Advice for weekend golf

[stealthhwk]

Ive applied for a new job so to speak. There has been an instructor position come available at my current job and I have applied. Its just the greatest opportunity ever! Ill have weekends and holidays off and much more time with my wife and four year old son!!! But EEEEEEEEK!!! Ill have to play golf on saturday or sundays!!! Weekday golf often makes me !@&-$/):. WEEKEND golf must be even worse!!! Pay twice as much, and Im sure the pace of play will be twice as bad too esp in the dfw area. Will I even be able to get a tee time to begin with. Im really hoping to land the job but man, oh man! How am I gonna play golf? Am I over reacting or is this as bad as it seems? Any thoughts, or advice for playing golf on the weekends?

[gregsandiego]

8 minutes ago, stealthhwk said:

Ive applied for a new job so to speak. There has been an instructor position come available at my current job and I have applied. Its just the greatest opportunity ever! Ill have weekends and holidays off and much more time with my wife and four year old son!!! But EEEEEEEEK!!! Ill have to play golf on saturday or sundays!!! Weekday golf often makes me !@&-$/):. WEEKEND golf must be even worse!!! Pay twice as much, and Im sure the pace of play will be twice as bad too esp in the dfw area. Will I even be able to get a tee time to begin with. Im really hoping to land the job but man, oh man! How am I gonna play golf? Am I over reacting or is this as bad as it seems? Any thoughts, or advice for playing golf on the weekends?

How do you feel about "twilight" rounds?

I often start on Sunday at about 3pm when the course is empty and the price is cheap. If the San Diego Chargers are playing the course is often abandoned.

 

[stealthhwk]

Im not sure. Seems like being gone in the middle of my wife and sons day might present a problem. But good thoughts. I def live in football country so Sundays might be better. Thats good food for thought. 

[woodzie264]

39 minutes ago, stealthhwk said:

Ive applied for a new job so to speak. There has been an instructor position come available at my current job and I have applied. Its just the greatest opportunity ever! Ill have weekends and holidays off and much more time with my wife and four year old son!!! But EEEEEEEEK!!! Ill have to play golf on saturday or sundays!!! Weekday golf often makes me !@&-$/):. WEEKEND golf must be even worse!!! Pay twice as much, and Im sure the pace of play will be twice as bad too esp in the dfw area. Will I even be able to get a tee time to begin with. Im really hoping to land the job but man, oh man! How am I gonna play golf? Am I over reacting or is this as bad as it seems? Any thoughts, or advice for playing golf on the weekends?

Soooo you may not like what I have to say, but you did make the post asking for thoughts:

First, let's not get frantic until you're actually offered the position and the decision becomes real.  But let's assume you have the offer, I would be the one telling you to make the list of positives and negatives and weighing them out...Does the new position offer your family a better situation or is it more of a lateral move? etc

If it's what you ought to do as a husband and father, then I think that's your answer. But I'd be open with your wife that you have these concerns and you may be surprised to see how you guys might be able to work it out to where you can have some weekend afternoon rounds worked in (when the courses are less congested). Hopefully the wife will see your sacrifice for the good of the family and want to meet your need to play....I mean, a guy's gotta have a hobby, right?!

[RussUK]

I work all week, dont get home till 7pm so my weekends are for the wife and kids, however, i still get to play golf just not as much as before the kids arrived.

In summer, i'll often go out on a dawn patrol round (7:30am) as the course is empty and in autumn and winter im able to go out a little later but still get a full round in thanks to a) only true golfers go out in all weather and b) all the idiots who play in summer for a laugh are watching the soccer. 

You just need to plan your time in advance. We have a calendar and if ive agreed a day og golf with the missus and its on the calendar then its stands.

[paininthenuts]

7 hours ago, stealthhwk said:

Ive applied for a new job so to speak. There has been an instructor position come available at my current job and I have applied. Its just the greatest opportunity ever! Ill have weekends and holidays off and much more time with my wife and four year old son!!! But EEEEEEEEK!!! Ill have to play golf on saturday or sundays!!! Weekday golf often makes me !@&-$/):. WEEKEND golf must be even worse!!! Pay twice as much, and Im sure the pace of play will be twice as bad too esp in the dfw area. Will I even be able to get a tee time to begin with. Im really hoping to land the job but man, oh man! How am I gonna play golf? Am I over reacting or is this as bad as it seems? Any thoughts, or advice for playing golf on the weekends?

My tip is to play golf, and forget work. Here in the UK the government love throwing money at people who know how to complete the correct forms, and have loads of children. You get even more money and are fast tracked if you are foreigner. Of course, if things are different in the U.S. I suggest you take a job and go off sick when you need the practice

[CarlSpackler]

Balancing work, family and golf is always going to be a challenge. Courses are definitely busier on the weekend. No doubt about it. I'm not a big fan of playing in the morning when there is dew on everything, so I use that time to get a few things done and spend time with the family. When afternoon rolls around, I head out to the course.

[mcanadiens]

Does DFW mean Dallas-Ft. Worth? Maybe all courses are equally crowded there, for all I know, but I'd check out the different area courses.

Around my area, we've got some that are always packed on the weekend and others that are not. My home course, for instance, is usually a nightmare on a nice weekend day. If I pop for a bit more I can play a couple of different courses that are considerably less crowded.  Can't afford to do it all the time, but its an option.

[Gunther]

Get the Golfnow app, it'll show you courses where prices are reasonable and you can tell based on tee time availability if the course will be quiet.

I golfed only very rarely when my son was 4, didn't really start playing regularly til he was 14 so you might be limited for a while.  Kid's more important anyway.  Golf will be there when you're ready.  

[bkuehn1952]

When/if you accept the new position, is there any room for negotiation?  Like suggesting working a slightly longer day on Wed/Thurs and getting to start late (or leave early) on Tuesday?  That might allow you to play once a week in the middle of the week.  Of course, some workplaces are regimented in the hours with no leeway.  

[stealthhwk]

47 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

Does DFW mean Dallas-Ft. Worth? Maybe all courses are equally crowded there, for all I know, but I'd check out the different area courses.

Around my area, we've got some that are always packed on the weekend and others that are not. My home course, for instance, is usually a nightmare on a nice weekend day. If I pop for a bit more I can play a couple of different courses that are considerably less crowded.  Can't afford to do it all the time, but its an option.

Yeah, Dallas Ft. Worth. All the courses here are very crowded. But maybe some are better than others. Thanks for the tip.

40 minutes ago, Gunther said:

Get the Golfnow app, it'll show you courses where prices are reasonable and you can tell based on tee time availability if the course will be quiet.

I use the app already, but Ill pay closer attention to the listed times and maybe that will be a good indicator. And hey, if I do wind up getting the job, maybe you and I will have a chance to play golf together at some point. 

13 minutes ago, bkuehn1952 said:

When/if you accept the new position, is there any room for negotiation?  Like suggesting working a slightly longer day on Wed/Thurs and getting to start late (or leave early) on Tuesday?  That might allow you to play once a week in the middle of the week.  Of course, some workplaces are regimented in the hours with no leeway.  

This is pretty solid idea, but since Ill be an instructor, my schedule wont have any flexibility. Although, I think they might only work a half day on classe's graduation day. If thats the case, that should eliminate the problem all together. But Im trying to be prepared for either situation. 

[Club Rat]

9 hours ago, stealthhwk said:

Any thoughts, or advice for playing golf on the weekends?

My suggestion would be to find a weekend group of guys or group who play often in the mornings on weekends.
They typically play early, often have a little skins game and tend to encourage a good pace of play.
Larger groups are often an opportunity to meet other players and may inform you of other opportunities.

I have a friend who lives near San Antonio who plays often in a Texas Golf Association, do not recall the specific details, but
he indicated they play various courses and I recall him telling me the associations are located in many Texas areas.

You could contact local courses to inquire of any associations.

Also, maybe even get involved in the Golf Channel Amateur Tour.

 

[70sSanO]

I might be in the minority on this, but we are only talking about a hobby.  If you have an opportunity to spend time with your wife and son, you need to jump at it.

Your 4 year old will be 16 before you know it and the quality time you spend between now and then will impact not only his life but yours going forward.

I can't tell you how many hobbies  I've put on hold or throttled back at times, including golf, during those years, but I've been able to ramp them all back up and share them with our kids as they grew.   The best part is sharing all those hobbies with them, including playing a round or two every time  we get together.

John

[Vinny Cap]

Being a weekend warrior is not all that bad.  Similar to others, I have become friendly with the clubhouse at the place I play and can usually get a Tee time every Sat at or right around 8:00.

This gets my golf in and leaves the afternoon free to do stuff at home with the family.

Best of luck to ya!

[Yukari]

If you can get an early tee time on weekends, it should not be any problem.

[Kalnoky]

Late Sunday afternoon (3pm) is not so bad around here. Another option is to play an executive course on the weekend. Slightly different clientele on those, not so much pressure.  

 

[Liko81]

11 hours ago, stealthhwk said:

Ive applied for a new job so to speak. There has been an instructor position come available at my current job and I have applied. Its just the greatest opportunity ever! Ill have weekends and holidays off and much more time with my wife and four year old son!!! But EEEEEEEEK!!! Ill have to play golf on saturday or sundays!!! Weekday golf often makes me !@&-$/):. WEEKEND golf must be even worse!!! Pay twice as much, and Im sure the pace of play will be twice as bad too esp in the dfw area. Will I even be able to get a tee time to begin with. Im really hoping to land the job but man, oh man! How am I gonna play golf? Am I over reacting or is this as bad as it seems? Any thoughts, or advice for playing golf on the weekends?

I play in the DFW area, and in my experience getting a weekend tee time is generally not too bad. However, take that with a grain of salt, as I usually tag along with my in-laws, who have memberships to various private courses, and the last time I played public was on a Friday, early morning tee-off. If pace of play and course conditions are the most important thing for your enjoyment of the game, then I'd definitely look into a private membership. My in-laws' home course is currently Diamond Oaks Golf Club in the Haltom City/NRH area, and the only time pace of play was an issue was during a scramble tournament intended to promote the club to potential members. They've also been members at Hackberry in Irving, and the course conditions and player scheduling was very good every time I went, but the prices just got too ridiculous. My in-laws also usually book in the first hour of tee times when they can, like 7-8 AM, to avoid the heat of the day; it usually doesn't start getting busy (or expensive) until at least a few hours later.