Do You Golf Alone?

[The Rambler]

Yeah I do at my little Muni. I just throw in my iPod and play a few holes.

[VanillaEps]

All the time. I played Monday, by myself, for about six holes (I caught up to a twosome) and today I played an entire round, solo.

Where do you play? I take lessons at Rye Golf Club.

[RussianCarl]

Well you guys have given me the confidence to give it a try at my local 9-hole muni. I still don't have my own clubs so I'll feel kinda silly golfing alone AND renting but oh well. My clubs should arrive by next Friday but I don't think I can wait that long.

[Zakko]

I acutally play better by myself but when it comes to the point of hitting blind tee shots, it's kinda discouraging.

[WhiteSoxFan]

I hope all of you guys who "drop a couple balls" aren't posting those scores for your handicap.

Anytime you take a practice stroke (not a practice swing) during a round is a breach of the rules. Any round not played under the rules should not be posted for your handicap. The rules is the rules. It's fine to do this if you call it a "practice round". But, that round isn't an official round and it shouldn't be posted, even if you only count the first ball you play. This is from the USGA's handicapping manual.

5-1d/2. Status of Scores Made when Two Balls Played Throughout Round Q: A player frequently plays alone and plays two balls throughout the round. May the player return the score made with each ball for handicap purposes? A: No. The player may not return the score made with either ball, as such scores are not made in accordance with The Rules of Golf-see Rule 7-2 of The Rules of Golf.

[jdmay]

Has anyone had problems with their Ipod affecting your swing.
Do you run the cord underneath your shirts?

[sandtrap]

I love golf as much for the comeradity as I do for the sport. Playing by yourself is is like, well, playing with yourself.
You get plenty of strokes buts it's more fun with a partner.

On the occation that I do find myself with an opportunity to play alone I will usually ask the group I catch up to if they mind if I play along. even if it's a 5 some.

[3Putt]

With family and work commitments, a lot of my rounds are spur of the moment so I'm usually out there by myself. On those occasions I'll play two balls per hole and record the higher ball as my score. I find it helps me to concentrate on each shot instead of rushing around playing speed golf.

[RussianCarl]

Well I went out to the local muni for the first time solo today. It really sucked. I started off okay but got really frustrated when I couldn't hit my nice loft shots with the SW from behind the bunkers. I think it would have been more fun solo if I had my iPod with me or if I could see anything. It was very bright out so any mishits I had I couldn't find. I ended up losing 10 balls on a 9 hole course and easily 1/2 of those were on the fairway under some leaves.

When you play badly with a friend at least you can laugh it off but being solo just made me play worse. Couple that with the fact that my drivers and woods were in the shop made it very difficult. The club let me use a driver but it was a super tiny old persimmon one which I'm not very accurate with being a beginner and such. So in order to stop losing balls I kept pulling up and hitting accurate shots and driving it only 150 off the tee just to be sure I was in the middle of fairway. This seemed to have a large impact on my game. On the plus side I only had two 3-putts.

Oh well... first time out with the new irons I just ordered. I'm still getting a feel for them but really my swing was just out of whack today and I just couldn't fix it because of how frustrated I became over losing that many balls.

[The Rambler]

I hope all of you guys who "drop a couple balls" aren't posting those scores for your handicap.

Thankyou I wasn't aware of those rules. You woulndt happen to be a PGA rulesofficial would you

[iacas]

I hope all of you guys who "drop a couple balls" aren't posting those scores for your handicap.

Practice strokes are allowed on the putting greens, of course.

[shortgame85]

I wish there were an option in your poll for "sometimes." Sometimes I play with a group or another individual, especially if I'm playing with a friend or friends at their clubs. But I am perfectly content, and sometimes prefer, to play alone. I find a round of golf, played alone, allows me to play at whatever pace I feel like playing that day. Playing alone, especially on a day of the week when most fellows are not on the course, affords me the opportunity of a more relaxed, less rushed round, eventhough my normal pace is pretty fast. It seems as though I appreciate the beauty of the course a little more when I'm alone than with a group. I can enjoy playing with or without company, but sometimes it's just better by myself.

[Mikeland]

It's not often that I get to play alone, but when I do, I really enjoy it - as long as there's noone else in front of me of course! That's one of the great things about this game - you don't need a partner to play golf. I play most of my rounds as a "single", but usually get paired up with a two-some or three-some. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it sucks. As for playing with an iPod, that's an interesting thought...I prefer the sounds of the game...and it helps to be able to hear "FORE!!"!!! :)

[SirMilton]

I learned a loooong time ago that to get better fast you need to go it alone no matter what sport you are doing (excluding bedroom stuff).

I have been a tournament bass fisherman for over 35 years and to this day catch a lot less fish when I have a guest with me - I attribute it to spending more effort on their results and being sociable than on my personal results.

I find its the same with hunting and even team sports - who wants to be called a "ball hog"? Unless you are a bit of a sociopath, you are naturally trying to help everyone have a good time, instead of zoning out.

If some part of my game isn't working reasonably well, I can work on that intensively when I am alone. And nothing can blow you concentration more than playing with someone who thinks they are a teaching pro and should offer everyone unsolicted advice.

In any event, when practicing, I want to play alone. When playing with others I want to have a good time and don't worry too much about my scoring (and I don't play with $100+ a hole guys). I truly enjoy seeing one of my fellow players hit a great shot or winning a hole as much or more than when it happens to me.

[SirMilton]

For you rules nuts. Practice strokes are allowed on the greens after everyone plays in MATCH play, just not in stroke play. Most of the golfers I know play match play ($ per hole).

[iacas]

For you rules nuts. Practice strokes are allowed on the greens after everyone plays in MATCH play, just not in stroke play. Most of the golfers I know play match play ($ per hole).

That's not correct either. You can practice putt in stroke play - they just make a local rule disallowing it on the pro tours.

Rule 7-2.

[Icehawk]

Haven't played a round by myself but so far I always end up alone at the driving range/practice green.

I enjoy the comraderie of another player personally and unlike SirMilton have found that having someone to bounce ideas off is quite helpful (I am an amateur car racer). Since moving to FL I have stopped racing now that I have no partner - it was 8hrs of standing around by myself in the heat and making no progress. When I had a partner we could discuss the differnent lines, braking points, etc and elevate each other.

Not to say I won't shoot a round solo, just haven't yet.

[mtrevors]

I golf by myself about 75% of the time. Golfing solo is the best way to work on your game as it minimizes the distractions. Also, it gives me the ability to drop balls in areas where I usually don't hit to so I can practice different shots. This lets me play a "real" round of golf and throw in a little practice for good measure.