Playing with yourself...

[huds1475]

Anyone else play often on their own?

My playing partner has been injured for 4 weeks now so been going out solo for 18. Seems to be really affecting my game in the wildly inconsistent way nobody wants!

Anyone else suffer in this way? Any good tips??

 

[In_The_Rough]

Not the best choice of Thread title mate Enjoy going out on my own actually gives me time to work on certain areas and concentrate more. Set out a certain area to work on such as Driving or Iron shots and focus on those

 

[fundy]

often practise a few holes on my own but not a fan of playing 18 solo, actually would rather practise than do that most of the time. only time i really play 18 alone is if i go away with the mrs, though she often walks round so get the social side.

If you're struggling / not enjoying it use it as an opportunity to find a few new playing partners, if needed ask in the pro shop if they can try and pair you up with some others

 

[timchump]

I actually like playing with myself

There is a tempation to drop another ball if you hit a bad shot, i find this can lead to a slippery slope of a bad round
When i hit a bad shot with others i think more about what i did wrong and how to correct instead which helps my game much more in the long run

As far as motivation goes playing alone, if i break 80 ill get the new callaway driver i've promiosed myself, play to handicap ill go to the local indian for a treat .

 

[Birchy]

How long have you been a member of Davyhulme? I thought i was the only golfer in this village!

I used to play on my own sometimes but i find it so hard to concentrate on shots and give a damn about them as well. Its much better when youve got other players to bounce off and make a game of it.

P.S If your after golfing partners for a game just let me know :thup:

 

[Hopey84]

When i play alone If i keep score i always play match play against the course like a bogey or par round.

If I'm trying something different in my swing or trying fix faults etc I don't keep score and will play 2 or 3 balls, I find its much better than hitting balls off a range mat in to an open space.

 

[woody69]

When i play alone If i keep score i always play match play against the course like a bogey or par round.

If I'm trying something different in my swing or trying fix faults etc I don't keep score and will play 2 or 3 balls, I find its much better than hitting balls off a range mat in to an open space.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. You need to decide why you are out playing. Is it to improve and work on certain things, or do you want practice for a competitive round

 

[garyinderry]

I very rarely keep score when I am on my own. ill often have multiple balls in play if I can. rarely putt but will chip about 4 up to the hole from various spots then move on as the group behind walk up to play their second shots.

 

[CMAC]

best practice is
1 x drive
2 x shots onto green
3 x chips
4 x putting strokes

all done with no-one pushing behind you of course

 

[PPE]

I actually like playing by myself and have one night per week to do 9 holes. I play with two balls (easy!) the first one is the scoring ball (even if it goes OOB). If no one else is behind I will drop 3 balls and hit from 150, 100 & 50 yrds and also practice out of the bunkers, same applies on the green and will drop 3 balls from the same spot and from around the green.

 

[Five&One]

My general routine for a month is 5 or 6 rounds on my own and a couple of bounce rounds with one of 3 or 4 guys I play with. I am just about to get my handicap for the first time in 12 years so I'll be playing in at least one medal a month, two if I can organise work a bit better, plus outings and various bits and pieces with the odd late summer open/senior open thrown in. I've also just joined our winter club full time so thats a crowd of 30 of us every Sunday morning from October.

So, when you take all that into account, probably around half of my rounds are on my own. Its great to be honest. I decide what time, how many holes and I decide when Ive had enough. If I suddenly cant be bothered I just dont. Sometimes I go at 5 in the morning in the summer. No one else I know would be up for that but its a fantastic time to play golf.

If I am making a solo round competitive I give myself 9 strokes against the course and I count properly and honestly A net birdie or par wins me the hole, a net bogey is a half and any worse is a loss. If I am doing it that way I tend to only play one ball (whats the point otherwise) although I dont go looking for lost ones for long and generally take a penalty and play on from where I think I lost it. Other times, if the course is quiet I'll have 3 balls in my pocket and quite often have them all in play, especially for the short game and putting. I dont count shots at all if I am playing multi ball. Again, whats the point.

I actually like playing on my own for practice. I want to focus on bettering my game and I'm not interested in what burd my mate pulled, what car he is thinking of buying and what school his kids are playing truant from. Distractions you dont need when you're trying to perfect a draw round the gorse hill on the 10th ( known as the 'Ball Bank' )

Playing competitively takes some preparation and lots of practice and thats how I do it. On a quiet non-counting round with the extra balls I probably strike the ball upwards of 250 times in one round. You can do that on the range I suppose but frankly it bores me silly and you dont get the excercise bonus.

The other good thing about playing on your own is you can walk off at anytime, chuck the clubs back in the car and come back and fight another day without your mate wondering what the hell you are doing leaving him stood there on the 12th fairway.

 

[markgs]

I have a group of guys i go out with but sometimes i have to work and miss the round with them so go out on my own, this week i played 18 hole on my own on tuesday and played against the course tried to bogey every hole which is what im going to do from now on even if playing with friend as i went around the course 14 over par. my best round yet.

 

[drawboy]

I love it! I actually prefer it to playing with others. I enjoy th Quiet and peace of a deserted golf course. I,d play alone all the time if I could.

 

[thecraw]

Played 18 holes yesterday on my own. Despite the slow play I really enjoyed it. That said it was a beautiful day in glorious sunshine with stunning view over to Arran and down to the Cumbrae's.

The course was in top condition and according to the sign on the first tee the greens were running at 10.8 on the stimp. Why did I not join West Kilbride years ago?

 

[huds1475]

Thanks all, some good points there. Think my problem is if I play more than 1 ball I pretty quickly lose focus.
I want to improve, get a handicap and be an active club member. Particularly like the idea of playing against the course (hadn’t thought of that before), makes practise more realistic and I can go to the range if I want to work on something specific.
Am very much an early bird for Golf & agree there’s no better time to play than a fresh, crisp morning.

@ Birchy - joined about 2 / 3 weeks ago. Is round the corner so really convenient. Haven’t been overwhelmed with the welcome to be honest, a set of photocopied rules, a key & a bag tag and off you go!! Would be happy to take you up on your offer, really appreciated

@ The Craw - "Well Jel". Never thought I'd say this but I wish I lived in that part of the world.

@ Five&one - Where does the nine strokes come from? Is it your handicap?

 

[Fitz]

I played 9 holes on my own last Sunday night after pretty much loosing the will to live watching United v Chelsea. Tee'd off at 6pm on an empty course in beautiful weather. It was millionaires golf, no-one behind me and anyone who was ahead of me were on the back 9 when i started. Hit at least 2 balls at every tee, on the whites for practice for my first ever medal ( 1 with driver, 1 with 3 wood (for long holes) to see the difference and took a lot of chips from just off the green. Without the pressure of knowing someone better and quicker than me was right up my backside i hit some great shots and generally noticed a improvement in my game.
Would rather play in a group though when playing in the morning etc but may make sunday evening golf a more regular thng if the weather stays like it has been.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I go out for a solo round quite regularly. Gives me a chance to try a few things out and to be honest, a time to think about things, not always golf related.

 

[Ian_S]

I don't mind going out by myself. I'd rather be out for a few hours getting some air, exercise and golf than sat at home alone.

 

[devonboy]

I play mostly on my own.

What with 3 kids under 3 I'm out at weekend's at first light for a quick round and back for 8.30 so I can spend the rest of the day with the family.

I love it, it's my time and keeps me sane

 

[Five&One]

@ Five&one - Where does the nine strokes come from? Is it your handicap?

Just waiting for my handicap but I will be mid to high 20's

9 shots obviously gives you a stroke against the course at the hardest 9 holes. so a double bogey gets you a half. On a non stroking hole a double bogey would lose the hole and a bogey would get you a half. So essentially, the course always scores a bogey ( so its always playing to 18 handicap) and you have to aim to equal or beat that. Its just a more challenging hole to hole way of trying to bogey every hole like other folk do. The course normally takes an early lead as I am slow starter and the first 4 holes are quite tough so its a challenge trying to claw it back for the rest of the round.

9 shots I kind of picked at random initially but it usually makes for a close game, with the course usually winning but not by much. On a really good day I can beat the course with 9 shots. If you are winning regularly at 9 shots then you can take a cut to 7 and so on.To win you simply need to net par (or better) more holes than you net double bogey (or worse) The course plays to 18 so if you were playing off 22 you would only give yourself 4 shots. Hope that makes sense as I have found it a great way to play semi competitively but on your own.