Variety or familiarity?

I'm a high handicapper and I don't have any regular playing partners.  I don't belong to a club principally on financial grounds.  I tend to play games organised through the VGS however this invariably results in playing lots of courses and many new courses I've not played before.

Gut feel says, for someone in my position, it would be better to restrict playing to one or two courses so I can focus on the shot making rather than the course layout / strategy.  That said, if a course does a guide and you are playing with people who have played there before maybe the variety of terrain etc is a good thing.  If I was to stick to one course I would play far less frequently, which again would be counter-productive.

Comments welcomed... 

The VGS is an excellent weay of playing golf when one is on their own. I was the same, Andy, as you know we have played at the same events on occasion, but I found it was an expensive way to play the game because invariably it meant quite long distances to travel and the events themselves were not cheap.

I would make every effort to join a club, preferably near to where you live, get to know the members, play in the club competitions and before long you will wonder why you did not do it sooner. Your game will definitely improve if you were to do this.

It sounds great John but at the moment I can only play weekends and my family would not be too impressed if I was out every weekend so it is 1 weekend in 2 or 3 at best.  It would be costly to join and play on this basis too which I would also find hard to justify.  I'll look into it though and see if I can play more regulalry at one course.

Andy it might be worth looking around your local courses to see what membership deals are available.  One I looked at near me had £100 joing fee which entitled members to take part in comps and initially gave 10% off green fees.  This percentage increased the more rounds you played.  It didn't suit me as I play twice a week but it might work for you.

Andy, I'm not a member of a club and like you played most of my games at new courses last year - visiting over 20 new courses last year alone.  I think it has made me a more thoughtful player, learning to read courses from planners rather than knowing the place like the back of my hand.  In all of those rounds I rarely scored less than 30 points, even hitting 37 on one.  Some of the rounds on my local courses have been pretty woeful though, there's a point where familiarity becomes so ingrained that I make the same mistakes again and again and I can't seem to break out of the usual bad habits.

I'm sure that if I'd been a member of a club my handicap would have dropped significantly by now, but it hardly prepares you for the challenges of a new track.  And besides, I'm just not too keen on any of the clubs around here, it's not just the financial aspect it's the bull that goes with it that I don't like - one of the local courses has officially blackballed me for complaining about the greens and when I play it I have to get someone else to book it!

Just as an aside I've got around 10 new courses pencilled in for 2009 already and none of them local.  

Wayne - I was blackballed because one summer I complained that the greens and tee boxes had been scalped around the edges and had not been watered for weeks, it was like trying to stop a ball on ice.  This was purely due to a lazy approach to course maintanence and an effort to keep greenkeeping costs down - all this on a course charging £30 a round!  To be fair the pro agreed with me when I had a chat with him afterwards, so I left him my e-mail address and a couple of days later I got a very insulting message from the owner telling me never to darken their doorstep again!  They are now actually looking after the course a bit better now and a round on a 2 fore 1 is good value and as long as I don't run into the owner it's fine.

Tim don't be shy name and shame the course.

Jon, that's what got me into trouble in the first place, my big mouth!

OK, it's Maywood in Notts/Derby 

Thanks Tim I think its worth warning people about bad experiences on courses.  I don't think they do anything worse than black ball you but watch out if you play there and they are hunting rabbits with guns. 

Andy, I think your problem at the moment is all about not playing enough!

It's not worth you joining a club as it would work out costing you more for a round of golf than it would if you just paid a green fee when you played.

Crown golf have a deal where you can play any of their other course midweek for free, eight times a year limit on each course.

See how much the cheapest one near you cost and then it might be worth paying for the membership.

I do like to play a different course but I do think that I dropped on when I joined Stapleford Abbotts GC, two very nice 18 holes course all with a five minute drive from my house.

The next time you join one of my events have a word with me about this.

Russ

You are right Russ.  I cannot afford or justify playing more then once a fortnight and at that rate it would not be worthwhile joining any club.  maybe in a few years time when I can play more often (assuming the family haven't bled me completely dry of cash by then).

I will try and practice more at the local course.  I'll use the range and they have a reasonable par 3 nine hole course which is fine for practice of the short game and putting.

The nearest Crown course is, I think, South Essex and I'll be there on Sunday so I'll see you then. 

I started playing July last year.

At first I played a different course every week until November when I joined my first club.

£275 for under 26's was too good a deal to pass up on!

I am improving as a result i believe.