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First Time Playing 18 Holes?

collegefbfan

collegefbfan

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Now, I know there are many variables here, and I am just curious. And I know the game is about fun and all that. Like I said, many variables here. Let's say an individual has had 3-5 lessons. Some friends want to play a decently easy course Saturday. It is this individual's first time on a legit course. What would their score be? Like I read where folks say something like oh yeah, I shot a 128 my first time out. Well, to me, that sounds outstanding. For me, I feel like my first time out (whenever that will be) I will be finishing up 18 holes with nothing below 180. Which leads to my next question. When out on the course do you all stop at triple bogey just to speed up and not hold others up? How did you all do your first time out? How much practice/lessons up to that point?
 
I would suggest capping each hole at double par, for pace of play. But I’d also suggest leaving driver and maybe even 3-wood in the bag and focus on clubs that you can hit relatively straight. Stay out of trouble and keep your ball in play and your score will be much better than you thing.
 
MGoBlue said:
I would suggest capping each hole at double par, for pace of play. But I’d also suggest leaving driver and maybe even 3-wood in the bag and focus on clubs that you can hit relatively straight. Stay out of trouble and keep your ball in play and your score will be much better than you thing.
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Oh yeah a Michigan fan here. I bought this in celebration of the national championship.

IMG_1285.jpg
 
collegefbfan said:
Oh yeah a Michigan fan here. I bought this in celebration of the national championship.

View attachment 9242853
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Very nice! I bought a tumbler, two steel insulated can coolers, wife and I bought tee shirts and hats, a garden flag, a banner for the back deck, etc. we went way overboard! #GoBlue!
 
When we have a beginner or even a group of whatever … that’s going to be slow…. We suggest a scramble format.

Double par might be a little high, we’re talking 8 and 10 all day for the most part. The person is gonna be both tired and discouraged. That is IF they care about playing more than riding around drinking. But since they took lessons I think there would be some seriousness.

Another thing to make it better for them , and I did this with my kids when they were small, have them tee off at the 150 yard marker.
 
Typhoon said:
First off… NOT a weekend please….beginner.
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But what if a weekend is the only time that they could get out to play.....? Why should they not play just because it is the weekend?

In response to the original question, I would suggest you don't keep score to begin with

Another option might be to try hitting a tee shot, but then pick up and drop nearer the green and play from there, otherwise you could end up frustrated if you hit too many bad shots in a row from the tee
 
First time out they shouldn't even keep a score. Take some swings, stay with the group and have fun.
 
Go out and have fun. Having had a few lessons I would guess you can put a reasonable strike on the ball. Like someone said earlier you might want to pick up if a hole is going really bad but just go and have fun.
 
TheDoctor said:
But what if a weekend is the only time that they could get out to play.....? Why should they not play just because it is the weekend?

In response to the original question, I would suggest you don't keep score to begin with

Another option might be to try hitting a tee shot, but then pick up and drop nearer the green and play from there, otherwise you could end up frustrated if you hit too many bad shots in a row from the tee
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It sounds like a middle of the day group 🙄. Do you want to be behind them if he thinks he’s shooting 180? Is it fair to slow up the entire course? People plan on x for golf and then might have something else planned for the day. The plan is not to be out there for 6 hours. And how crappy is it for them if the ranger has to keep coming out to them… I work at a course… that’s not fun for anyone.

If they can only do Saturday, make it around 4 pm when the place is less busy.
 
collegefbfan said:
Now, I know there are many variables here, and I am just curious. And I know the game is about fun and all that. Like I said, many variables here. Let's say an individual has had 3-5 lessons. Some friends want to play a decently easy course Saturday. It is this individual's first time on a legit course. What would their score be? Like I read where folks say something like oh yeah, I shot a 128 my first time out. Well, to me, that sounds outstanding. For me, I feel like my first time out (whenever that will be) I will be finishing up 18 holes with nothing below 180. Which leads to my next question. When out on the course do you all stop at triple bogey just to speed up and not hold others up? How did you all do your first time out? How much practice/lessons up to that point?
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Wben I first took up the game, I played a local par 3 course at first.

My practices were chipping/pitching in my back yard,. Putting practice was on pergo carpet in my home. My putting practice involved the small end of a red fire brick.

At some point I graduated to an automated d-range, and built enough confidence to take my putting to a practice green.

At some point I decided I was ready for a real 18 hole course. I picked the Casablanca course up in Mesquite, Nevada. Not knowing anything about course yardages, I played from the tips. I figured seeing the whole course at 7K yards was the way to go.

I was paired up with a much older gentleman. At that time I really didn't know the full significance of someone having a bag with PGA, and their name on it. I told him up front I was new to the game. He was politely not impressed.

I shot a 94 (?) for that round iirc. I counted every stroke. As we shook hands, I asked the pga guy what he thought of my game. He told me I had some things to learn, and to update my clubs, but keep my putter.

These days, 45+ years later, I still count every stroke, even those short gimmees. A good round for me doesn't have a 6 on my score card. An average round might have 2, or 3 sixes on my card. A bad round has at least one 7 on the card.

I''m not one to tell others how to play their golf. Pace of play is not a big deal to me. That said, I do see golfers pick up at 2 over par, and move to the next hole. My Granddaughters were told to do this by their highschool coach during their practice rounds. Two over par sounds reasonable.
 
First time? I'd say 100+.

Have a club that you feel you can rely on 100%. Whether that's a driver, 3 wood, 7 iron, or pitching wedge, have a club that you feel you can rely on to help you advance the ball should your other clubs fail you . At least you'll be off the tee box with something hopefully in the fairway.

Buy cheap golf balls.

Don't waste too much time looking for lost balls. Just drop one where you thought you last saw it or somewhere up even with your buddies.

On the green if you're at double par, stop counting and pick up your ball.

Have a great time.

Don't take forever to hit the ball.

Don't feel pressured to hit the ball.

Have fun, golf is supposed to be fun. If it's not fun then you're doing it wrong. (y)
 
echico said:
First time out they shouldn't even keep a score. Take some swings, stay with the group and have fun.
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This. Keep it light and fun. Don't put pressure on yourself by having some random number in mind that you feel like you should shoot.
 
A lost of it will depend on how busy the course is and how fast you are playing. If the course isn't that busy then you can probably play to a higher number of strokes before picking up. This will of course be dependent on how fast you are playing. If you get up, hit the ball, and then proceed to it for the next shot you will be much quicker than if you are taking a few practice swings, chatting, not being ready etc.

If the guys you are playing with are experienced then I would just ask their advice of when they think you should pick up. The big thing is you don't want to slow up play for the entire course.
 
Have fun and don't worry about score the first handful, or however many you want/need, until you're comfortable playing at pace. There will be holes where you have to pick up or take a drop where one of the other members hit/drove to. Don't be too hard on yourself and try to have fun. Golf is hard. It's going to take time and it's hard to keep your head up sometimes when you're playing with better golfers.

I learned so much in the beginning after I started playing with golfers that took the game more seriously. Pace of play, how to do assess your shots while others are hitting, all of that stuff. Captain's choice or scramble formats are a great way to ease into it and enjoy your good shots while not focusing on the bad.

Also buy a bunch of cheap balls you don't mind losing. I lost so many for a long time in the beginning.
 
collegefbfan said:
Now, I know there are many variables here, and I am just curious. And I know the game is about fun and all that. Like I said, many variables here. Let's say an individual has had 3-5 lessons. Some friends want to play a decently easy course Saturday. It is this individual's first time on a legit course. What would their score be? Like I read where folks say something like oh yeah, I shot a 128 my first time out. Well, to me, that sounds outstanding. For me, I feel like my first time out (whenever that will be) I will be finishing up 18 holes with nothing below 180. Which leads to my next question. When out on the course do you all stop at triple bogey just to speed up and not hold others up? How did you all do your first time out? How much practice/lessons up to that point?
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If I remember correctly, I shot 144 in my first round on a full course - and that was taking some beginner/first-timer "liberties" with my shots, so in reality it was probably quite a bit higher than that.

It doesn't matter what you shoot - just have fun and keep up with your friends, know when to pick up your ball and move on so you're not slowing people behind you down. There's no shame in picking up, and going up and throwing your ball down on the green to putt with everybody else. To me, the most important things are 1) Pace of play; 2) Have fun; 3) Do everything you can to be a "good hang" and make sure the people with you are having fun.

IMO, a lot of golfers get too fixated on score and forget to have fun out there, tying their self-worth to a number on a scorecard. We spend a lot of money to play this game, why spend your money doing something you hate that makes you furious every time you do it?
 
I wouldn't worry too much about score. In fact, I'd say don't keep score at all. Just have fun and get some experience hitting shots on a course. If you tee off and hit it OB or in a hazard, just drop the ball in the fairway close to your cartner and hit from there. You can also suggest playing a scramble. Those are always fun and it takes a lot of the pressure off of you and you can focus on getting some experience and just enjoying the round.

My first time out was with a friend who had just picked up the game, so it was a beginner teaching a beginner. I had hit at the range, but no lessons. We kept score, but we would have had more fun just playing and not focusing on that. I don't even remember what the score was, but it was high and it was a long round. Fortunately for us the course was practically empty and we just waived through anyone that caught us.
 
Slow play doesn’t come from shooting 180.

Don’t worry about your score or par. Just have fun and play ready golf. You’ll be fine.
 
I've been there a few times but couldn't tell you a score because they never really kept one all the way through. We never did the "pick up after x shots" thing, we just suggested they pick up when they started falling significantly behind. That could be 3 strokes into a hole or 11 but you'll know it when you see it and they will too. Other than that just let them play the game however they want. Driver, 8 iron, whatever, if it's their first round they're going to suck with whatever club they have in their hands.

The bigger concern IMO is how to keep them positive, because frustration will kick in at some point and if you're not careful it can turn into a bad experience. This is more of a concern with kids but either way just be mindful of it. Don't try to be their coach either, just focus on having fun and not letting them get too caught up with all the bad shots they're going to make.
 
When i've played golf with a first timer, we've played it like a scramble the first few times.... it works out fine, nobody gets too frustrated or overwhelmed and there can be some etiquette teaching moments along the way (god knows i'm not swing coach material). If there are 4 of you, doesn't mean all need to play like a scramble.... just 1 person and the newbie. Might as well make it fun and not a stressful day. Everyone just has to go out understanding the dynamics of the day... and don't worry about the score.
 
JonD said:
Also buy a bunch of cheap balls you don't mind losing. I lost so many for a long time in the beginning.
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Yes, use cheap balls and don't waste a lot of time looking for them in the woods and high grass. Looking for balls slows down play. Perhaps more than anything.

Pace of play is more important than how many strokes you take. If I top the ball and it only goes 20 yards down the fairway it really doesn't take much time to pull another club and hit it again.

You may want to figure out what to do in advance if you hit into a bunker. It is now legal to take a 2 stroke penalty and drop it back out of the bunker. No need to waste time attempting a shot you aren't likely to make. Or you might take a swing or two before doing a grenade toss onto the green to speed up play. Not legal but nobody really cares unless you are playing against someone.
 
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These are all great. I told a friend of mine that when I do hit the course for the first time, my balls lands behind a tree root. I will not play it as it lies. I will toss it close by. I am no hero and treasure what golf equipment I have. Thanks for the great suggestions folks.
 
I pick it up at double bogey. Let's keep moving.
 
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