Does Golf Take Too Long To Play?

“Golf takes too long to play,” my neighbor said to me this past weekend when I invited him to take advantage of a guest pass I’m holding. And his point of view is supported by thousands of golfers around the world. A study commissioned just recently by R&A received over 56,000 responses from golfers representing 122 countries. Of those who responded, 60% said they would enjoy golf more if it didn’t take so much time out of their day.

Before my husband and I joined a private country club, we, too, believed that golf took too much time to play. Then, encouraged by another neighbor, we joined Sierra View, which destroyed that notion. Here’s an example: last Thursday, my husband and I went to Sierra View and played nine holes at 3:30 in the afternoon. We walked on. We didn’t schedule it in advance. We did it on a whim. It took one hour and a half. And we walked, which means we got our “steps” in that day! Could we do that at a public course? Absolutely not.

Another example is this: On Memorial Day, we scheduled 18 holes of golf with good friends who are also members. At the turn, we wistfully gazed over to the fire pit area of the patio at Sierra View and said, “What the heck. Let’s say nine was enough. Let’s order a drink, sit out here in this scrumptious weather, and call it a round of golf.”

What’s my point? My point is that if you belong to a private Country Club, and there are ones you can join in the greater Sacramento area, golf doesn’t have to take too much time to play. Just like the Golf Superintendent’s annual survey determined, “let’s play nine” should be the game’s new mantra.  And since most public courses charge you for a full round of 18 holes whether you play all 18 or not, it could pencil out for you to join a private golf club where you can play nine or two or four or eighteen or twentyseven or whatever number fits into your day.