Golfing is a great hobby and game that many people absolutely love to do, but sometimes, our regular partners are not available. Alternatively, maybe you are new to golf, and no one in your friend group is interested in playing.
Therefore, if you are one of those people, you may wonder: Can you play golf by yourself? Are you allowed to play golf alone?
In this article, we will tell you exactly whether you can play golf by yourself, as well as the benefits of golfing alone.
Can You Play Golf By Yourself?
Yes, you can play golf by yourself. At golf courses, you can play completely alone if the course is almost empty. However, if the golf course is crowded, you will be grouped with other players, either singles or groups of 2 or more. On the other hand, you can always practice alone at golf driving ranges.
In general, yes, you can always play golf alone, by yourself. This means that whether you want to practice at a golf driving range, or go to a golf course, you can show up alone and have some fun playing golf.
At golf driving ranges, everyone plays alone in their slot on the driving range, so it makes no difference whether you show up alone, or with friends. You will always be able to play golf alone at a golf driving range.
On the other hand, showing up alone at a golf course has other implications. In general, you can always show up at golf course alone, without any playing partners. However, you may not end up playing alone once you reach the golf course.
When can you play completely alone on a golf course as a single? If a particular golf course is close to empty, typically in early mornings or near closing time, you can often play completely alone without playing partners, if the staff allows it.
However, if the golf course is getting crowded, you will be grouped with other singles or incomplete groups of 2 or more. This is enforced by the golf course so that they can get more groups of players out on the golf course, maximize revenue, and reduce waiting times for people off the course.
Golf courses often try to get a group of 4 players out on every hole of their golf course. For an 18-hole golf course, that is 72 players on the course at once. Golf courses have multiple tee off times during the day to allow for new players to start playing on the course, to keep a constant influx of players onto the course.
Even if you start out the round of golf playing as a single, if you catch up to a group in front of you, they might invite you into their group. Alternatively, they might just let you pass through them, as a single is generally faster to progress through a course than a group is.
This can be a great way to make new friends, although you may not feel like doing much small talk, or risking being paired up with an oddball. If you are afraid the round of golf with strangers will feel too long, you can try it out on a 9-hole golf course, or only play 9 holes.
In general, you can always show up alone to play golf, but you will potentially be paired with other players for a few hours.
5 Benefits Of Golfing Alone
Down below are 5 of the most prominent benefits of playing golf alone. Playing golf as a single is a very different experience from showing up at the golf course together with all your usual friends.
#1 Faster Play
One of the biggest benefits of playing golf as a single is that you progress through a golf course much faster than with a group. In fact, when playing with a group, you need to wait on other players in your group before you can play your next shot, in many cases.
Although you move faster as a single, once you catch up with a group in front of you, you might have to wait on them, or they might let you pass, or invite you to their group.
You can cut your time to play 18 holes of golf by over an hour by playing alone instead of in a group of 4 players.
#2 Relaxation, No Pressure
Playing golf alone is a great way to relax and blow off some steam without any pressure on you. Playing as a single, no one is watching, and you do not have to burden yourself with caring about your performance. You can shoot balls as badly as you want, and no one will bat an eye.
There is a great meditation-like peace about teeing off alone in front of a beautiful golf hole laying majestically in front of you. A landscape like you see on a golf course can really clear your head of any negative thoughts, leaving you at ease.
#3 You Can Play More Balls, More Practice
Some golf courses will let you play with multiple balls on a golf course if you play as a single. This means that when you tee off, you would tee off with 2 or 3 balls instead of just one. This allows you to get a lot more practice in on the golf course.
However, the staff of some golf courses will not let you use multiple golf balls for fear that you will hold up other groups, or because you only paid for 1 round of golf, and playing multiple balls is like playing multiple rounds.
If you are allowed to play with multiple golf balls, make sure you play quickly enough to not hold up the groups behind you!
#4 No Small Talk
A nice thing about playing as a single on a golf course is that you do not have to do any small talk unless you eventually join a group.
Especially if you had a frustrating day, have a sore throat, or just are not feeling very social on a given day, playing golf as a single is a nice way to decompress without having to put up a fake smile for anyone.
#5 You Can Meet New People
One of the most underrated parts of playing golf alone is that you can get paired with other people who might become your friends, romantic partners, or rivals. You can meet many interesting and nice people by showing up alone and a golf course and being paired with a random group.
Some singles end up being paired with professional athletes, book authors, firefighters, and more. You never know who you will end up with, and that is one of the beauties of golf. For a few hours, you get to discover a completely different person who you would not necessarily have met otherwise.
Of course, the people you are paired with have to be open to conversation, but if they are, it is an interesting experience and can be quite fun.
Unfortunately, you might end up getting paired with an oddball who is weird or irritating, but that is rarely the case. Most people on golf courses make an effort to be pleasant.
If you do end up getting paired with an oddball, you can just let them play alone and you play after them. You do not need to talk to them.
Conclusion
There you go! After reading this article, you have learned that you can indeed play golf alone on driving ranges anytime, and you can sometimes play alone on golf courses. Even if you cannot play as a single on golf courses every time, you can always join a group of strangers even though you showed up alone.
Do you like to play golf alone? What is your favorite benefit of playing golf alone? Let us know in the comments down below, we are interested in knowing our readers!
