Playing 9 or 18 by yourself.

[rrives]

Walked 18 today.  Played the worst round in a while   No pars and only one double bogey. (The rest were double or worst).  I enjoy playing alone and today was a pleasant day to walk.  Just about the only one on the course, so I took time to hit multiple shots.    Even hitting on the range before I went out, couldn't hit a drive or a iron so I knew it was not going to be good.

I think it was a guilty conscience for skipping out of the office to play on a Monday!  Only been playing for 4 months, so trying to get as many rounds in as I can.

[Moppy]

I think it was a guilty conscience for skipping out of the office to play on a Monday!

You will get over that in no time!

[Brett Ramberg]

I like playing with new people all the time.  It's fun to meet new people and I've actually picked up a lot of pointers from guys I've played against that were better than me.  I'd say it has really helped my game playing with random people.

[BigBaffy]

Doesn't have the stress of playing with people you know, too. I always play lousy when I play this one buddy of mine. He'd kick my ass most days anyway, but I always play my worst against him. Too true.

[Lihu]

Doesn't have the stress of playing with people you know, too. I always play lousy when I play this one buddy of mine. He'd kick my ass most days anyway, but I always play my worst against him. Too true.

What does he do that makes you play so bad?

[Ollie]

I just changed jobs, for the better, and will have the chance to hit the links most everyday this summer. We are in Wisconsin so the clubs sit dormant now. I suspect I will play alone many rounds. Are there things you guys and gals enjoy doing to challenge your self when alone?

[phan52]

Walked 18 today.  Played the worst round in a while   No pars and only one double bogey. (The rest were double or worst).  I enjoy playing alone and today was a pleasant day to walk.  Just about the only one on the course, so I took time to hit multiple shots.    Even hitting on the range before I went out, couldn't hit a drive or a iron so I knew it was not going to be good.

I think it was a guilty conscience for skipping out of the office to play on a Monday!  Only been playing for 4 months, so trying to get as many rounds in as I can.

I hope you didn't post that round.

Whenever I play by myself, it is usually just late in the day and I am working on my game. Rarely does it exceed 5-7 holes. I don't know if I could ever play 18 holes by myself.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrives

Walked 18 today.  Played the worst round in a while   No pars and only one double bogey. (The rest were double or worst).  I enjoy playing alone and today was a pleasant day to walk.  Just about the only one on the course, so I took time to hit multiple shots.    Even hitting on the range before I went out, couldn't hit a drive or a iron so I knew it was not going to be good.

I think it was a guilty conscience for skipping out of the office to play on a Monday!  Only been playing for 4 months, so trying to get as many rounds in as I can.

I hope you didn't post that round.

His handicap is listed as 32 at this point in time, I would guess that making extra full swing practice shots is not going to impact his game that much.

[phan52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phan52

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrives

Walked 18 today.  Played the worst round in a while   No pars and only one double bogey. (The rest were double or worst).  I enjoy playing alone and today was a pleasant day to walk.  Just about the only one on the course, so I took time to hit multiple shots.    Even hitting on the range before I went out, couldn't hit a drive or a iron so I knew it was not going to be good.

I think it was a guilty conscience for skipping out of the office to play on a Monday!  Only been playing for 4 months, so trying to get as many rounds in as I can.

I hope you didn't post that round.

Originally Posted by Lihu

His handicap is listed as 32 at this point in time, I would guess that making extra full swing practice shots is not going to impact his game that much.

He's a new golfer and I am just trying to help him out. I don't have any further evidence of his intentions down the road (playing in tournaments, etc.), so it would be helpful for him to know the rules.

I guess I am just a purist when it comes to handicapping. Besides hitting the multiple shots (which I always do when I am alone), there is no peer review of his round.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by phan52

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrives

Walked 18 today.  Played the worst round in a while   No pars and only one double bogey. (The rest were double or worst).  I enjoy playing alone and today was a pleasant day to walk.  Just about the only one on the course, so I took time to hit multiple shots.    Even hitting on the range before I went out, couldn't hit a drive or a iron so I knew it was not going to be good.

I think it was a guilty conscience for skipping out of the office to play on a Monday!  Only been playing for 4 months, so trying to get as many rounds in as I can.

I hope you didn't post that round.

Originally Posted by Lihu

His handicap is listed as 32 at this point in time, I would guess that making extra full swing practice shots is not going to impact his game that much.

He's a new golfer and I am just trying to help him out. I don't have any further evidence of his intentions down the road (playing in tournaments, etc.), so it would be helpful for him to know the rules.

I guess I am just a purist when it comes to handicapping. Besides hitting the multiple shots (which I always do when I am alone), there is no peer review of his round.

Agreed, it's always good to follow the rules.

Usually, I try to be a purist in terms of following rules and handicap rules, but as of late I have not really paid a lot of attention to scores. I'm looking at my performance on a shot by shot basis. I'm actually getting accused of not posting enough scores during my "swing" transitional change period, but I figure I am getting the feel for my new swing which gives me radically different results from my previous swing(s). What's funny is that the long game components (>100 yard shots) seem to have improved every week for the past three weeks, and I should be scoring a lot lower but it seems like my short game feel has completely tanked. However, if I calculate my differentials my scores roughly reflect my current listed HC even though I think I am playing like crap.

So, I guess each of us has their own objectives while playing on the course. Some of us treat all rounds as a way to relax and exercise, and some like every round is the most critical thing in their lives.

Mainly, I doubt that a few extra strokes is going to make that much difference in the scores of someone already taking more than 110 strokes per round.

[rrives]

Not sure what you mean by Posting the round?  As a newbie I do not track rounds for actual handicap rounds.  I use an app on my phone to track scores and it figures a handicap.   When I hit mutiple shots I only count the 1st shot for score and hit others just to try and get more practice in hitting that particular shot.   At this point I am just trying to learn how to strike the ball, at the age of 51 really don't have any ambitions other than trying not to embarrass myself when I do play with others.

[Lihu]

Not sure what you mean by Posting the round?  As a newbie I do not track rounds for actual handicap rounds.  I use an app on my phone to track scores and it figures a handicap.   When I hit mutiple shots I only count the 1st shot for score and hit others just to try and get more practice in hitting that particular shot.   At this point I am just trying to learn how to strike the ball, at the age of 51 really don't have any ambitions other than trying not to embarrass myself when I do play with others.

What you do seems pretty reasonable for fun, but is technically against the rules of golf. The only issue is if you take full "practice" shots, that would invalidate your handicap, but I was mentioning to Phan52 that since you are a very high handicap that this extra practice might not help your score that much.

[rrives]

Not to get this thread off topic, but how does taking a practice swing after hitting my "for real" swing affect anything?   I only so a practice swing if my 1st shot is not good.  So I try again, but I only play the first shot.    If this is against the rules I did not know this and have played with others that do this.  Of course the people I play with are just casual golfers and don't keep up with handicap.

Thanks for the info.

[Fourputt]

Not to get this thread off topic, but how does taking a practice swing after hitting my "for real" swing affect anything?   I only so a practice swing if my 1st shot is not good.  So I try again, but I only play the first shot.    If this is against the rules I did not know this and have played with others that do this.  Of course the people I play with are just casual golfers and don't keep up with handicap.

Thanks for the info.

The key is that any sort of full swing practice during around it against the rules.  And by the rules, a practice swing is not the same as a practice stroke.  A stroke requires making a forward motion of the club with the intent to hit the ball, thus playing a second ball is making a practice stroke and is not allowed.  Making a practice swing (swinging through air, or swinging at a leaf or broken tee or the like) is not a stroke (no intent to strike the ball) and is allowed.  Just for the sake of information, when you play that second ball, the rules say that you just played a substituted ball under penalty of stroke and distance and that ball is now the ball in play, but it lies 2 strokes farther along than the first ball (if you had been playing your 2nd stroke, then played another ball from the same spot, that 2nd ball is now the ball in play, lying 4).

Practice putting or chipping on the green just finished, or on the next teeing ground is allowed as long as you do not unduly delay play.  The reasoning is that such putting and chipping is done when you don't have a ball in play because you have finished play on that hole, and haven't teed off yet on the next.

[phan52]

Not to get this thread off topic, but how does taking a practice swing after hitting my "for real" swing affect anything?   I only so a practice swing if my 1st shot is not good.  So I try again, but I only play the first shot.    If this is against the rules I did not know this and have played with others that do this.  Of course the people I play with are just casual golfers and don't keep up with handicap.

Thanks for the info.

Didn't mean to criticize. I understand that you are a new golfer, I was just trying to help you out if you have intentions to keep a legitimate handicap and maybe play in tournaments at some point. Hitting a second ball is not a "practice swing". If you intend to post your score for handicap purposes, a second stroke while hitting a ball is not allowed.

I see that you are just working on your game. Not a problem. I do the same thing sometimes but I usually just do it when I am by myself playing a few holes and I do not intend to post a score.

[rrives]

Did not take it as criticism, just did not see the issue.  Learn something new everyday, so it has been a good day. Please take any opportunity to help me learn the game.

[mcanadiens]

When I'm alone and nobody's behind me, I'll play two balls on the local par-three. Obviously it doesn't count for anything. Sometimes it's helpful to set the scorecard aside and just concentrate on making shots.

[Lihu]

When I'm alone and nobody's behind me, I'll play two balls on the local par-three. Obviously it doesn't count for anything. Sometimes it's helpful to set the scorecard aside and just concentrate on making shots.

This is where you can have fun trying things you would otherwise not attempt. You can really push your limits, and usually par 3 courses have small greens. My son and I like playing our local ones sometimes.