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oiler3535

oiler3535

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Question for parents: how long before you started playing regularly again after kids' birth?

My little guy is about to turn 3. Before he was born, I'd golf 100+ times a year which is impressive considering golf season here (5hrs NE of Toronto) is maybe May through October at best. Since his birth I've averaged 4 rounds per year. Lack of playing has completely muted my interest in basically anything but watching the 5 majors plus the few courses I love watching.

PS cut down an old putter and wedge and he loves them in my yard, and took him to a par 3 course last month for fun. He had a blast. Even if couldn't actually hit it more than 10 yards and would put the ball next to the hole for putting lol
 
great question... with oldest that age and another new baby I've reduced golf to mostly work events
 
Do you and your spouse take turns staying with junior so that the other can get some personal adult time? If not you should. Take turns every other weekend so you can golf and she can do something she enjoys. These days I think parents tend to sacrifice too much of themselves for the sake of their kids. But you need time to be an adult, a friend, a spouse, and not just a parent. Go play!
 
Appreciate the response. I could golf every weekend if I wanted to (great wife), plus a teacher so July and August off. I just find a lack of time in general and I quite enjoy doing things with munchkin. Just find myself not getting to the golf course. So I'm curious if others find the same thing and when they had kids, and if so, what age the kids were before getting out more regularly. I assume by teenage years at latest.
 
I have a 6 and 2 year old now, so I’ll let you know. Probably when the youngest gets to kindergarten probably.
 
For me, the summer once she turned four to five it started to come back. I’ll echo @MGoBlue thta finding some avenues for a little you time is important. I lost sight of that for a little bit and it wasn’t good, but it was a slow burn.

That said, you are also getting closer and closer as you’ve found out that they can tag along sometimes. It only gets better from there.
 
J.B. Cobb III said:
I have a 6 and 2 year old now, so I’ll let you know. Probably when the youngest gets to kindergarten probably.
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When old enough to amuse themselves unsupervised in our fenced in backyard was kind of my thought. So about kinder age.
 
When my kids were young, I had an arrangement to play 9 holes on Friday’s before work. It is different for everyone, but when “my time was not my own”, I made due and enjoyed the times I was able to get out. Their activities were more important and I’m glad I was there to see the majority of them. Enjoy your time with the little one, it goes by fast!
 
My son is almost 3. I'm lucky that my parents are 15 minutes away, and they don't mind keeping him. So far, we've used most of our golf time on lessons and practice, but we've gotten a few rounds in. I'm hoping he likes golf. We do have a First Tee program nearby.
 
I've got a 3 yr old and 1 yr old.

I still play every Sunday morning. And I have a Monday afternoon league as well.

It's definitely less golf than I was playing before kids, but still enough to get me 40+ rounds a year.
 
I used to play 80+ rounds per year.
After 1 kid I was closer to 60.
After 2 kids I am closer to 40.

I'm happy though, and my son has the golf bug in a big way. Lots of potential golf in my future.
 
I didn’t find myself that way until the kids got older. I played less after my kids were born but still played pretty often until they were 5 or 6. Once they hit that age and got into their activities my golf really tapered off and I pretty much stopped playing when they were around 8 because I got really busy doing other activities with them (water skiing). I came back to the game when my youngest was a junior in high school.

I actually played my best competitive golf in the couple of years right after the kids were born.
 
I found that golf didn’t matter much after the kids were born. Golf was a good once in awhile get-away, which I why I never got my panties in a wad over 5 hour rounds. Then as they got older came soccer and cheer and it mattered less. Two oldest girls both have boyfriends that play, wife is learning, so now it matters more. Last weekend was a state cheer competition, this weekend a two day soccer tournament and one golfing boyfriends last college home football game.

I hit 2 drivers at Golf Galaxy, read THP, and saw Finau finish. Enough to scratch a little itch. It’s all good….
 
Chef23 said:
I didn’t find myself that way until the kids got older. I played less after my kids were born but still played pretty often until they were 5 or 6. Once they hit that age and got into their activities my golf really tapered off and I pretty much stopped playing when they were around 8 because I got really busy doing other activities with them (water skiing). I came back to the game when my youngest was a junior in high school.

I actually played my best competitive golf in the couple of years right after the kids were born.
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Teenage years is kind of my thought unless he likes golfing with me and we can start going a few times a week.
 
oiler3535 said:
Teenage years is kind of my thought unless he likes golfing with me and we can start going a few times a week.
Click to expand...

My son was more into both water skiing and lacrosse in those years. Last year at 22 he asked me why I didn’t “make” him play more golf when he was younger. We had a good laugh about it as I explained to him that isn’t the way it works.
 
Truth be told, I didn’t start playing much again until 2018. My kids were born in 2003 and 2005. I wouldn’t trade soccer coach, baseball coach, dance dad for all the rounds in the world. Have fun raising a family and know that golf will be there when you are ready.
 
Similar situation. Pre-Children, I would get out 80 times a year. 1st kid, 1st year, I still got out 40 times. 2nd kid? I got out 4 times.
This year? Maybe 5 times.

While I really miss golfing, I don't miss golfing the 80 times a year. I don't even miss the 40 times a year.
I miss the regular rounds, even once every couple weeks through the summer. Some semblance of normalcy, knowing I will be back out there in a couple weeks.

But when I am on the course, at least earlier on, I definitely missed my kids. Soon my almost 5 yr old will be coming with me.
 
Kids are 6 and almost 4. My golf didn't slow down when they were born and I actually played more this year. I just schedule it to have minimal impact on family time. 3pm 9 hole rounds and home for dinner or early weekend rounds or use PTO to play.
 
oiler3535 said:
Question for parents: how long before you started playing regularly again after kids' birth?

My little guy is about to turn 3. Before he was born, I'd golf 100+ times a year which is impressive considering golf season here (5hrs NE of Toronto) is maybe May through October at best. Since his birth I've averaged 4 rounds per year. Lack of playing has completely muted my interest in basically anything but watching the 5 majors plus the few courses I love watching.

PS cut down an old putter and wedge and he loves them in my yard, and took him to a par 3 course last month for fun. He had a blast. Even if couldn't actually hit it more than 10 yards and would put the ball next to the hole for putting lol
Click to expand...

Took my boy on the course with me once he was 3 and now he's my cartner. We really enjoy our time together on the course.
 
I live in Montreal and played 70-80 rounds a year prior to kids. When my daughter was born I played 50 rounds that year (she was born in April). Every year after that I've played 70+ . She is 5 now

My wife has her own sports. Basically we just split the weekends, I got the mornings, she got the afternoons, and we had dinner at 7 ish.

It's gotten easier since then since her leagues are weeknights and we moved closer to where she plays. So I pretty have the full weekends now if I want.

I think it's important for both people to maintain hobbies.
 
I didn’t start until a few years ago… my only one is 18 now :D

When he was little I fished… a lot. All was fine at home as long as I took him with me.
 
oiler3535 said:
When old enough to amuse themselves unsupervised in our fenced in backyard was kind of my thought. So about kinder age.
Click to expand...
It isn’t going to get easier as they get older, in my opinion. When they are really young they are not really involved in many activities so it’s easier to get out on the course. As they get older they start playing sports/instruments/other hobbies and your free time is taken up by driving them around to all of that and/or coaching them.
 
oiler3535 said:
Question for parents: how long before you started playing regularly again after kids' birth?

My little guy is about to turn 3. Before he was born, I'd golf 100+ times a year which is impressive considering golf season here (5hrs NE of Toronto) is maybe May through October at best. Since his birth I've averaged 4 rounds per year. Lack of playing has completely muted my interest in basically anything but watching the 5 majors plus the few courses I love watching.

PS cut down an old putter and wedge and he loves them in my yard, and took him to a par 3 course last month for fun. He had a blast. Even if couldn't actually hit it more than 10 yards and would put the ball next to the hole for putting lol
Click to expand...
My answer is when you, and your Wife decide it's time for you to return to your golf game.

Our Daughters were 6, and 3 when I first got serious about golf.
 
oiler3535 said:
Question for parents: how long before you started playing regularly again after kids' birth?

My little guy is about to turn 3. Before he was born, I'd golf 100+ times a year which is impressive considering golf season here (5hrs NE of Toronto) is maybe May through October at best. Since his birth I've averaged 4 rounds per year. Lack of playing has completely muted my interest in basically anything but watching the 5 majors plus the few courses I love watching.

PS cut down an old putter and wedge and he loves them in my yard, and took him to a par 3 course last month for fun. He had a blast. Even if couldn't actually hit it more than 10 yards and would put the ball next to the hole for putting lol
Click to expand...

Lots of good experience and suggestions already in here but figured I’d share my experience. I started golfing again when my daughter was 3(she’s 6 now) and it was tough for my wife to adjust to me being gone for half a day. She’s absolutely fine with it now, and we always compromise when we can. I try not to play back to back weekends and I always encourage her to make plans.

I play 1-2 times a month now and that’s pretty comfortable for me. Outside of the weekends there’s not much time with all the kid activities. My best advice would be to ease into it and come up with a plan with your significant other so neither feels overwhelmed.
 
oiler3535 said:
Question for parents: how long before you started playing regularly again after kids' birth?

My little guy is about to turn 3. Before he was born, I'd golf 100+ times a year which is impressive considering golf season here (5hrs NE of Toronto) is maybe May through October at best. Since his birth I've averaged 4 rounds per year. Lack of playing has completely muted my interest in basically anything but watching the 5 majors plus the few courses I love watching.

PS cut down an old putter and wedge and he loves them in my yard, and took him to a par 3 course last month for fun. He had a blast. Even if couldn't actually hit it more than 10 yards and would put the ball next to the hole for putting lol
Click to expand...
If you are a dad who is active in your kids life, who attends all his stuff, who coaches him, who spends time with him on his stuff for him … think fondly of your golf glory days because they are gone until he’s a late teen.

if you go the other way you’ll golf as much as you want but have a different kind of relationship with your child and more likely than not have a strained relationship with your wife, who will resent you prioritizing golf over your son.

if you get lucky and your kid loves golf then you will spend a lot of time on the course but it isn’t the same type of golf. It’s still great but you will be parent first and not able to fully focus on your game like you could pre-golf.
 
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