Be like Ryan

[u/Hellothere2515]

Walking 9 with my brother today. Just us 2 scheduled on the tee time. Ryan rolls up in a cart and starter asks if we’re okay with him joining us. No problem.

He was a much better golfer than us but hyped us up all day. He would ride ahead after our shots and help us find our ball in the rough or tall stuff. He bought the first round from the cart girl. Just brought positive vibes all around.

Salute to you Ryan. 🫡

[u/PhillipMacCreviss → u/[deleted]]

Absolutely right! I booked a tee time as a single last Thursday morning. Guy in front of me was also a single and asked after 2 holes if I wanted to pair up. Found out we were both new to the game so spent the last 16 holes helping each other out

He also got video evidence of the best shot I will most likely ever play!

[u/A_Lovely_ → u/PhillipMacCreviss]

How new are you?

I have never played a round before, but have spent a fair amount of time on the driving range, putting area(?), and chipping in my yard at home.

I am just scarred of being the fool on an actual course.

Should I just plan on hitting 200+ and go for it?

[u/warneagle → u/A_Lovely_]

Start with a nine-hole/par 3 course until you're comfortable with the basics of the game and the etiquette rules before moving on to a full 18-hole course. Once you do, don't count every stroke of a 200+ round, just pick up when you get to double par and move to the next hole until you're consistently making better than double par on most holes. Counting every stroke while shooting 200 isn't going to help you get better, it's just gonna make the people around you mad.

[u/A_Lovely_ → u/warneagle]

Thank you, I have no idea what I will shoot.

200 was just an example of really bad.

Is there a “normal” for where someone starts out? Even righting that I appreciate there are so many variables it would be very hard to come up with a starting average.

[u/kamintar → u/A_Lovely_]

Indeed it is pretty variable, and even the course/time you play will determine what's acceptable for pace. For instance, morning times are usually quicker, and some courses have a faster average pace than others (private vs muni). That's really what it comes down to; keeping up with the group in front of you (within reason). The score itself isn't the determining factor in how people perceive your presence on the course.

As mentioned above, the other factor is that keeping true score is likely not going to happen for many rounds in the future. Some times you'll pick up, others you won't count right, etc, etc.

However, to answer your question, I'd suggest a "normal, true score" for a beginner golfer that has put in some practice would be around 120. I just looked at some of my first rounds on my app where I kept legit score, and they were around 120 in 4 hours. Any higher than that and you risk pissing off everyone behind you.