• We'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from all at Golf Monthly. Thank you for sharing your 2025 with us!

The Best Time To Play Golf

The group I play with tee off around 9-9.30, which is good for not having to get up too early, chance to have something to eat before hand etc.

Occasionally I’ll play early, before 8, and I love it, the quiet, quicker round, the freshness of the course, birds singing (in the nice weather of course!), finishing nice and early, getting home at a reasonable time. The only downside is having to get up around 5.30-6 to allow for my morning toilet issues/routine!
 
7pm.

Course dead, phone left in the locker, hit a couple balls each hole, wee chip or putt about the green when finished the hole. Maybe only time for 9 holes but an hour or two of pure bliss.
Don’t really even care where the balls going anymore.

People pay 60,70quid an hour sessions with therapists, get a membership and do the above and save a fortune
 
1:00-1:30pm suits me - time for a couple of late afternoon beers after the round before heading home to eat - often picking up a takeaway on the way back.
 
When I stated playing golf I was amazed how weird golfers are. All obsessed with being up early and out on the course as early as possible (a way to make the game stressful as lots of people want the first tee time but can only ever be one group per day). Remember the ball chute discussions and people getting up at 2AM to drop a ball in a chute? Absolute nutjobs. At what other leisure activity would there be a queue at 6.30AM on no-book courses, bookings always fill up from whatever time they open onwards, but it be dead quiet in the afternoon and evening? The only similarly weird activity (and group of people that do it) I could think of was car boot sales (people who would tell their boss to sod off if they wanted them to get up and turn up to work at 6AM on a Sunday for just a few quid extra, but will do it to ‘save’ money buying other people’s junk). Outside of Dec/Jan daylight issues, why does everyone absolutely insist on playing in the morning - then constantly moan about the difficulty in booking slots, the busy course and slow play…?

Fine by me though. Keep on doing it. It’s great going round in prime leisure hours (afternoon/evening) and there being about 3 people on the entire course.
 
Either pretty early or late afternoon.

Any time after 8.30am at ours, weekends or midweek, tends to be really slow. So I prefer to be out either before the problems start, or long after they’ve resolved themselves.
 
Cop-out answer but is there even such a thing as a bad time to play golf? Sun coming up/down both have appeal as does over lunchtime, pre/post lunch are good too etc etc. Dunno that one is a standout better time than another

There’s bad places like behind the slowcoaches, 10 mins before the downpour etc but for me there’s no best time
 
In my early, competitive years I’d be out around 8am. Most of the low guys went out around the same time. Latterly, I’d tee off around 1pm, the routine being full breakfast at the club around 11:30 inc. a Guinness. A few swings in the net then onto the practice green. Mini buffet & snooker afterwards. Strangely, the scores were around the same number.

My other fav time was late evening with about 1.5 hours of light left. Millionaire’s golf, no one around. Drop the odd second ball, though not next to the divot I’ve just taken - practicing was allowed on the course.
 
When I worked I played at 8am. My mate and I used to start at the 5th to get in front of the seniors.

When I stopped work I went to 10am but the seniors groups started to get bigger and bigger so ended up with 11am.

When we used to have temp greens one big advantage was the head green keeper often asked us to put the flags back on the main greens as we went round.

I now play one day at 12pm and the other at 11am. I love the not having to rush to get ready and avoid rush hour traffic.
 
If I'm on my own I like to be out first or last, spent a lot of the time last year teeing off about 2:30 hours before darkness, I know I'll get round in time and the course is quiet except.

Any mid-morning or afternoon times you just get caught up by 5hr+ round golfers and it's very rare here you get asked to join over here, where in the UK I'd expect, more often than not, to be asked to join a two or threeball if I caught up with them.
 
I've always played early on a Saturday morning as that's what has suited family life the best. We get 4 hours respite on a Saturday morning were two carers come and take my son out, usually they take him out from 9am-1pm so I've always booked a tee time around 8:30am as I get back then around the same time as him. I'm not a morning person, I'm a night owl and it's not uncommon for me to go to bed at 1am or later on the Friday and get up at 7am for my round and start the day with a huge mug of coffee.

Best times are the summer Wednesday evening rounds, we tee off around 5pm and usually only see about 6 other people on the course.
 
I like the summer time when I start at 5am and providing I avoid trees and bushes I can have 18 holes done and be home by 7:15.
 
when i played a lot it was always between 8am and 9. finished by lunchtime with plenty of the rest of the day to do other things. now i dont play much and moved clubs the guys i know like playing lunchtime on a Sunday. which probably contributes to me playing less. no time do do staff before and even less after
 
Twilight or very late afternoon golf for me….failing that, first thing in the morning

Either solo, or with a pleasant playing partner — 10:30 or 11am tee times are the worst!
 
Just did a lovely 9 on my own after work, teed off just behind a 3 ball of visitors.. they let me through on the 3rd and I didn't see another group until the 8th

Beautiful weather and only took 90 mins
 
It depends. On a weekend, I like to get out around 7:30am. This gives me time to play, have a pint after and frees up the rest of the day for family or football (or both). On a weeknight, I normally do 8 or 9 holes after work about 5:30pm twice a week, finishing in time to pick my daughter up from gymnastics. I’m off every other Friday and usually play after the school drop off, or occasionally after a spot of breakfast somewhere.

I have noticed recently, playing early usually means we get the course at its worst. Full of dew and less roll before the sun has had chance to do its thing.
 
I play loads after work but we try to get there before the rush to ensure we get around. On weekends we’ll pick around 10:30 unless there’s a footy match to get to but if it’s a comp I prefer to be out earlier as the greens are more true. Even moving from 10:30 to 9 was noticeable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Golfnut1957
Learning to play golf on the course.
2
Replies
29
Views
4K
Jigger
J
A
Wanting to play some new courses in Berkshire
Replies
0
Views
589
Ashflash
A
M
Casual Golf Rules
Replies
10
Views
407
MUAbb
M
bradleywedge
Driving ranges, has the clientele shifted?
2 3
Replies
41
Views
4K
Red devil
R
NearHull
Playing the course prior to a stroke play competition
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
bobmac
bobmac
Top