Buddies trips

[revkev]

I was just reading Foz' s post in the How did you play thread. I've got a buddy's trip coming up this fall have another scheduled for next spring and am supposed to host one the following year. (God willing of course)

 

My experience with these are an 18 on the arrival day, 2 days of 36 and then a final18. While I don't do them every year I've done enough of them in the past 20 years to know that they aren't conducive to good golf.

 

Even when I was younger it was rough on my body. Now I think back to back 36's would be a waste. To add to it you are staying up late, eating crappy food and drinking too much between golf. You often play unfamiliar courses and don't sleep in your own bed or enough.

 

So how do you cope with a buddies golf outting so as not to kill yourself?

 

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[Eseay32]

Keep drinking.

 

 

Knoxville, TN. 6HDCP, TM R11S driver. G25 3 wood, burner Rescue. Ping I irons, Rac 52,56,60 & 2ball odyssey putter

[chemclub]

This is the big reason I don't go on these golf trips much. Too much golf. Some guys look at it as a chance to get drunk on the course, but I actually like playing the game. It is far more enjoyable playing only one round per day and even that can be tiring. Schedule the games in the middle of the day so there is plenty of time for recovery after late night revelry. I want to have some fun at night and not worry about a 6AM tee off just so we can get 36 in that day. It is supposed to be a vacation isn't it?

[Seef824]

It is interesting you bring this up.  I will be going on a "buddies trip" to my good friend's cabin in northern MN.  I plan on leaving Iowa on July 5th after work, then staying in Somerset, WI at my grandparent's house to visit with them.  Then on Wednesday I will wake up and drive to Osceola to golf with my other grandparents.  After that round it is roughly a 3 hour drive to my buddy's cabin.  We will likely play a round after I get there. The course we will be playing has a 7-day pass for $130.  Our plan is to play 36 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and hang out on his lake after we are done golfing for the day and get one final 18 in Sunday morning before I drive home.

 

I have never golfed this much in one week before.  I am planning on bringing up plenty of granola type bars and drinking lots of Gatorade and water to stay energized and hydrated.  I really hope I can still play good golf but I'm afraid I might develop some bad habits.  Also we will be walking the entire time, so my push cart will get some miles on it.

[PlaidJacket]

I hear ya Rev. Now days we've given up the BIG buddies trip. We've all gotten older (61-63) and our group has been nicely narrowed down to 4- or maybe 5 players max. It's a good group. Nobody drinks much anymore for one thing. So that eliminates an issue right there. Besides, It's a huge hassle to plan and execute a BIG golf trips. What we do enjoy is competitive golf. Good golf, good food, relaxation. We also have dialed back the 36-hole days to mostly never. It's much more enjoyable to plan for a few extras days than cram as much golf as you can in short interval.

We rent houses exclusively now because we want a nice place to relax (and it beats a hotel hands down) with good beds to sleep in. We prep some meals too so there is no rush to play golf, cleanup and rush to a place to eat. We don't enjoy rushing to the course early either. I used the word Rush a lot because..... we don't rush. That's what we're escaping from. The Rush!

 

Our focus these days is great golf courses, competitive golf, and relaxation. The wisdom of getting older has it's advantages in many ways. 

[AH1980MN]

Plaid, I'm 36 and agree with you wholeheartedly.

[Jmikecpa]

Keep drinking.

 

 

Knoxville, TN. 6HDCP, TM R11S driver. G25 3 wood, burner Rescue. Ping I irons, Rac 52,56,60 & 2ball odyssey putter

Amen to that. I lost all ability to recover about four years ago when I turned 35.

 

 

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[Jmikecpa]

When I used to go on these to SC we would go for six days and the core tournament was 18 on five of the six days. We would play mini events on days that a smaller group wanted to play 36 (or even 54). Obligating guys to only 18 a day made everyone get more involved and enjoy the trip.

 

 

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[Kenny B]

I haven't done one of these in 10 years; I was 59 and my buddy from ABQ turned 50 and he wanted to play in Myrtle Beach.  So four of us played 10 different courses in 6 days.  Oh by the way... it rained all day, every day.  That made it doubly tiring.  Now it's just my wife and I playing 18 a day with an occasional day off when we feel like it.

[sp0rtsfan86]

My two friends from undergrad did 90 holes in 3 days. I added another 18 the last day. More recently I did 72 in 3 days by myself. I personally like golfing a lot on trips, but my buddies said it was too much. We haven't done one in about 3 years, but perhaps this year I can get them to go out.

 

As for drinking, a few beers after rounds was about all we drank. That and two steaks on the grill was all we cooked. Just too dang tired.

[revkev]

Keep drinking.

Knoxville, TN. 6HDCP, TM R11S driver. G25 3 wood, burner Rescue. Ping I irons, Rac 52,56,60 & 2ball odyssey putter

The problem with that is that it threatens to kick up my irregular heart beat.

[Seef824]

I just got back from my buddies trip and we had a blast!  We played 36 holes on Wednesday, 36 on Thursday, 54 on Friday and 18 on Saturday.  We walked every round.  We got to the course around 615 each day and got our first round in then grabbed a quick bite to eat and were back for the second round by 10:30.  In the second round we drank a little bit and started to shoot better.  We definitely got our money's worth.  We are going to make this a tradition from now on.  The only thing that came up was a minor blister on one of my toes, but it didnt effect my play at all.

 

As far as nutrition and hydration, I stocked up on Cliff bars, jerky and gatorade and never had an issue with being hungry or dehydrated.  

[PlaidJacket]

Where did this trip take place? What courses?

[Kenny B]

The only thing that came up was a minor blister on one of my toes, but it didnt effect my play at all.

 

Sounds like fun, but more than I can do anymore.  You need to get some Kentwool golf socks.  Kind of expensive, but I've never had a blister wearing them.

[HighFade]

I am visiting my brother this weekend for a pure guys, no wives, golf weekend. 

18 Friday

36 Saturday

36 Sunday

18 Monday

 

We've done this in the past, and I remember being wiped out.  My only requirement was we take a cart.  I can do that.

 

@Seef84 walking 8 rounds in 4 days?  Nuts! 

[alfriday101]

On the 36 hole days, you can always play a best shot or alternate shot on the second 18.  It makes the day more relaxing and you end up hitting fewer shots.  

[fozcycle]

While we are aging, the Buddy Trip was toned down to 4 morning rounds in our regulate Stableford Point game with the two afternoon rounds being voluntary and scramble formats. That way it really does not wear you out that much. Rev, you can do something similar so that you can still play good golf.

 

 

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[Seef824]

We only played Balmoral Golf Course in Ottertail, MN.  We played stroke play the entire time.  I have never golfed that much before, but it honestly was not bad at all.  After the 54 hole Friday we were back at the course at 6:30am on Saturday ready to go.  The only reason we didnt get another 18 on Saturday was because family came into town and we thought we should spend time on the lake with them.  The tradition has been started, next year the wives and kiddos might come, but they will know golf is the main objective for the boys.