost feels like nothing more than an extended session on the range.

That said, some of my low rounds have come while playing by myself so go figure... Just a suggestion - even though you might go to the course as a single, I've found that you're much more likely to play with others if you make a tee time. It gives the shop a heads up that you'll be coming and they'll usually find a way to match you up with someone else.