Playing golf with good friends can be great fun and many of my best experiences on golf courses have been with friends. For most friends, just being in each other’s company is enough, but you can enhance that experience based on the course you choose to play and some other factors. Let’s get right into how to organize a great day of golf with friends!
Picking the Size of the Group
It’s important to have the right number of golfers; otherwise it can get a bit unorganized. You can keep it simple by getting together your usual foursome or you can be adventurous and get together two or three foursomes and have a mini tournament amongst yourselves.
With bigger groups you can choose from a few different golf games. One game that is great for any group of golfers is called “Strike Three”. In this format you get to throw out your worst three holes over the course of your round and take your best 15 holes.
If you are just heading to the course with four players, then you can play using the foursomes format or the fourball format, which are both really fun. Foursomes is an alternate shot format, which would most likely benefit better players. Fourball is when you take the best ball from two players and that will be your score for the hole.
Other golf formats include matchplay, stableford and individual stroke play.
Picking a Good Course
This would have to be the biggest requirement of mine because a good golf course can make or break a golf outing. Even if you have your good friends with you, the golf course still has to be good. The greens have to be nice, food should be good, the carts should work and not die on the 3rd hole, and the staff should be friendly.
To go along with this, the price will ultimately matter for most people. There are some courses who offer different deals, regarding golf carts, range balls and even food. At the time of reservation, make sure you ask the golf shop if range balls are included in the green fee or if there is some type of lunch deal at the course.
Best Time to Play
There is nothing worse than a five or six hour round. So, when choosing your course, take into consideration what time of day you want to play. If you know a course will be crowded on a Saturday or Sunday, try to plan something in the late morning or early afternoon. This will also help your friends who aren’t the “early morning” type.
Check Course Conditions
I mentioned it earlier before, but make sure the course is in good condition. You don’t want to arrive at the first green only to see that the course just aerated the day before. Call the course you are interested in playing and ask them about their current course conditions. They golf shop staff will be able to provide you with valuable information about how the course is playing and also the best times to come out to play.
Post Round
Make sure the course has a big enough restaurant or grill to relax (have a beverage or two) and tally up the scores post round. Some courses will close their grills at around 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. based on how many golfers are still out there, so make sure to ask prior to your tee time what the options are to grab a snack following your round.
Weekend Golf Days
If you and your friends are the ultimate golf fanatics and want to get in two rounds over the weekend, check with your course about multi-round discounts or replay deals. Golf courses will do anything to have you come out and play again even at a discounted rate. Often times, the second 18 will be even better than the first because you are familiar with the course and there is that revenge factor that some golfers will be out for.
Don’t Worry About Your Score and Make it Fun
Everyone wants to play well, but don’t let a missed three footer or a bad drive ruin your day because it will also rub off on your friends. Instead, laugh it off and try to get it back on the next hole. If you hit a bad shot, laugh about it and make it fun for your friends. If you know a putt is about to drop in the hole, point at it like Tiger and walk it in!
At the end of the day, golf is just a game and we spend our time on the course because it’s fun. Enjoy your round!