A cheaper option to the 18 holes course is to play Oak Trail course which is a 9 hole walking course based out of the Palm/Magnolia pro shop. It is set up as a "family course" and is probably a little more "user friendly" than some of the championship courses, it's still a decent enough little course and you can be finished golf and into the parks by midday
. If you have "permission" to do 18 holes, no one said you have to do them all on one day
you might be able to get two (or more) golf days if you just play 9 at a time
I usually use the "stableford" method of scoring so one ( or more) BAD holes don't mess up the score card too much. For those of you newer golfers not aware of how it works you award yourself points per hole depending on how well you do for that hole. Your handicap (or your guess of what your handicap should be) tells you how many shots would be your individual "par" for that hole. For example a 9 handicap golfer gets an extra shot on holes 1-9 an 18 handicap golfer gets an extra shot on each hole on the course, a 22 handicap gets 2 shots on holes 1-4 and one shot on the rest. I'll use the example of an 18 handicap cos it's easier. The points awarded are 0 points if you are 2 shots or worse than your "par" for that hole, 1 point if your one shot worse, 2 points if you get your "par" , 3 points if your one better than par, 4 points if you're 2 better than par and 5 points if your 3 better than your par ( if you get too many 5 point scores you're a bandit LOL
Lets say holes 1,2,3,4 and 5 are all par 4s and the golfer (18 handicap so gets one shot per hole) scores them as a 5 , a 6, a 10, a 4 and a 3.
for hole 1 ( 5 shots) he gets 2 points , hole 2 (6 shots) he gets one point, hole 3 (disaster) gets 0 points (but doesn't wreck your card) hole 4 (regular par so a "birdie" for him 3 points) and hole 5 he would get 4 points. Over the 5 holes he has earned 10 points ( which is playing to his handicap) but the disaster hole doesn't wreck the score card. Over 18 holes, if you're playing close to your handicap you should generally score between 30-35 points ( if you hit 36 and above too often it probably means you're better than your handicap). By keeping a note of your stableford scores gives you a much better idea, IMHO, how you're golf is improving because the system irons out when one or two holes take a heavy toll on your round. For beginers it also allows you to move on from the 10+ shots on one hole and concentrate on the positives like how you chipped in from 50 yards for a birdie ( and 4 points). It makes golf a much more uplifting experience when you're learning the game.
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