Solo golf trip?

[EMJL]

Has anybody gone on a golf trip alone? Good experience? Bad?

[Headhammer]

When I traveled all the time for work if I was a close to a golf resort I would spend the weekend playing as a single and enjoyed the heck out of it. Not having to worry about rushing home to be with the family was a great feeling and being able to hang out in the bar afterwards with my playing partners, not feeling guilty, was very relaxing! #JUSTDOIT

Edited November 24, 2023 by Headhammer

[fixyurdivot]

3 hours ago, EMJL said:

Has anybody gone on a golf trip alone? Good experience? Bad?

Do you mean going solo on a golf trip typically set-up for double occupancy?  

[EMJL]

24 minutes ago, Headhammer said:

When I traveled all the time for work if I was a close to a golf resort I would spend the weekend playing as a single and enjoyed the heck out of it. Not having to worry about rushing home to be with the family was a great feeling and being able to hang out in the bar afterwards with my playing partners, not feeling guilty, was very relaxing! #JUSTDOIT

Good to know, thanks. Also related to @fixyurdivot's followup, it seems like golf resorts are set up more for buddy groups than for singles. That was what prompted the question. I don't know anyone that has gone to Bandon or other comparable places on their own.

[fixyurdivot]

The best way to travel solo for golf, in my experience, is to just stay in hotels and get added to groups short a player or two if the course does not allow tee times for single players.  I did this several times while traveling to/from the MGS PNW Spy Meet-up's.  

[GolfSpy_APH]

7 hours ago, EMJL said:

Has anybody gone on a golf trip alone? Good experience? Bad?

Lots! All good experiences too. Met some great people along the way. Played some very random courses and made incredible memories along the way. 

Don't have to do a ton of planning, but most courses around the world will set you up with tee times by email. Usually the tricky part is travel in between if you are going city to city. 

[Dead Solid Bogey]

Met some great people along the way. Have even met up with some of those people at later dates at different venues. 

[Kenny B]

7 hours ago, EMJL said:

Good to know, thanks. Also related to @fixyurdivot's followup, it seems like golf resorts are set up more for buddy groups than for singles. That was what prompted the question. I don't know anyone that has gone to Bandon or other comparable places on their own.

I've played several nice courses by myself before I met my wife.; met a lot of great people!  Now I have a partner to travel with to play.  However, it costs twice as much now.   You are right that the big-named golf resorts tend to book a lot of groups... buddy trips.  I wonder why you would want to experience a place like Bandon and other similar golf destinations without taking a golf buddy along to share the memories.  It's really difficult to get on Bandon these days even as a twosome or foursomes.  These resorts cater to groups and booking a single means that they need to find another single to fill out the tee time.  It's probably possible, but you may have to inquire with the course months in advance.  In 2010 it was easy for my wife and I to book a stay and play at Bandon Dunes... difficult now and much, much more expensive!

[cnosil]

5 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

 I wonder why you would want to experience a place like Bandon and other similar golf destinations without taking a golf buddy along to share the memories.  

I guess this is why I don't play a lot of the "big name" golf courses.  I just enjoy the game and am more than happy to play rounds solo and not having to coordinate with anyone.  Those memories you talk about are mine and I don't need to share them   

We are all different; some of us are just loners.   

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I travel to many different states, cities, and towns for work. Depending on the weather and my schedule the clubs come along for the ride. I’ll either just show up to a course or call the day of looking to get squeezed in somehow. It has always worked out and I’ve been on some real nice courses. Even managed some high end private ones. Also met a lot of nice people.

Just go for it!

 

[fixyurdivot]

58 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I guess this is why I don't play a lot of the "big name" golf courses.  I just enjoy the game and am more than happy to play rounds solo and not having to coordinate with anyone.  Those memories you talk about are mine and I don't need to share them   

We are all different; some of us are just loners.   

Same here.  Solo rounds are fine with me... played lots of them in MT.  I typically played two-ball for the practice and to keep pace with groups ahead.  It's 36 holes for the price of 18 .  My biggest fear was that I'd finally get that evasive ace (and my card out of the "Still Aceless" thread) and have no witness .

[GaDawg]

4 hours ago, cnosil said:

I guess this is why I don't play a lot of the "big name" golf courses.  I just enjoy the game and am more than happy to play rounds solo and not having to coordinate with anyone.  Those memories you talk about are mine and I don't need to share them   

We are all different; some of us are just loners.   

I am a lot like that. I would not say that I am a loner, but have fun going on a golf trip alone. I don't have to hear others complain about food choices, prices, etc. I don't like skimping when I go on a trip.

[Dead Solid Bogey]

I will be playing as a single for the next few days… My history of doing this; is that 90%+ of the time it has been either a good or at least an okay time being the single playing by myself or being added to a group. I am hoping that I am not the jerk that I have occasionally been paired with in the past. 

[EMJL]

17 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

The best way to travel solo for golf, in my experience, is to just stay in hotels and get added to groups short a player or two if the course does not allow tee times for single players.  I did this several times while traveling to/from the MGS PNW Spy Meet-up's.  

This sounds like a great idea. I'm in Northern Indiana, so I might look into a trip down to the central/southern part of the state (French Lick and a number other interesting places in that area). Go Irish.

17 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Usually the tricky part is travel in between if you are going city to city. 

That makes sense, though I wouldn't mind driving 3-4 hours a couple days to get to a new course. ...I don't seem to find as much time to listen to golf podcasts as I'd like so that could be nice.

 

12 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

... Depending on the weather and my schedule the clubs come along for the ride. I’ll either just show up to a course or call the day of looking to get squeezed in somehow. It has always worked out and I’ve been on some real nice courses. Even managed some high end private ones. Also met a lot of nice people.

 That sounds ideal.

 

8 hours ago, GaDawg said:

I am a lot like that. I would not say that I am a loner, but have fun going on a golf trip alone. I don't have to hear others complain about food choices, prices, etc. I don't like skimping when I go on a trip.

Completely agree. Are you fitting the trips into work travel or are they dedicated golf trips you plan out well in advance? Something else?

 

54 minutes ago, Dead Solid Bogey said:

I am hoping that I am not the jerk that I have occasionally been paired with in the past. 

Always a good goal. 

 

Thanks everybody for your thoughts on the subject. 

[GaDawg]

On 11/25/2023 at 7:36 AM, EMJL said:

On 11/24/2023 at 10:44 PM, GaDawg said:

I am a lot like that. I would not say that I am a loner, but have fun going on a golf trip alone. I don't have to hear others complain about food choices, prices, etc. I don't like skimping when I go on a trip.

Completely agree. Are you fitting the trips into work travel or are they dedicated golf trips you plan out well in advance? Something else?

In the past, I would schedule golf trips into my work. Now that I am retired, I may decide any week to head somewhere warm and play golf or during the warm months, head to a casino and play golf. My wife does not have an issue with it, she gets some time to her self.

[Siamese Moose]

20+ years ago, in a different age of air travel, airlines used to give a serious discount for trips that stayed over Saturday night. I had a work trip to Park City, UT, where the difference in the flight price was way more than the cost of an extra night in the hotel plus meals. My company required me to fly out on Saturday, which angered me greatly to lose a weekend day without compensation. I informed my boss (not asked!) that I was going to play golf, and the company was going to pay for it. Sunday morning I strolled over to the Park City Municipal (I think that's the name, it was just a couple of blocks from the hotel), and got paired up with a threesome of locals. Had a great time! However, the reason for this story, on one hole there was a solid line of very expensive condos down the right side. As we're walking up the fairway these guys are telling me about the famous people that owned these. I recognized all of the names (though I don't remember any of them now) except the last one. The biggest, most expensive place was owned by a woman I had never heard of. These guys were dumbfounded, "How could you not know her? She's the biggest porn star in the world!" I'm supposed to know the name of a porn star? When I asked them how many of her movies they had seen, they had to admit they hadn't seen any. They just knew her because she was local.

[Goober]

I took a solo golf trip back in the late 90’s to Destin Florida.The only downfall was getting matched with 2 somes snd threesomes that were all new to the game.I tried to play my own game.But spent most of the time hunting down the groups shots they hit all over the lot.If you don’t have a foursome you never know who you might get matched up with 

[EMJL]

11 hours ago, Goober said:

I took a solo golf trip back in the late 90’s to Destin Florida.The only downfall was getting matched with 2 somes snd threesomes that were all new to the game.I tried to play my own game.But spent most of the time hunting down the groups shots they hit all over the lot.If you don’t have a foursome you never know who you might get matched up with 

Sorry for the bad experience. Was that your one and only solo golf trip?

[krjj]

I know I'm late to the thread on this one but wanted to chime in.

Ever since I got divorced I spend a week every Christmas at a resort in Mexico on my own.

It started out first year as my victory tour (since I finally got out), now it's just my jamb. I golf everyday without any concern for anyone else's schedule or agenda and then eat and drink wherever I want and hit the bed whenever I want. It's a week away from reality, even away from my close friends (and girl friend if I happen to have one over the holidays) and family. It's just for me and my thoughts, I let go of the past year and recharge for the year ahead.

I have a group if friends that always do a summer trip, which is fun, this trip is very different from that one.

I was actually looking for a new spot to go to for a solo fall trip and stumbled across this thread.

[NuclearPW]

I would highly recommend getting a flight to BHM (Birmingham, Alabama) and playing a few of the Robert Trent Jones Trail courses. I believe there are at least 3 within a 30 minute drive and they are world class public courses. Rates are usually around $100 and worth every penny. You could even drive out to Pursell Farms and play Farm Links which is ~1hr15min from the BHM airport. That one is a little pricier, but again, worth every single penny. 

[JDHolmes]

Been on many as a solo golfer, but my wife accompanies me on the trip though she doesnt play golf. These trips have mostly been for away tournaments of 1 to 4 days which require overnight travel.

It's good. Made many new golf friends and had a bunch of good competition.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[GolfSpy_APH]

On 11/24/2023 at 12:31 PM, EMJL said:

Has anybody gone on a golf trip alone? Good experience? Bad?

I know I already answered, but worth it again. I have done most all of my golf trips alone. They have been some of the best experiences I have ever had and given me the opportunity to meet and make connections with a ton of new people around the world. It can be a little nervy and in countries where they speak other languages a little more of a challenge, but definitely a great way to experience different cultures and courses which many may never have the opportunity to try or play.