Golf is a social sport that attracts all types of different people.
However, these people sometimes do not include your friends, and you may be left by yourself on the golf course.
This leaves most people wondering; whether it is ok or weird to want to play golf alone.
Here is the answer!
(Short Answer) Is It OK Or Just Plain Weird To Want To Golf Alone?
The answer is yes; it is very okay to want to play golf by yourself. Playing alone is not weird. In fact, playing along can provide excellent practice, and you can navigate the course more quickly. Playing golf is exceptionally rewarding, and even if you don’t have a partner to play with, you can always go to the golf course alone and practice improving your game.
What Are The Benefits Of Playing Golf Alone?
Playing golf alone can be a lot of fun and comes with several advantages. These include;
1. You Have More Time To Practice
Playing golf by yourself gives you more time to practice your golfing technique and concentrate on improving your strokes without pressure or distraction from other players.
When playing as a group, you will be in a rush as you don’t want to hold anyone responsible, but you can take several retakes from areas that you want to improve when you are by yourself.
You can conveniently practice and consistently take shots that you struggle taking without minding who is waiting next.
2. The Game Will Be Faster
When playing as a group, you spend significant time waiting for others to sink their putt or find their ball.
When playing by yourself, you just need to worry about locating your ball in the rough.
Playing alone is much faster, particularly if you are not caught up behind a group, but they should always allow you to play through.
If you get a great run alone on the course, you can finish your round much quicker.
Solo golfing will result in more golf, and you can easily double the amount of golf you play within a particular period.
3. Ideal For Nervous Players
If you are a nervous golfer, playing by yourself is an excellent way of improving without feeling too pressured or nervous.
If you are the type of person who does not play well under pressure, you will benefit from playing golf alone. However, with time, you should try and face your fear by playing with other golfers.
This will help test and improve your game. Many people have confessed to playing their best golf when playing alone.
4. Stay Away From Distractions
Nowadays, our lives are very distracting and busy.
Our phones constantly receive Facebook, emails, and WhatsApp notifications while the cities are busy and noisy.
Having said this, spending some time alone on the serene golf course can be quiet and peaceful.
You will have a good time spending time alone with nature leaving all your worries and stress of regular life behind.
This is unlike when you play in groups where the talk and noise can take away the peaceful surroundings of the golf course.
When I go to play alone, I like turning off my smartphone and electrical devices to just enjoy some quality time on my own.
5. Take Riskier Golf Shots
When you play in a competitive game or a group, you might choose to play it safe and take the easy options.
However, when playing alone, you can easily opt to take the riskier shot.
The worst thing that can occur when playing alone is that you just need to throw another ball and repeat taking the shot.
What Are the Fun Ways of Golfing Alone?
You can definitely show up to a golf course alone, play, and have fun.
There are also various deviations that you may add to your round when you go to play golf by yourself the next time.
The best thing about playing golf alone is flexibility.
You can play the traditional 18-hole round and have an enjoyable time outdoors by yourself.
But 9 holes are possibly the best when playing golf alone.
When playing on a golf course that is not packed without any players pressuring you, you can mix the different golf aspects.
Another way of playing golf alone is to play formats such as best-ball or worst-ball golf.
Best Ball Golf
This setup involves hitting two shots from each spot and taking the better shot.
You can aim to get low scores, which can go a long way in boosting your confidence when you play with others.
Playing the best ball set up will enable you to play great golf as you continuously limit your mishits and shanks.
Worst Ball Golf
If you want a more significant challenge, the worst ball involves playing two balls, and you get to play your next shot from your worst shot.
This is a great challenge that is only recommendable to people who can keep up with the game’s pace without being too hard on themselves.
You can also make golfing more fun by yourself by incorporating a points system into your golfing round.
The game will be more enjoyable as you will always be trying to surpass your points from the previous round.
You can give yourself points for one putt, fairway hit, greens in regulation, birdie, etc., and try to get more points than the previous round.
The best thing about the point system is that you can personalize it to your golfing skill level.
When Can You NOT Play Golf By Yourself?
However, although it is absolutely okay to play golf by yourself, there are some exceptions to this rule.
There are particular times when it is unacceptable to play golf alone.
For example, if you go to the golf course, especially in busy hours, you will be paired up with another one to three golfers, particularly if it is crowded.
Golf peak hours usually are around 5 pm on weekdays and the entire day during the weekends.
If you go to the golf course alone during the peak and busy hours, you will most probably be paired with another golfer or two, and you will have to play together.
This will help quicken the overall pace of the play and the waiting times for other golfers.
Some golf courses restrict solo golfers from playing alone.
However, there are not too many courses that have these restrictions on solo golfers.
In general, heading to the golf course by yourself needs you to be a bit flexible.
Keep in mind that you may be paired up with strangers or required to join a group on the golf course.
However, this should not always be a problem as most golfers are friendly, so it’s also a chance to make new friends.
It’s probably one percent of when you are joined with people you don’t want to be with that can be unpleasant.
Conclusion
Although golf is a social sport, it is sometimes okay and nice to golf by yourself.
Playing alone can help you improve focus, shoot superior scores, and there are also lots of ways to make golfing alone more fun.
My recommendation for people who want to try golfing on their own is to just go out, particularly during off-peak times, and give it a go.
References
Can You Play Golf Alone? – Golfing Answers
3 reasons playing golf alone helps your golf game- NEXTGENGOLF
Is it acceptable to play a round of golf by yourself?