Short On Time? Play 9!

 

Tell me if you’ve ever been in this situation before. You get off work on a Friday evening and the weather is just perfect. I’m talking so perfect it wouldn’t be better if you were dreaming. You take a deep breath of the beautiful air and kick yourself that you didn’t take off at lunch and head to the golf course to get a round in. I’ve done that exact thing so many times it makes me sick. Want to know how I got over it? I started playing more 9-hole rounds. 

I know what you’re thinking. Matt, golf courses have 18 holes for a reason, why are you wasting your time playing 9 holes? Most golfers scoff at the idea of only playing 9 holes because they think it isn’t a “real round,” but I’m here to tell you that those people are dead wrong. Playing 9 holes is awesome, and I’m gonna give you three reasons why.

1. It saves time.

It’s a bit of an obvious point, but playing 9 holes generally takes half as long as 18 holes. By the time I get to the course and get started, stop for a snack/bathroom break at the turn, finish the round, grab some food afterward, and get home, I might as well make an entire day out of a round of golf if I’m playing 18 holes. When I play 9 holes I feel like not only does the round take half the time, but I feel like I’ve saved even more time because I’m not stopping halfway through and I don’t have to get a snack or food (or take a bathroom break). I just get to the course, bust through 9 holes, and hit the road back home. When I just play 9 holes, I feel like I still have so much of the day left when I’m done. I can even get in a round after work from time to time. So when you don’t have tons of time to play (and I never do), just play 9!

2. It saves money.

Even though it’s half the holes, usually 9 holes isn’t half the price. If you’re counting dollars per hole, 18 holes are probably the better value for the money, but courses do that on purpose to encourage playing 18 holes. Here’s the thing, though. I’m not considering the value per hole whenever I go to book a tee time; I’m just looking at the total cost. In that case, 9 holes saves money because even if 9 holes is 70% of the cost of 18 holes, I’m still saving money by playing 9 instead of 18. We all know golf can get expensive, especially if you’re particularly obsessed and need to play at least once a week. If that’s you, you might consider playing 9 holes more often to save you a few bucks to put toward your next round.

3. It still counts! (For handicap)

One of the main reasons that hardcore golfers have scoffed at 9-hole rounds for so long is that the USGA didn’t count them for official handicaps for the longest time. Well, that all changed a few years ago when the USGA pushed their 9-hole initiative “Save time, play 9.” They made 9 hole rounds count toward official handicaps, and no golf news had ever made me happier. The fact that 9 hole rounds can now count toward your official handicap doesn’t give anyone any excuses. You need to be playing 9 holes more often, they count now!

Look, we all know that traditionally a round of golf is 18 holes. I love playing 18 holes and I’ll always prefer to play 18 whenever I have the chance. Here’s the thing, though. I work full-time, pastor a church, and have a family with two small kids at home. Having the time or money to play 18 holes of golf regularly just isn’t a realistic possibility for me in my life right now. But since I’ve started playing 9-hole rounds more often I’ve noticed that I’m still able to get in a round of golf and not have to sacrifice time at work, at church, or with the family and still get to play the game I love. So if you’re short on time, like me, consider playing 9 holes more often. You just might fall in love with it like I have.