Don’t Have the Time? Just Play 9!

May 28, 2013

It’s Saturday morning. Little Jimmy is playing little league baseball, and his big sister Ally has a tennis match and their parents are running back and forth from field to courts to support both. Sound familiar?

With today’s demands on your time, it’s becoming harder and harder to find the four to five hours needed to play a traditional 18-hole golf round. More and more golfers are digging in their heels, refusing to spend half of a precious weekend day away from their families.

It’s a sign that the golf world desperately needs to find another way to reach out to all those men, women and kids out there who would enjoy the game if only they could find the time.

“Golf is not adjusting to a changing consumer base,” says Jim Koppenhauer of Pellucid Corp.

So, what if it only took two hours to play a round of golf? Aimed at trying to make golfing easier for all golers, GolfNow recently introduced its new Go. Play. programs, including one easily offering 9-hole rounds called Play Nine. Nine hole-rounds are becoming more available and affordable than ever before, so you can get out and enjoy the game in less time for less money. With platforms like GolfNow’s Play Nine it’s also easier for golfers to find courses that offer 9-hole rounds in their area. 

Interestingly, the time and money issues associated with playing golf are not new.  After World War II, Geoffrey S. Cornish, one of our country’s most respected and prolific golf architects, recalls, “A lot of people wanted to play golf but didn’t have the money so we built more than 50 pitch n’ putt courses all over New England.” Recounting this period, Cornish – who died last year at age 97, said, “I’m not sure Pitch n’ Putt would go over well today, but it sure got golf going and into our blood.”

Ed Weber, golf director for Raptor Bay Golf Club in Bonita Springs, Fla., says, “Nine hole rates are great, but the challenge for the clubs is fitting in these shorter rounds while accommodating the 18 hole players.”

To alleviate the issue, Raptor Bay offers a reduced rate for 9-hole rounds later in the afternoon. Many other courses are following suit. At Twin Eagles’ Talon course in Naples, Fla., a 9-hole rate through GolfNow’s Play Nine is just $45.

Nine is the magic number for just about everyone. For the golf addict looking to add another nine after finishing an 18-hole round, for families with younger golfers, for golfers with physical restrictions and more.

“My back is shot so nine holes are much easier for me,” says John Hawker, a retired tobacco salesman from Buffalo, N.Y., who recently played Copperhead Golf & Country Club near Fort Myers, Fla.

Noting GolfNow’s nine-hole rates are often more than 50 percent discounted, Hawker added, “Playing nine is also a good deal when my 13-year-old grandson comes down and wants to play. He’s just getting into the game, so it’s perfect.”

Golfer Mike Pinckney recently took his two teenage daughters out to play nine holes letting them use his old sticks at Dr. Charles L. Sifford Golf Course at Revolution Park, a family-friendly track in Charlotte, N.C. “The time flew by,” he said. “In less than two hours, we’d received our money’s worth and used up all our balls.”

Chiming in, his girls asked, “Can we come again and can we get our own clubs?” Two potential new golfers born from a nine-hold round is a beautiful thing!

To learn more about how you can find a nine-hole round in your area, visit GolfNow’s Play Nine web site.