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Playing Nine Holes

Esox

Esox

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I've never been a fan of playing nine holes. I did it a lot when I was a kid, but now avoid it if possible. I either want to keep going to shoot a good score, or keep going to make up for a poor front nine.

I know time restraints make it the best option for many to get on the course, and there are lots of after work nine hole leagues, but I would almost rather not play. I do it with my daughter so she can get in some golf if she also has something else planned. I'm always a little angry after playing nine holes.

Just thought I'd share that.

Kevin
 
i kind of agree with you kevin. i have a difficult time just playing 9 holes.
 
i agree. i usually need the back nine to find my swing and recover my score.


but an occupational hazard is when i have to squeeze in as many holes as i can before dark......sometimes that's only 4 or 5 holes. i rarely keep a score then. just try and make good shots.
 
Agreed. Playing nine just doesnt work unless youre running out of day light or money in FLTC's case. haha. Always leave wanting more or wishing youd never even bothered.
 
For me, it is less of an issue. It is simply more affordable, and it makes my parents less annoyed. They dont like me playing golf for 4-5 hours. Don't know why.
 
you would think that would be the safest place for a kid these days....



unless you count my allowance as a kid. it was never safe. i made more money out there than i could at any job. lol.
 
I'm glad I'm not alone. I was reading the "how many rounds" thread and so many people play nine hole rounds (I'm not knocking it by any means) that I was feeling kind of weird.

snicker.doodles said:
.sometimes that's only 4 or 5 holes. i rarely keep a score then. just try and make good shots.
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I did some of that this Fall with my daughter while she works on a few things. I actually like that better. I'd rather practice on the course than play nine holes.

To me nine holes is like a Baconator. Made with ground turkey, turkey bacon, and fat free mayo. Well, maybe not that bad, but it's as bad as a turkey hot dog.

Kevin
 
LOL, I live in the middle of nowhere, not a whole lot of Crips out here.

I wish I was good enough to gamble. But then again, after I paid for the round, most of the allowance is gone. I would be gambiling my Gatorade money.... Un-Uh
snicker.doodles said:
you would think that would be the safest place for a kid these days....



unless you count my allowance as a kid. it was never safe. i made more money out there than i could at any job. lol.
Click to expand...
 
aggro said:
For me, it is less of an issue. It is simply more affordable, and it makes my parents less annoyed. They dont like me playing golf for 4-5 hours. Don't know why.
Click to expand...

You should ask.

The golf course is a great place for kids. I could only afford nine holes when I was kid, and it only cost $.83. I'm not kidding, the county courses where I grew up were $.83 for nine holes when I was 12 and 13. Then they went to like $2.00. But I spent another two or three hours chipping and putting.

Kevin
 
i HATE to practice so i'll use that time and those holes to try shots i wouldn't normally try when i am in the middle of a round. i'll throw a couple of balls down and keep replaying the shot.


i guess if i'm not playing 18....i don't consider it playing.....but practicing.
 
.83 cents....

Holy crap.

I think, up until I found this new course, 9 would cost me about 20 dollars, or 30 at a nicer course.
Esox said:
You should ask.

The golf course is a great place for kids. I could only afford nine holes when I was kid, and it only cost $.83. I'm not kidding, the county courses where I grew up were $.83 for nine holes when I was 12 and 13. Then they went to like $2.00. But I spent another two or three hours chipping and putting.

Kevin
Click to expand...
 
I am the opposite. I LOVE practicing. I even practice at night after football practice. I just simply suck at golf, lol.
snicker.doodles said:
i HATE to practice so i'll use that time and those holes to try shots i wouldn't normally try when i am in the middle of a round. i'll throw a couple of balls down and keep replaying the shot.


i guess if i'm not playing 18....i don't consider it playing.....but practicing.
Click to expand...
 
I can play just 3 or 4 holes or 36 , doesn't bother me much . I have went to the course to play and get to practicing my pitching and putting then just head home not playing and never felt like I missed anything .
 
aggro said:
.83 cents....

Holy crap.

I think, up until I found this new course, 9 would cost me about 20 dollars, or 30 at a nicer course.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind it was a couple years ago.

Kevin
 
Esox said:
I've never been a fan of playing nine holes. I did it a lot when I was a kid, but now avoid it if possible. I either want to keep going to shoot a good score, or keep going to make up for a poor front nine.

I know time restraints make it the best option for many to get on the course, and there are lots of after work nine hole leagues, but I would almost rather not play. I do it with my daughter so she can get in some golf if she also has something else planned. I'm always a little angry after playing nine holes.

Just thought I'd share that.

Kevin
Click to expand...

I'm with you. Playing 9 nine holes makes me feel like I left the job unfinished. Sort of like mowing the front yard, then skipping the back. :confused2:
 
Shrug....9 holes seems great for me. Put it this way, I can get 9 holes in before I need to be at work whereas there's no way in heck I can get 18 in. Additionally, it's much more affordable and since the vast majority of my golfing friends have children under the age of 5; they are only able to sneak in a quick 9 hole round before the kids and wife wakes up.

Finally, maybe it's a California thing, but courses tend to charge an arm and a leg to get on before noon (~$50-80) and a full 18 hole round tends to take around 6 hours on average. It's more like a slow death than anything else, and it's almost impossible to get any rhythm at all since you spend most of your time sitting on your butt watching the slow-pokes spend 10 minutes reading a putt and missing by a mile.
 
If it took me six hours to play 18 holes, I would go fishing.

Kevin
 
That's why I said it really depends on where you live. In the Bay Area, the shortest 18 hole round I've ever played on a municipal is still easily over 5 hours. In Los Angeles, the muni next to my parent's home likes to make 5-somes after noon....and those rounds can go past 7 hours.

There's ways around it....for instance some of the "nicer" courses like Coyote Creek in San Jose tend to be empty around 3-4pm. So you could get on for something like $60 and get a cart and pray it's wide open as you try to scramble in 18 hours before it gets dark, but everytime I've done that, I end up running into a group in front and end up only playing like 12 holes before it gets dark which is COMPLETELY IRRITATING to me.

Somehow, getting in 9 feels fine. Getting 18 feels fine....but ending in between 9 and 18 really really kills me.

If things are better in your area, I totally envy you.
 
With the time change all I have time for after we get done running the weight room about 3:30 is to walk 9, its not ideal, but I like 9 more than none.

Plus its dirt cheap for me, and with the equipment addictions I have, thats a great thing lol.
 
I go back and forth on this one. On the one hand I much prefer playing 18, in fact often after 18 I still leave wanting more. It takes 18 to really get a feel for how you played. That being said often I don't have time, be it because of diminishing light, commitments with family, church or other obligations, to play a full 18. I would rather play some than none. Would my time be better spent practicing? Undoubtedly. However, sometimes I just want to relax and play a few holes, and at those times 9 has to suffice.
 
Man jmingt, I could not hack the time element nor the cost element. $60.00 to get tortured would be more than I could take.

If I play nine it will be a slow nine with nobody on the course and me hitting multiple balls at each hole. In effect, a practice round. If I were to play nine at the pace I play eighteen, I would be on and off the course to quickly and I would not feel like I accomplished very much.

However I totally understand the guys that try to get in a 5:30AM round of nine.
 
Everyone should move here. I have a membership (3 diff levels) at a group of courses (6), and at 4 of the courses I pay $15 to walk all 18 holes anytime, any day. Though they are all munis, 2 of them are in pretty good shape, 3 of them are in good shape, and 1 of them I'll probably never go back too.

Back on topic. I hate playing 9 holes. Similar to most others here, it just feels so incomplete. If I find any number of holes less than 18 to be acceptable, it would be 1. I would hit multiple shots into the fairway, and multiple approach shots into that one hole.

Now that I think of it, if I could have a private 600 yd hole in my backyard... I would go missing from the outside world for a very long time...
 
jnug said:
Man jmingt, I could not hack the time element nor the cost element. $60.00 to get tortured would be more than I could take.

If I play nine it will be a slow nine with nobody on the course and me hitting multiple balls at each hole. In effect, a practice round. If I were to play nine at the pace I play eighteen, I would be on and off the course to quickly and I would not feel like I accomplished very much.

However I totally understand the guys that try to get in a 5:30AM round of nine.
Click to expand...

No I hear ya. If I'm alone and first off the tee on the back 9, I'm done within the hour. I can understand that being unsatisfying, but it's still better than not playing at all. And it's MUCH better than those 6 hour rounds....I remember us having a thread ages ago about carts? Well this is why I get a cart. I can sit in it and read the newspapers while I wait......
 
The answer is 12.

More than 9 so I feel I am getting a better value, and the round is done under 4 hours.
 
I tend to like 9 more. It's exceptionally rare that I can go 18 holes without having to field a number of emergency calls and I always hate being "that guy" with the durned cell phone. Luckily I field most of them while in the cart between holes/shots or will simply sit out a hole if need be.

I also tend to play with a lot of business clients and the last thing you want to do when getting off the plane from a 6 hour or longer flight is play a full 18 holes to the best of your ability.

The 9 or 14 hole executive courses tend to be my favorite unless it's a weekend game (emergency calls go elsewhere on the weekend).
 
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