Frequency of playing your home course

[Thomas Dai]

I know folk who play the same course 4-5 times per week 52 weeks p/a at pretty much the same time of day and with the same gang of golf-mates. Retired folk mainly, and I'm glad to see them getting out into the fresh air and having exercise and social activity but they amaze me. Even if it were a great course I reckon I'd be bored quickly playing the same course at such a frequency.

How often can you play your home course before you get bored with it and crave a game somewhere else (or just stop playing for a while)?

atb

PS - one of the reasons I play with both modern clubs and hickories is that my home course is now effectively two courses depending on which set of clubs I use.

[Sean_A]

atb

I tried the local club deal for eight years (usually 40ish or more games a year) or so before I finally got fed up.  I was bored with the course, how it was being looked after and the people who were looking after it.  There just aren't any courses near enough to me which keep my interest all year round.  Now, not having much interest in club "life", I wonder if such an animal exists. 

Ciao

[Paul Gray]

Having only rejoined after a near twenty year absence I still find I can play my home course, if and when time allows, on an almost daily basis. I suppose the wind is the biggest factor in that it changes the course on a daily basis.

That said, as per Sean's comments, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to mismanagement for. The current committee have at least suggested a willingness to listen but the proof will of course be in the pudding.

[BHoover]

One of the reasons I joined a club was to have a regular place to play and get to know the course well. Because I joined a club, I tend to play 80-90% of my golf there. From time to time, I like hitting the road and playing a few away games, but I don't do that too often. There are numerous reasons for that, but primarily, I limit the number of rounds away from my home course because of time and money--I joined a club so I might as well use it. Sure it's great to play a few other courses throughout the year, but I just don't have the time and money to do it that often. I also happen to like playing with a regular group, which is another reason for joining a home course.

[Brent Hutto]

I love spending all sorts of time planning my yearly UK golf holidays. And it's fun once in a while to plot out a weekend trip somewhere a couple hours away that includes a couple rounds of golf.

But on a day-to-day basis I don't want to spend any time or effort deciding on, maybe arrangements for or calling around finding a place to play. About a hundred or so of my 110-120 rounds of golf each year are integrated into my normal routing. I play at my club every Saturday and Sunday that I can and I often decided around lunch time that I want to get in a late-afternoon round after work. It would drive me crazy to have to call around and find some course that isn't having "an outing" or hasn't just punched their greens or that might or might not "allow" me to walk their course.

That said, I realize the typical member of this forum has a much greater need for variety than I do. Even my week-long UK trips are evolving toward playing one course for most of the week with just a round or two elsewhere. Even when I've traveled 6,000 miles and may never be in that part of the UK again I'm happy to play four, five six rounds at one good course that suits me.

Would I want to go a whole year, let's say, without ever playing a course other than my home course? No way. I do need a bit of something new to look forward to once in a while. But once I've played 6, 8, 10 "away" courses in a year I'm perfectly happy for the balance of my golf to be integrated into my daily routine, just show up at the same old, same old place and play either by myself or with my same old, same old crew when I get there. So far it hasn't gotten old, not sure if that would be the same at 250 rounds a year once I retire...

[Michael Marzec]

I have the luxury of three home courses, each with a different design aesthetic, so I consider myself very lucky. When I get tired of all the tight fairways and trees and high scores on one, I can go play the wide open course and soothe my battered psyche. The big drawback is the 50-minute drive from my house, which eliminates hitting the range after work or squeezing in a quick nine.

A few years ago I could not imagine playing the same course week in and week out, but circumstances change. My rounds have dropped precipitously the last two years for various reasons. Now my partners and I are looking at a sort-of corporate membership to a solid (though little known) Tillinghast course 10 minutes away. If push comes to shove I may have to make the decision of choosing convenience over variety.  In that case, I will focus my attentions to truly learning the new course in a way I haven't at my home club because of rotating through the three courses.

It might be a good thing in that it will spur me on to gain back some variety by finally getting out to play some of the other good courses in Northeast Ohio.

[Ally Mcintosh]

I probably play my home course only about 20 times a year... ... and every time I play it, I am reminded how lucky I am.

I have no idea if I'd still have that feeling if I played it 50 or 60 times a year.

[John Crowley]

I play my Midwest home course five to six days a week from May through October. It is an open "prairie style" (my descriptor). The wind blows 85% of the time. The routing of holes is virtually equally balanced in all four compass directions. It is a slightly to markedly different course day to day. And challenging always. I play other local courses occasionally but not due to boredom with my home course.

[Chris DeToro]

I think it just depends on your home course and the variety of shots, weather, etc. that it can be played in

[David Davis]

I play my home course about 60-80 times a year. Never once even come close to tiring from it. I could play it everyday and I'm sure my body would give out quicker than I would get bored of the course. The wind is always there and always changing. Never a dull moment.

Should there be we have this amazing reciprocal agreement with the Old 9 courses in The Netherlands which means we can play any of them several times a year for 30-35 euro/round. Which as we all know is literally nothing for top quality golf.

This includes my home course Noordwijkse, Royal Hague, De Pan, Kennemer, Hilversumsche and Eindhovensche to name a few. All top 100 in continental Europe and according to several GCA'ers 2 or 3 may be Top 100 in the world.

Still I travel for about 40-50 rounds a year as well (outside of NL). No matter where I go, I love coming back to my home course.

And I have the same issues as you gentlemen have that have commented above. It's amazing what can happen to a course with unlimited potential if it's in the wrong hands and being managed the wrong way.

In the end, I think I would never tire of any of the top links courses with daily play and varying conditions. They seem to have unlimited variety always leaving me this feeling of wanting to go back in order to "get it right".

[PCCraig]

I play more than 90% of my rounds on my home course. It is a bit of a throwback design over some wild terrain that is always in really good playing shape and has a good deal of variety. It also helps that it doesn't get a lot of play so it's easy to get on and it takes me all of 2 minutes to get there from my home. Therefore, late night 9 (or 18) hole rounds are common and easy to get in after work/dinner.

It's fun to play new & different courses, but with life getting busier and busier convenience tends to win out most of the time.

[RJ_Daley]

I also play about 8-9out of 10 rounds and my local home course.  If I lived in Nebraska, I'd also do the same at that local course.  Both courses are good enough to never get bored with playing the course.  But, the real enjoyment for me when playing the same home course over and over all year is the homies.  Having a stable of golf friends to enjoy a good course, with all the friendly betting game and such makes it something to look forward to, multiple times a week.  But, the course has to be of sufficient design to challenge and change with wind and conditions throughout the year.  There are many courses in my local area where I couldn't stand playing them over and over, even with good friends.  I'm just lucky we have a good/interesting/design and very affordable.

[Jud_T]

RJ,

I agree.  The bar for any course to not be boring after the 300th round is pretty damned high.  This is really why things like a great piece of property, great turf, strategic design and wind matter.  While one will always want to play the occasional away game, the best courses will stand up to decades of membership.

[Jay Mickle]

As a member at Pine Needles/ Mid Pines I have 2 great courses that I can play for variety. Playing the courses some 200 times per year (75% @ MP), I too can add variety by using either modern or hickory clubs. I never seem to tire of the home courses.  I don’t know if that is because my shot pattern is so varied that I am always playing from virgin locations or because Ross was so good at designing  a course that could play so differently from day to day.
I do look forward to playing hickories at away courses with the Carolina Hickory Golf Association for our monthly events. Other area courses are also a great diversion when PN/MP are unavailable.  I am now looking forward to the reopening of Tobacco Road with their new MiniVerde Bermuda greens.

[Garland Bayley]

My sorry golf game changes my home course on a daily basis. So I play there 2-3 times per week no problem.

[Brent Hutto]

My sorry golf game changes my home course on a daily basis. So I play there 2-3 times per week no problem.

That was my thought on seeing this thread. I've played my home course nearly 1,000 times now and still from time to time face a shot I've never faced before.

And because our greens have a fair bit of micro-contour in them (not to mention some larger ones too!) it's still occasionally possible for a hole to get cut a few feet from one of the familiar spots and totally fool an entire foursome of members. Especially given the seasonal, day to day and hour to hour vagueries of Bermuda putting surfaces.

I'm not nearly a good or consistent enough player to get bored of our 27 holes in one measly lifetime.

[mike_beene]

Also a course changes with the seasons so playing in the summer and the fall are not close to the same thing. Plus some days are very windy, some are not. Plus my game changes. I can play the same course over and over. I can never decide how to play certain holes and after 20 years worry about what to hit off first tee.

[Adam Warren]

Been a member at my course for 3 years, generally playing at least 3-4 days a week in season and have not tired yet.  Lots of subtle undulation that can fool you in the greens and plenty of wind that changes direction throughout the year.  I can see in ten years I might want to add a second course as a membership, but for now I am perfectly fine.   The biggest thing that I would like to see is just additional tournament golf of another course, but really I am getting it playing in the state association events and various invitationals.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

20 years as a member and never get tired of playing my home course.
Quite the opposite,each time I get out there without tee times, can play a 100 year old orignal routing and still marvel at the quality of the holes, I pinch myself that a kid from England can be this lucky

http://www.texarkanacc.com/Left-Top-Nav/Amenities/Golf-123.html

[Paul Gray]

20 years as a member and never get tired of playing my home course.
Quite the opposite,each time I get out there without tee times, can play a 100 year old orignal routing and still marvel at the quality of the holes, I pinch myself that a kid from England can be this lucky

http://www.texarkanacc.com/Left-Top-Nav/Amenities/Golf-123.html

To be fair Michael, a lot of kids in England have that very luxury. I only realise now how lucky I was. 

[Dan Herrmann]

I play my home course 98% of the time, and why would I go anywhere else.  Gil Hanse built a perfect member's course - one you can play every day and have new challenges all the time.

Plus, let's be honest.  I'm paying for it, so I may as well make the cost-per-round as low as possible

http://myphillygolf.com/uploads/bausch/FrenchCreek/index.html

[Michael Moore]

I'm glad to see them getting out into the fresh air and having exercise and social activity

The grizzled, sunburnt, hard-drinking retirees at Riverside Municipal are grateful for your concern.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Paul,
sorry that was not at all a nock on England, as I was lucky to grow up playing at Copt Heath, merely a thanks for the life that I have been fortunate to have here, being from England.
Sorry if that didnt come across, sort of a "God bless America'  thing without actually saying that which I now have.

[Brian Finn]

Over the past 10 years or so, my play has been split:

40% at my home course
20% at other nearby courses (within an hour or so)
40% while traveling

I suppose it would be nice to play a bit more at home (50%-60%?), for a number of reasons.  I do really enjoy the course itself and the good people at the club.  However, the draw of seeing different and new courses is too strong to ever imagine less than a third of my play being away from home.  In fact, during periods when I am not able to play as often, the # of rounds at home takes the brunt of it.

[Paul Gray]

Paul,
sorry that was not at all a nock on England, as I was lucky to grow up playing at Copt Heath, merely a thanks for the life that I have been fortunate to have here, being from England.
Sorry if that didnt come across, sort of a "God bless America'  thing without actually saying that which I now have.

No, no, not at all. Equally sorry if I came across as being on the attack.