How to play golf alone

Have you ever thought of playing golf alone? Playing alongside your golfing buddies does add a flair of competition to your game but what if there are scheduling conflicts? Would you ignore your urge of hitting the link just because your buddies can’t make it this weekend? Or, maybe, you are down for some own time but can’t figure what’s best to do alone? In both scenarios, you can try golfing alone! If you’ve never tried solo golfing before read on to know why you should give it a shot and how to play golf alone.

Why you should try playing golf alone

You can work on your game:  When you are playing alone you get the freedom to play without any pressure. While playing a solo round, you can focus on your weak spots knowing no one’s watching to make you feel embarrassed.

Play at your own pace: Playing without partners allows you to set the pace of the game. No need to rush your game to catch up with others or slow yourself down to make sure your friends don’t fall behind-you can play at whichever pace and rhythm suits you most.

Meet new players: Golfing alone doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have the entire course to yourself, you’d be without your regular companions. There would be other people around unless you are playing in our private facility. Playing with the same set of players could substantially limit your game. When you are continuously pitted against the same opponent, you’d struggle to push yourself and level up. You can meet new golfers during your solo endeavors and try your hand against a unique mix of players.

Perfect solitude pastime: Even though we are biologically designed to crave company there are times when we need to go off the social grid and spend some time alone. For many, it could be a revitalizing experience as famous author Katrina Kenison puts it-

“Solitude is the soul’s holiday, an opportunity to stop doing for others and to surprise and delight ourselves instead.” 

Being alone helps us to improve our mental state and golfing might be the accelerant you need to go along with it as it allows you to hone your concentration and composure.

It's fun: A spell of solitary tee-time could prove to be as fun as your usual golf course gatherings. While playing with a group of friends has its perks, alone presenting you with an opportunity to enjoy your game just the way you want it. So whenever you are up for some alone time recreational activity, pick up your clubs and get to your nearest link.

Time-saving: The best thing about golfing alone is you don’t have to watch anyone else play and wait for your - turn you can go at it! You should comfortably cover the entire course in 3 hours or less, giving you ample time to make other plans for the day.

No distractions: Golfing enables us to unwind and zone out from our real-life problems for a while. If no one accompanies you in the course, you can solely focus on yourself without having to listen to your buddies discussing business, family or politics. Of course, having real-life discussions helps smoothen our hectic lifestyle, but sometimes we need to completely faze out of our daily lives to inject a much-needed dose of renewed energy and enthusiasm. A quiet golfing trip might be the perfect escapade you need to shrug off your tiredness.

How to play golf alone

Here are some tips that would make your solo golfing excursion more enjoyable-

If you prefer to have a quiet time golfing, without many people around; you should avoid the peak hours and get to the course early in the morning. Or, you can only call the golf club authority to find out when they are expecting the least amount of traffic and schedule accordingly. If the course is busy, it’s likely that you would be paired up with a threesome. If you want to get the course all by yourself, you must pick a time when it’s less populated.

If you feel you are playing too fast but not sure how to turn your pace down a notch, try walking after taking each shot instead of riding the cart. It would allow you to think between your shots and focus more precisely on lining up your next one. This additional time approaching the ball and the added burning of calories makes it a whole lot entertaining.

Try longer courses when you are golfing alone. The particular reason behind this is that it would allow you more space and boost your chances of getting a free spot where you could play alone. Smaller courses would struggle to allocate you a single player reservation so; larger 18-hole links are more suitable for lone golfers.

Pack light as much as you can. Playing solo means a caddie would become much more expensive since there wouldn’t be anyone else with whom you can split the expenses with. Besides, strolling around the turf is one of the rejuvenating aspects of playing the lone game. You wouldn’t want a heavy golf club carrier to ruin your day. Carriers would allow you to bring along as much as 14 clubs to bring along, but you would be better off with 3 or 4 handpicked ones.

If there aren’t any observers around you can’t officially record your scores per USGA regulations, so playing alone is often deemed meaningless and players are often inclined to abandon the rules. But in reality, solo golf sessions are very much effective in improving your performance. If you want to dazzle your friends in a more sociable golf outing at a later time, you must stick by the rules when you are out on the park alone.

Make the best out of your lone time by experimenting with your skills when you are having around on your own. For instance, if you hit a bad shot, you can simply drop another ball and try again. You could also try playing two balls and play the hole in two different way, such as teeing off with a driver with one ball and iron with the other or playing aggressive with one and safe with the other, and seeing which you score best with.

Read More: Korda completes US golf sweep

Conclusion

Golfing is a great outdoor activity that you can enjoy with your friends and family. What makes it even better is that you can enjoy the game alone unlike any other sports, if you want to. Solo golfing is not the norm, but it’s growing in numbers, and undoubtedly it has its own set of perks. It’s a great way to spend some quality time just by yourself, providing you the means to sharpen your focus and make strides in your game. Hopefully, we were able to paint a clear picture on how to play golf alone and convince you to consider trying it out sometimes. To be clear, the social side of golf can never be undermined-it remains a fantastic instrument to solidify existing friendships and forming new ones. But you might find one to mix things up at times and try it out on your own you might find it to be an intriguing adventure.

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