Golf Rounds: Morning or Afternoon

[Hook DeLoft]

The group I play with tees off at 8am week days and 7:30 on Saturdays.  In the summer, it is way too hot for this old man to play in the afternoon.  Having said that, I have no doubt my old, stiff body would perform better in the afternoons.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I’m a morning golfer. Tee off before 8am. 
My course doesn’t allow carts out until 8am but walkers can go out anytime after 7am. We only have a couple walkers and only one likes mornings. I’m usually the first one off and never see anyone. It’s like my own private course. Works great for testing equipment, working on a swing issue, or extra putting practice. 

Freshly mowed greens, raked bunkers, and me leaving a trail of footsteps up the center of the fairway. I can always tell how well I’m playing by just looking back at my trail in the dew. It’s also the best time to play in July and August. It gets hot and humid.

If I want some extra distance then I’ll play an afternoon round just to hit different irons into the green. The fairways get firmer in the afternoon. But the bunkers are full of footprints and the greens have ball marks from the lazy asses.

 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Nothing beats a 6am dew sweeper for me. First one out, nothing but the sounds of nature and the club striking the ball. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. About as pure as it gets for me 

[Josh Parker]

2 minutes ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

Nothing beats a 6am dew sweeper for me. First one out, nothing but the sounds of nature and the club striking the ball. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. About as pure as it gets for me 

That's my favorite as well!

[TSauer]

Late evening rounds, without a doubt. Playing during the golden hour is one of my favorite things. It is just so relaxing. 

[cksurfdude]

While I do love the beauty of the sunrise and being out there at that time.. .. this old guy needs a whole lotta stretch-y roll-y time in the mornings to get loosened up and get all the various parts moving ....

The upside to this is the course is generally less busy in the afternoons.

Unfortunately that sucks for group outings that typically take off early, but then that's what arthritis creams and pain killers are for!!

[GaDawg]

For years I wanted to play as early as possible so i could get back and be with the family or do my honey do list. (LOL) Now that the kids are gone and I can do the honey list anytime, I like playing later in the day.

[TG8]

On 3/30/2024 at 5:16 AM, Josh Parker said:

Simple question is,

Do you prefer morning or afternoon golf, and why?

I love the solo rounds at daylight.  The first one to tee off.  Dew on the ground and the thought of the untouched course ahead.  I enjoy the pace I set for the day and the quiet time to just enjoy the outdoors and nature around me. However, if I'm playing a round with the guys, I prefer playing in the afternoons. 

Afternoon is my vote.  I always feel like morning rounds are rushed and the body is not fully loose yet.  
Also like others mentioned the sun dropping slowly is always a beaut. 

[David Leighton Reid]

I much prefer to play early.  I like to get my round in and have the rest of the day to accomplish chores or honey-do's.  Another advantage to playing early is the course is less busy and the pace of play is good....usually don't have to wait to hit a shot.  The only disadvantage to playing early at my course is some of the greens may be wet.  Our greens mowers have a different pattern than mowing 1 through 18 in order.  

[StrokerAce]

Going to guess that the majority of answers to this is "early" since the club I recently joined as a 'social' member doesn't let us out until 1 or later on the weekends... 

Personally, I enjoy both; great to have the rest of the day to do stuff after your morning round and it's also awesome to finish up just as the sun is setting.

[tdroma98]

I enjoy the early morning rounds & walking.  As Jason stated, the dew on the grounds, being the first out & like @Tom the Golf Nut also stated test equipment or working on the swing with no interruptions.
I used to be a member at a club where the pro would allow me to walk and tee off before they opened at 6:30 am.  I'd be the first one out, see some of the maintenance guys, then check in at the turn, since the 9th hole came back to the clubhouse. 

At the current club, there are 4 to 6 players who are the first off every morning (either 4 or 2 groups of 3's) & we all walk. It's great.  No one in front, we usually leave the groups teeing off after us in the dust, never seeing them after the 2nd hole. Greens are freshly mowed, dew setting back on the greens. Sometimes, as was the case this morning, they punched & lightly sanded the greens on the back 9, so we did catch them watering the greens.  We're normally done playing 18 holes in 3 to 3:20 mins.  I'm home by 11am & start working regular job. Life is good! 

[Flanpro]

Love the mornings right after a fresh cut on the greens

[William0946]

Basically anytime I can get out to play is nice, but getting out early in one of the first groups is the best.  No wait times, fresh cut fairways & greens, groomed bunkers, and avoiding the heat of the afternoons on those July & August days.

[JupLifeNPB]

Mornings are so much nicer.   Winds are down, play faster and cooler weather. 

[Norman May]

I really like playing as early as possible so I can still do and get things done the rest of the day. I have a group and we go off at daylight every time. 

[quod erat]

Late afternoon into evening. Golf is about winding down for me -- I don't play as well if I know that there's work/errands waiting on the other side.

[cksurfdude]

On 4/2/2024 at 4:39 PM, quod erat said:

Late afternoon into evening. Golf is about winding down for me -- I don't play as well if I know that there's work/errands waiting on the other side.

Good point .. also like late afternoons knowing that there's Happy Hour on the other side

[Dean Skinner]

For me it kinda depends on the time of year and weather, I am not a cold weather guy! Winter I like an 8:30 or so time however summer I prefer a little earlier. We spend a lot of time in La Quinta and summer times are 5:45 to 6:15am and at the pool by 9am. Summer twilights are ok here in So Cal..... Come to think of it, anytime is a good time for a round! Even a four club tournament!

[BreakfastBall15]

Early as possible. Especially in the summer. Beat the heat and still have the rest of the day to do stuff. In the winter I like teeing off later when it’s slightly warmer though

[Tampajoe3]

I like playing early for the speed of play.  I don't like the different conditions I may experience on the greens though.  

I also don't like hitting tee shots while staring dead into the sun.  In the end, speed of play wins out most of the time.

[Curtis Atkinson]

Either first off or playing until it's dark. 

[Big Jan]

I prefer mornings for the weekends, but afternoons for weekdays. I love playing early when it's cooler and then still having the afternoon to do whatever else you'd like to get done during the weekend. The issue with mornings during the week mainly has to do with the club I play at. There's several retired guys that play at my course daily, and they all play during the morning. Any given day of the week there's several foursome or fivesomes that don't have the fastest pace of play and don't let people play through. I've found that if I go early afternoon it's late enough that they are all done or far enough along I won't run into them and early enough to beat the 9-5 workers to the course. 

[MN_Hacker]

On 3/30/2024 at 5:16 AM, Josh Parker said:

Simple question is,

Do you prefer morning or afternoon golf, and why?

I love the solo rounds at daylight.  The first one to tee off.  Dew on the ground and the thought of the untouched course ahead.  I enjoy the pace I set for the day and the quiet time to just enjoy the outdoors and nature around me. However, if I'm playing a round with the guys, I prefer playing in the afternoons. 

I prefer early, but enjoy golf at any time.  This pic was at Perham Lakeside Oak #2, as I went off first walking as a single with nobody to get in my way.  

 

[Dan1993]

On the weekend, definitely the earlier the better. During the work week, I've fallen in love with the post work, afternoon 9. Go out solo, decompress a bit after work before going home to the wife and kids. I've got my trusty push cart and can usually be done with 9 in about 1.5hrs 

[Hacker60521]

I play on Tuesdays-Thursdays, and try to tee off around 10AM. This way I avoid the “morning” golfers or just following the leagues. Since a round is about four hours anyone who wants to have lunch either before or after playing is eating really early or later in the day. So that takes out most of the “client entertainment” guys. I’ll also start around. 3PM since most folks won’t start that late.

I leave Fridays and weekends for those who can’t play during the week etc. On those days I’ll go to the range, short game area, etc