When the 10th hole is the first hole. Does it really matter?

No matter, it's still golf.
 
Just another golf excuse for not playing well. While I prefer going off of #1, it doesn't matter as it's still 18 holes.
 
That was my comment you quoted. It threw me off mentally more than anything else as that was the first time we have started on hole ten on our home course. The reason being there are an awful lot of visitors staying at the course and slowing down play so the starter decided to send any members off on the 10th. That didn't quite go to plan as by time we got to the 1st the course was backed right up.

Hole 1 is a reasonably short slight dog leg right par 4 with no real danger. Hole 10 is a long par 4 with water all down the left and OB right. It didn't annoy or aggregate me just mentally threw me off.

On a plus side I shot a 41 which is my lowest on the normal front 9 or that mornings back 9.
 
It doesn't bother me at all. I actually wish more courses did it on a regular basis. It can be a nice change of pace to play to not play 16-18 when you are getting tired and to play the front nine (especially 1-3) when you are warmed up. It a few ways, it can actually change the complexion of the course without having to change anything.
 
No issue for me at all
 
The only time it matters to me is when a courses 10th hole is significantly more difficult than the 1st. Some designers like to "ease" you into a round and have the 1st hole be an easier hole. On both of my home courses the 10th holes are more difficult than the 1st. But since we have 36 I rarely have to start on either back nine.
 
The hardest part is making sure I select the right starting hole in my scorecard app. Other than that, I don't mind too much.
 
The only reason I dont like starting on 10 is because the turn is the furthest point from the clubhouse at my course. You've got a 5-10 minute cart ride or 10-15 minute walk to get out there. Not ideal trying to hit your first shot out of breath haha.
 
I could care less where I start even though out 10th is the #1 handicap hole. When I working there, lot of people request to go off the back simply because the front is filled up.
 
I don't like starting off with par 3, that is the only time it may bother me.
 
I'm not good enough to use this as an excuse for anything. I'm usually just happy to play golf at all. At my local course, the tee shot at #10 is much harder than at #1, but it's a hard shot regardless of if it is my first of the day or the first of the back nine.
 
Lets see now: Hole 1 - 424 vs Hole 9 - 310, both straight fwd holes, my 1st drive of the day is 50/50 warm up or not, so not a problem here
 
I don't see how that could ever mess you up. You play a course hole by hole and no matter what format or order of holes you play, it shouldn't stop you from playing each hole the same as any other time. I've played plenty of courses starting on the back and it never occurred to me that it would mess my game up. Everyone is different though....
 
I don't mind, but I will say after playing a lot of shotguns and random hole starts, I definitely prefer starting off on a par 4/5 rather than a par 3. Obviously a mental thing, but I think I like to feel like I have some chance to recover if my first shot of the round is wayward.
 
This has no effect on my. I play hole by hole. My course likes to do this in a lot tournament for some reason. They will even have you play hole 10 and 1, but then go to hole 2. So, you play 10,2,3,4ect 1,11,12
 
As I said in an earlier post, it doesn't normally matter. There are rare occasions when it does irritate me a little. When a course has an exceptional "closing hole", I don't like playing it in the middle. A couple of examples of that are True Blue and Caledonia. Their closing holes are so cool that I really want to save them for last. They are such a fun way to end a round, especially if you're with a large group and you can sit on the porch with a brew and watch everyone play in.
 
I find that every time I reverse the 9s I end up shooting better scores... Go figure.
 
It's fine with me, especially if it means the pace of play will be quicker. At my course, it happens all the time; they will ask me to start on another hole because pace of play will be much better. I just hate starting on the Fourth because it's one of the more demanding tee shots on the course and you have to hit a mid or long iron (which is my biggest weakness), so I like to warm up to it.

However, if I was playing a course like Pebble, St. Andrews Old, etc., I would do everything I could to start on the First. Maybe it's the course design nerd in me, but I would want to experience the holes in the routing sequence intended.
 
Our first hole is a double dogleg par 5, requiring 3 iron shots to reach the green. Our 10th hole is a par 3 over water. Given my "druthers," I'd choose to start out on #1, but in reality it doesn't matter to me.
 
It does not bother me what hole I start on. A hole is a hole, but I will agree with Ken that if its at a course with a special closing hole, I would rather start on #1.
 
The hardest part is making sure I select the right starting hole in my scorecard app. Other than that, I don't mind too much.
Wish I had thought of this when I made the thread. I mess up my scorecard all the time starting on the back nine!



I could care less where I start even though out 10th is the #1 handicap hole. When I working there, lot of people request to go off the back simply because the front is filled up.
People don't get it. When it's busy, what do they expect us to do for them when they are making the turn and the tee sheet is full? They expect to be let on through since they are in the middle of their round, but it was their choice to sneak (they usually sneak off the back rather than get permission) off the back nine. The sneaking usually only occurs during the week when we don't have an official starter (during the week, the marshall helps send people off when the tee sheet has busy spots).



I don't like starting off with par 3, that is the only time it may bother me.

I don't mind, but I will say after playing a lot of shotguns and random hole starts, I definitely prefer starting off on a par 4/5 rather than a par 3. Obviously a mental thing, but I think I like to feel like I have some chance to recover if my first shot of the round is wayward.
Don't ever play Pacific Grove Municipal in Monterey, CA then! The first two holes are Par 3's!



As I said in an earlier post, it doesn't normally matter. There are rare occasions when it does irritate me a little. When a course has an exceptional "closing hole", I don't like playing it in the middle. A couple of examples of that are True Blue and Caledonia. Their closing holes are so cool that I really want to save them for last. They are such a fun way to end a round, especially if you're with a large group and you can sit on the porch with a brew and watch everyone play in.

If it's a course I'm used to playing, it doesn't bother me. My home course growing up actually had a better set of starting holes on the back than the front (in my opinion).

Obviously, if I've never played the course before, starting on 10 versus 1 doesn't matter. But, I don't like doing this with new courses, because the course seems unfamiliar the second time I play it and start on hole no.1.

Perfect example of this is True Blue. First time I played it I started on no.10. The course felt unfamiliar the next couple times that I played it. Weird, I know.
Just wondering, how often a stay and play course needs to do that? Do these courses have leagues that would warrant having to start players off #10 occasionally or is there some other reason they swap the nines?
 
It doesn't bother me from a 'golf game' stand point. My game is not effected by starting on 1 or 10.

What does bother me, is when they send me out to 10, and two groups are coming off 9 and I have to sit there and wait for them to tee off. That happens, and it makes for a VERY long round of golf.

~Rock
 
Just wondering, how often a stay and play course needs to do that? Do these courses have leagues that would warrant having to start players off #10 occasionally or is there some other reason they swap the nines?

In the case of courses like True Blue and Caledonia, they are so popular that, in season, they start on both nines every day. When taking a group there, I always request to start on #1. They will never guarantee it, but, usually accommodate if they can. Unless you're making your reservations far in advance, it's pretty difficult for them as there will already be reservations on the tee sheet.
 
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