Do you have your “home” course that you go to for almost every round, or do you mix things up and try new courses when you can?
I had unintentionally fallen into the first category for my first 5 years of living in the Raleigh area. This year, I made it a point to branch out from the 2 courses that had become my routine and I’ve tried 6 new courses. Looking back, I wish I had been doing this from day one.
I played the course I live on mostly for the last three years. Probably 70% of my rounds there. I grew tired of the pace of play, though, and played this year primarily at a very nice course about 15 minutes away. I have since joined a private club about ten minutes away. I’m not a big fan of most of the public courses in town, but just outside of town within a half hour are a handful of really great courses. That’s where I played the other 25% of the time.
I don’t mind a bit of travel to mix things up. I enjoy playing different courses as often as I can. It’s just more convenient to play close to home.
I belong to a club so I play most of my rounds there. But playing exclusively at one course really understates your handicap if you try to travel and enter competitions.
In Europe I had a home course I’d use for monthly medals and stablefords and on weekends there were no comps I’d go explore.
Moving to Florida, there are so many good courses it doesn’t make sense to join one, although Southern Dunes, Haines City has become a personal fav.
A lot of this depends on geography. You’re living in probably one of the best areas for diversity of courses that are easier to get on.
For example, where i live (Long Island) - almost all the great courses are private. I probably play 60-70% of my rounds at my club. The rest are either tournaments or rounds with friends at other private clubs. I wish there was more diversity around here open to the public, but it’s just the way it is. I could see that changing over the next 10-20 years though.
When I lived on Long Island I liked playing Crab Meadow. Not many tourists, always in great shape, never had a hard time getting on.
Montauk Downs was another favorite when I lived in Hampton Bays.
That is so funny you mention Crab Meadow, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. I grew up 15 minutes down the road, and that was one of my favorite courses. I haven’t played it since high school, but I still think the back 9 is one of the prettiest settings I’ve played. I’m definitely going to get out there next year to see how it compares almost 20 years later.
I’ve only played Montauk Downs once, but it’s fantastic. There are definitely some great public options available, but when you really start to wrap your head around how many private clubs there are on Long Island, it’s absolutely nuts!
I also like playing different courses, as each … of course … presents its own unique set of challenges. I think it helps sharpen your game overall.
Another factor this 2020 season was the new popularity of getting outside on a golf course! My wife and I ended up driving 45 minutes, close to an hour, a number of times to get a tee time … courses closer got booked up one to two weeks in advance. As it turns out, we found one spot we really liked, has an 18 and a separate really good 9 hole, and we’ve been back a few times (looooong drive home after golfing, tho).
OTOH I do like going back to our nearby courses and seeing if I can improve my round performances over time…
Ha… I’m about 20ish minutes from there! Play there when I can … would be more but as I mentioned in earlier post tee times get snatched up quickly…
Jon - I have my low 9 hole score to date on the Front 9 there, coupled with one of my higher 9 hole scores on the Back 9…!!! 
Long Island has a LOT of wealth, hence the proliferation of private clubs.I lived in the Hamptons while working at one of the vineyards on the North Fork, and on the Nassau/Suffolk border (Woodbury) when I worked at the Javits.
I played two private courses as an invited guest, but had a far better time playing by myself at Crab Meadow.
GORGEOUS views!
I moved here from NJ, so I definitely agree that location plays a huge factor. I had (wrongly) assumed that most of the courses were private when I first moved here since that had been my experience up north
2020 definitely played a factor in this for me too, finding a tee time meant being willing to drive a little further sometimes!
5-6 courses in a 25 mile radius here. Also a few more private & 9 holers (that we don’t play). It’s rare for us to play the same course more than twice a month.
I belong to the closest course to my house. A 6km drive with an elevation gain of about 255m. It is the only course I have played since joining apart from the round I played in Chamonix France when I was on a holiday. Membership gives me 3 free rounds at 5 other local courses in a reciprocal agreement but I haven’t taken advantage. Mt Osmond is a challenging course with 13 holes you can go out of bounds, lots of trees and tricky greens. Also lots of sloping lies and elevation changes.
I played weekly club tourneys to get back playing. Then I got invited to a regional tour which plays across 15-20 courses, lots of variety! Only downside was the travel, but worth it IMO.
Since COVID I’m only playing my home course with regular 4some. Home course is nice, but I really miss playing other venues.
I definitely branch out a lot. Being in Vegas all of the courses are relatively close, so I like to go where the deals are. However, I spend almost everyday practicing at my home course. If I’m playing a round with friends though, I usually don’t play at my home course.
I mentioned this in the thread about joining a country club - I haven’t joined a club this year at all for this reason. I am trying to compete in state level tournaments where you have to be able to bring your game all over. Some are more for fun, no handicap limits, others are against only the best amateurs in the state. There are so many events at private clubs that you just can’t get on unless you know someone. So I play a couple of nearby courses the most often and travel to others to keep me honest. I have played most of the courses in NH at this point private or not through the NHGA. It’s hard to play new courses under the pressure of a state amateur qualifier or something similar. But since I have branched out I kind of know them now. With that being said the courses that I play the most I score the best on, it only makes sense because you know the terrain. Sometimes it feels like going through the motions though, 5 iron hole 8, if the tee is back a set hit a 4, etc. My step dad is pretty much like this, just loves to go play the same place every round for the last… god knows how many years. Maybe hit one or two semi local places also but he doesn’t like to travel to golf. That leads to location that people have mentioned. It can be an 45mins- 1 hour drive to find something else to play public
I ageee with the sentiments that private golf is better golf and it was awesome to be part of a private country club with no tee times. It just cost so much I couldn’t take my game other places much. Everyone‘s financial situation is different but that is where I stand with 4 kiddos. Not everyone is trying to compete either. Branching out and playing all the courses I can is what I call fun!
Well, when you’re a member somewhere and have paid your year’s subs, you sometimes don’t want to be shelling out more to play other courses, though I do sometimes.
The trouble with very familiar courses is that I have ‘bad’ holes (Oh, I ALWAYS slice this drive) and of course you carry on doing it once you’ve put it in your head. You have good holes too of course, but I need to find the mental trick to get over nos.6, 14 and 16 at my home course!
The SF Bay Area have a lot of good courses within an 1-1.5 hour drive or so. I try to mix it up as much as possible but it takes a bit of planning to get a tee time these days. There are about 4 courses that are my “go to” and tend to play more there because I know when they release new tee times.
I personally think there is a balance between knowing a course well and trying to tame it from day to day versus playing a lot of new courses and keeping it fresh and new.
Branch out as much as you can. Can really test your game and you can tell quickly which players are just comfortable and can play their course versus those players that at good players and can play anywhere. Some players crap the bed on any other course than their comfort zone.