Joining a Course as a Single

[themittenstate]

Hello all-

I am considering joining a course about 15 minutes from my house. I just moved here and none of my friends so far are serious about golf. I work full time so want to play every Saturday/Sunday plus 9 holes after work a few days on the weekends.

How is not having a playing partner going to impact my weekend play? I'm sure I will find a group of guys to play with at some point, but as of right now, is it proper etiquette to ask the course to pair me with another group during the weekend?

I usually play with large groups of people back home- we often take 3 or 4 tees times and send off 12 or 16 people on the weekends so this has never been a problem before.

[LilGasPasser]

I was in a similar situation last year.  I joined a local club near my house based purely on geography; I could not care less about the social offerings...  I was just getting back into golf after a long hiatus, and lost touch with most of my prior golf friends.  So, I was a "single" golfer.

Within weeks, I had met dozens of people, and within a few months of playing with different groups, I fell into a social group of guys who are of similar ages, and we all have similar games (ie. poor, but trying to improve).

So, I say, go for it at the local club.  You're bound to meet up with people soon enough.  At my club, the starter watched me on the range for the first few rounds, and made the pairings based on my ability.  It worked out well for me.  I wish you have the same luck.

I found that showing up early on a weekend, and hanging about the putting green or range, was a big help.  There's usually a threesome in a need of a fourth within an hour...  That was the best part of joining a club:  I can show up when I have time to play, and can usually pair up with a familiar face pretty quickly.

[iacas]

Is it a private course or a public course? It'll change the way in which you're paired up for weekend rounds.

Either way, talk to the guys in the pro shop, tell them your situation, and schedule, and they may have some ideas of a threesome looking to add a fourth or a larger group of guys who play a running game every weekend or something.

[meenman]

  LilGasPasser said:

Originally Posted by LilGasPasser

I was in a similar situation last year.  I joined a local club near my house based purely on geography; I could not care less about the social offerings...  I was just getting back into golf after a long hiatus, and lost touch with most of my prior golf friends.  So, I was a "single" golfer.

Within weeks, I had met dozens of people, and within a few months of playing with different groups, I fell into a social group of guys who are of similar ages, and we all have similar games (ie. poor, but trying to improve).

So, I say, go for it at the local club.  You're bound to meet up with people soon enough.  At my club, the starter watched me on the range for the first few rounds, and made the pairings based on my ability.  It worked out well for me.  I wish you have the same luck.

I found that showing up early on a weekend, and hanging about the putting green or range, was a big help.  There's usually a threesome in a need of a fourth within an hour...  That was the best part of joining a club:  I can show up when I have time to play, and can usually pair up with a familiar face pretty quickly.

This pretty much sums it up. In my experience, the starters / pro shop have been very good about pairing new members with the appropriate group on the course.

All of my current playing partners were strangers to me at one time and all pretty much joined by themselves. You will eventually be paired up with compatible golfers. We have had a ball playing with newbies that were low digit HCs, but guys like that will always move on to play with the guys at their skill level.

Honestly, you will end up with a choice of which group(s) you want to play with, based not only on skill, but how much $$$ you like to bet.

Also play in every club tourney you can - you will meet guys that you would not normally meet (unless you have a membership like we do, where a lot of the groups wont play unless they get to pick their foursome)

[Ed Rooney]

Some places will have a 9-hole men's league one night a week after work. That's a good way to get lined up for weekend golf. Guys are always looking for a reliable 4th.

[gwlee7]

I have quickly found great people to play with whenever I have joined a new course. Shouldn't be a problem for you either.

[Chunky]

I joined a public course and go as a single all the time. Now, I know a lot of single players and we run into each other and get paired up a lot, by dumb luck. I also end up on a lot of threesomes. I know more people at that course then some of the long time members and I only have been a member for under two years. I have ended up on some occasional threesomes for awhile which is fun too, but I don enjoy being a single because it really frees you up to play more golf because I rarely have to wait more than 20 minutes to get out.

Here's the bad news you get to the course and decide to sign up as a single an go to the desk, you thought they were busy but guess what they get you out in five minutes. I can't tell  how few practice buckets I have hit. I really want to hit more but I don't get enough 45  minute or hour waits!