KINGWinston

I just want to play but nothing beats a round of 18 with the boys. 9-hole twilight out here in Sac in key because it gets so hot. If you're not playing early morning, its brutal. One of my favorite 9-hole tracks was a course called Sunrise in San Diego and was the 9-hole course on the other side of the tracks from Riverwalk (was owned by Riverwalk until they sold the property). Quick 9 holes for some great practice and they only charged you $12 to walk it?! I think i played there every Saturday and Sunday for a good year before they closed it down.

As far as handicap goes I let the app take care of that haha. That system is very confusing to me and I don't play serious enough to actually track it.
I will say in the summer time I've really grown to enjoy playing 18 after work and 9 on the weekends. Seems backwards but its cooler in the evenings and alot less people on course so no real waiting. 9 holes on the weekend allows some flexibility with the crowds because I dread waiting on a Tee box for multiple groups.

I always prefer to play 18. I recently started playing in a Wednesday night league and it is only 9 holes. We play at a course that has 2 separate 18's so we rotate to a different 9 every week. I don't mind the 9 holes, but with the new handicap system I feel like entering 9 hole scores every week isn't giving me as accurate a handicap as when I played only full 18 hole rounds. I don't always put 2 good 9's together so a higher 18 hole score is more accurate than 1 good 9 hole score and 1 bad 9 hole score. 

If I can get out and play, I will take whatever I can get. 

I think 18 especially if you play with faster players in the mornings as we are done in about 3 to 3 1/2 hours easily. This gives us time to go home and keep the honey do list up to date.

Either is great with me. That being said, I've got 3 young children and a very demanding career so most of the time it's 9 holes for me. My oldest (9) is starting to get into golf and comes with me alot of the time 

Retired. 18 or bust. BTW, why are we limiting it to 18 as a high number?🤪
Again, retired.
BTW, watching the three best players in the world get eaten alive by the 5th hole. their 13th, so suspect they wished they had played 9...

The small town where we spend the summer in northeast Oregon has only a 9 hole course.  It is fun to play and an easy walk.  I just play 9 holes since playing the same 9 again isn't that exciting to me.   I have found that when I get back home to the Dallas area, I am opting to just play 9 since the courses are much more crowded and pace is slower.

I'll almost always play 18 if I have a choice, but there are times when I walk on to a course to practice an aspect of my game and will roll with 9. Rare, but it happens.

Sounds about right. I used to live 5 minutes from Stadium golf (San Diego) and it was always price. I miss their short game area though! NorCal is no different either and we don't have nearly the quality of course as the south. 

Sounds about right. I used to live 5 minutes from Stadium golf (San Diego) and it was always price. I miss their short game area though! NorCal is no different either and we don't have nearly the quality of course as the south. 

At our local muni it's about $10/$15/$20 for small/med/large. Awful balls and hit off mats into a poor landing area. 

There are 3 different ranges or places with ranges where I typically go to practice if not playing a round of golf.
I live very close to the Orchards Golf Club, can walk there and they have a range and large practice putting green and bunker area.
It is $5.00 for 25 balls, and $10.00 for 50 balls. Balls are either Callaway or Titleist practice balls.
Second place is Three Oaks Range, which is a newer, freestanding range and mini-golf course.
They use Wilson Staff balls, and pricing is: $5.00 for 35, $10.00 for 70, and $15.00 for 140 balls.
Third place I visit is Carl's Golfland. There range has Trackman capability using your phone to see the data.
Pricing there is $7.50 for 45 balls, or $10.00 for 100 balls. Balls all are yellow Callaway practice balls, typically in decent condition.

I'm the exact same with the same golf! all these posts had me feeling i'm going through mine too quickly 🤣

Interesting reading these responses and surprised many wear a glove for 20-40 rounds or more. Maybe I should wear mine longer. I buy the Taylor Made premium glove and typically wear it for 15-20 rounds, I would estimate. It's great for about 5-10 rounds and then just gets sorta flat and worn but still effective until I eventually deicide to toss it. I used to wear a glove until a hole appeared but now refresh after it loses it's stickiness and effectiveness. I find the grip very important even for confidence at address so tend to swap out new more often these days. I also now keep a separate glove for the driving range, not sure if anyone else does that too. 

My gloves will normally last a season. But I tend to switch them out 3 times a year. I’m not a fan of super slick stretched out gloves. I don’t really have an expectation as it’s a fairly cheap part of the equipment line up. 
 
I use the Titleist players glove as I’m not a fan of the synthetic mesh around my fingers/knuckles. 

All my gloves, usually 2-3, live hooked around my carry handle on my bag.
 

For me, I play until there is a hole in it. As I do more range time than full rounds I burn through them a little bit quicker than some maybe.  I’m also not very picky on gloves and honestly shop sales and buy a few at a time as long as they fit decent. No storage solution for me, the glove I’m using gets strapped to the outside handle with a brand new spare in the side pocket with my rain gear. I will say that after playing with a glove in the rain I find it never really feels the same afterwards, and usually finds it’s way to the garbage shortly after

i appreciate it and i'll take a look but i don't think i'm "stuck" in methods that data doesn't support. Again, data only tells you one side of the story and i think you're missing that being so data driven. you can't always live on statistics. The beautiful thing about golf is everyone has a different way or view on how to get the ball in the hole the quickest. 

Love this post! Yeah I'm not trying to dispute distance has an overall advantage.  WHEN PRUDENT is huuuuge and that's where my argument stems from, you can't bomb and gouge every hole. I hope no one is laying up to wedge yardage unless you absolutely have to. I feel like high handicappers are going to read this thread and say "exactly why I'm going to bomb it everytime" well how often are you in the rough with a shot at the green. I was looking at this questions more from the tee rather than anywhere on the course.

... Good points. There is a HUGE difference between a low index player and a high index player advancing a ball on a par 5 as near the green as possible with a hazard left and the fairway sloping right to left like a hole at my home course. Anything to the middle left of the hard and fast fairway will find the hazard. There is a big bunker on the right and better players will challenge the bunker trying to just skirt it and have the ball move left not the green. Being in the bunker for a 30yd shots isn't that difficult and well worth the risk and we often just hit over it. But when you don't know where your miss is going to be and the left side is so penal, laying up with an iron is really a better play. 

... Next is short siding yourself. Better players know where to miss their approach shots on long par 4's or 2nd shots into par 5's. If the pin is tucked on the right side with deep rough next to a green that slopes away from you, the miss will be left. Higher index players don't really have that option if they hit it left and right, so picking a club that keeps them short of the green is usually a better play. Not lay back to a 100yd wedge but something a little short of the green

... And then there are deep difficult bunkers, trees, water or other hazards that can mean an errant shot is almost a sure double bogie. I think the ability of any given player and how they are swinging that day are big factors in deciding how far to advance the ball. 

... Having said all that, my game did take a jump when I started advancing the ball as far as possible when prudent and stopped laying up to a wedge yardage. I think most low index players find the same. But mid and high index players need to know their strengths and tendencies before deciding to hit the ball as far as possible and just play smart. 

What stroke gained stats exactly? For what handicap player? While I don't completely disagree (I'll take 40+ yards all day) but the yardage difference isn't generally that drastic so let's assume a 20-25 yard difference. There are more variables from playing out of the rough, starting with the rough itself. Those stats, just like any other sport I've played, only tell one side of the story. An extra 25 yards is amazing but does it help when you're right behind a tree and have to chip out or forced to lay up? If we're talking pro's than absolutely being a little off line in the rough isn't a problem but i was say the shot dispersion on this thread is a tad bit different that tour pros. Data helps but I've never been driven by data in any sport i played, if you are it can become a fault. Sometimes you have to go with feel/flow of the game.  

I don't remember that! might be too young to remember haha but I want a set of those to have! I played with a guy one time who has the most beautiful woods and driver I had seen. The old school wood heads with the screws and all. He had them all polished up, I'm not sure I'd even play with them if I had them!

Good to know! Appreciate the info... I'm a little more open to graphite shafts. Got a few other wish list items first and may wait until i've hit a wall i can't get passed. I would like to see more on tour too!

I seen an earlier comment about rather being 20-40 yards further in the rough than back and in the fairway... while that may work for a hole or two, long term, you need to be in the short stuff to score. you sacrifice accuracy out of the rough before you even hit your shot. I've got a buddy who will bomb the ball all over the place and when he connects on a good one it looks awesome but I always hit him with the "I'll see ya whenever you get up there" 🤣 Accuracy is king

Reading the responses have been interesting. Finding the balance between distance and accuracy is a battle for me. I make this decision a few times alone out on the course. I try to let the hole/course dictate that. If there's trouble where I tend to miss or my target area is tight, I'll hit my safe drive which is way more accurate and sacrifices some distance if i HAVE to be in play. If there fairway is pretty wide or I feel like an errant shot wouldn't hinder me too much, I'll give that one a ride.  That being said, I really think the course you're playing should influence your shots. 
 
Also, we all seem to associate distance and accuracy with the driver but if I had the choice of some distance or accuracy with my irons, I think that answer is accuracy 99/100.