The
pandemic was disastrous for sport, golf included—there’s no doubt about that.

Courses
were closed, social mixing banned, and professional tournaments postponed left,
right and centre. However, now that all of this is behind us for good (touch
wood), the uptake in 9 hole golf is arguably one of the industry’s most notable
trends—and it’s growing quickly.

For many people, life is a lot different now to how it was pre-Covid. Be it daily routines, how and where we work, or the time we spend with family—our priorities have changed. This means golf has also changed, and we golfers have had to adapt in order to keep on playing the game we love.

The benefits of 9 hole golf

There are many benefits to 9 hole golf, some of which you may not have necessarily considered before now. Well, that’s why you’re here, right?

Time

This is an
obvious one. Playing a 9 hole round is much quicker than a full 18, and that’s
arguably why it’s become so popular so quickly.

The time
factor is one of the biggest benefits of playing 9 hole golf. With flexible,
remote working now the norm for lots of us, a 9 hole round can be easily squeezed
into a lunch break or before the work day even starts if you’re lucky enough to
live near a course.

A full 18
is serious business and can take five hours plus to complete, even on a good
day, once you’ve also factored in all the walking between holes. The sad reality
is that most of us probably don’t have this much time spare each day.

Instead, however, a shorter round gives you your precious time back, making golf a much more feasible day-to-day option rather than just at the weekend or on special occasions.

Money

Playing 9
holes works out much cheaper than a full 18.

For a start, having new and expensive clubs and other equipment is less important on shorter rounds, especially if you’re using them for practice. Second-hand clubs will do the job here.

Also, some clubs
won’t require you to be a fully paid member to play 9 holes, and there are many
pay-as-you-play options out there. As we all know, yearly membership fees can
be expensive, but it’s important to remember they aren’t always necessary.

Related: 15 ways to play golf on the cheap

Game improvements

Golfers
tend to be less bothered by their score when playing 9 holes instead of 18, which
makes it a perfect opportunity to practice and work on your weak points.

For
example, let’s say you’ve been trying to perfect a tricky lob shot for a while but
feel too pressured to give it a go in a full 18 setting when you’re up against
it. A shorter, more relaxed round is the ideal time to bring it out.

Many golfers use a 9 hole game merely as practice, especially if squeezed into a lunchtime or even a quick after-work round—so it’s perfect for experimenting. Put in the hours on the 9 hole course, and you’ll reap the rewards the next time you play a full 18—trust us.

Beginners

A full 18
can be pretty intimidating if you’re new to golf and just starting out. If you
haven’t quite caught ‘the bug’ yet either (you’ll know when you have), you
might find you get bored after a while, too. However, shorter rounds are a
great way to ease yourself in and stay motivated.

After all, 18
holes can be a struggle if you’re a novice.

On the
other hand, 9 holes are great if you’re an experienced golfer looking to get
your family more involved. Young children, for example, are far more likely to
stay engaged for longer when not being dragged around a larger course.

Put it this way—you’ll probably have better luck pitching golf to the kids as a one to two-hour activity as opposed to five or six!

Scoring

We touched
on this a little earlier on, but your score is less of a focus in 9 hole golf. While
this is indeed true, playing 9 holes can still be highly satisfying for those
who like to score well regardless.

With fewer
shots and holes, the greater the opportunity to accumulate a competitive score.
The average score for a typical adult playing 9 holes is around 45—or bogey
golf. But, of course, scores depend on various factors, such as weather
conditions and the difficulty of the course.

However,
decent amateur-level golfers can expect to record scores in the 30s if they’re
playing 9 hole rounds regularly, so it can be a good confidence booster.

Related: What is a good golf score for 9 holes?

Less pressure

It’s easy
to feel the ‘heat’ on a full 18, especially if you’re playing in a competition,
but much of this stress is eased on a 9 hole round.

Not having to constantly overthink your score on every hole allows you to feel cool, calm and collected out on the course.

How long do 9 holes of golf take?

The time it
takes to complete a round of golf ultimately depends on you and your game. Some
golfers like to take things slow and steady, while others will race around the
course lightning quick.

You’ll know
which one of those categories you fall into yourself. However, those already
acquainted with 9 hole golf say completing a round in less than two hours is
more than doable.

Related: How long should it take to play a 9-hole round of golf?

9 hole golf courses

In a world where
a full 18 is often the norm, a 9 hole round might seem hard to find, but that’s
not the case. Many full-service golf clubs and ranges now offer the option to
play shorter rounds—and the choice will only grow as the trend continues.

It’s arguably never been easier to get into 9 hole golf. Check out our interactive map of some of the UK’s best 9 hole golf courses and find your nearest one.

Specialist golf insurance with Golf Care

Although you might associate shorter rounds with less risk, accidents can, of course, still occur if you’re only playing 9 holes instead of a full 18. So, regardless of the golf you play, you may want to consider protecting yourself with specialist golf insurance.

With Golf Care, policies include Equipment cover up to £7,500, Public Liability of up to £10m and more. What’s more—thanks to the ‘Ripe Guarantee’, you won’t find the same level of cover for a better price elsewhere either.

Click on the banner below to learn more about specialist golf insurance and get a quote today.

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One of the loneliest spots on the course at Augusta National is about to get even lonelier as a big change is coming to the 2023 Masters. The governing bodies in golf have not yet decided to roll the ball back or change equipment regulations, so Augusta National took matters into its own hands with its course and lengthened the iconic 13th hole.

This move had been rumored for years, of course, and talk only heated up after Augusta National purchased land from the adjacent Augusta Country Club that would allow it to push its tee box back up.

The 510-yard hole has come under much scrutiny over the last decade as several golfers have attempted — successfully, in most cases — to turn it into a drive-and-pitch play off the tee. Historically, the 13th has been one of the great risk-reward holes in the sport, offering golfers who were willing to take on the creek running in front of the green a look at eagle but wreaking havoc for those whose approach shots came up short. That dramatic risk-reward option, with the first major of the year on the line, hasn’t really presented itself many years.

In April, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley was asked about whether one of the most famous holes in golf would ever change.

“There’s no timetable,” said Ridley. “Nothing to announce at this time. That’s something that certainly we have considered and will continue to consider. Admittedly, and I’ve said this before, the 13th hole does not have the same challenges that it has historically. I can just remember as a young guy watching the Masters, you know, some of the triumphs and tragedies. And while we still have those, the fact that players are hitting middle to short irons into that hole is not really how it was designed.

“My reluctance to date has been that it’s such an iconic hole,” Ridley added. Probably along with 11 — or 12 rather, and maybe 15. I mean, probably the three holes where the most history has been made at Augusta National.  
So that probably, you know, has been sort of a counter to doing anything. At some point in time, it’s something that we likely will do. We just don’t have anything to say about it right now. ”

Things have changed since April, apparently, as satellite photos show that the tee box has been moved and trees have been planted in surrounding areas. This will, in most cases, make it difficult for most of next year’s Masters competitors to put themselves in a position off the tee where reaching the green with a wedge or short iron is simple and straightforward.

The unfortunate part about all of this is that it could be avoided by regulating equipment. Perhaps that doesn’t pose a challenge to Augusta National given its resourcefulness and position in the game, but not every club or course can spend millions for an extra 40-60 yards of distance on every hole.

“We won’t know [if equipment changes are coming] for some time because there’s sort of a process that sort of everyone has agreed to as to how any equipment changes such as this are going to take place,” said Ridley in April.

“So we really can’t make any predictions as to what’s going to happen, but I think if there are some marginal modifications to the equipment rules, from what I have observed over the past few years with the players and their athleticism, their strength, their size, the efficiency of their golf swings, I don’t think that we are going to see courses being shortened. 


“So perhaps the two sort of factors might converge, but I don’t think that what the governing bodies do is going to have a direct impact on what we might do at 13 or any other hole on the golf course.”

That’s an interesting admission from somebody in the know. He’s essentially saying that even if the ball is rolled back or driver neutralized, the effects probably will not be so great that moving the tee back on No. 13 — which ANGC has now done — wouldn’t be necessary.

As for the move itself, it’s going to be one of the big stories at the 2023 Masters. Just as No. 15 was lengthened ahead of the 2022 Masters (a move that led to no eagles being made for the first time since 1966), this change to No. 13 will affect the outcome of the golf tournament. While 50 or so yards (it’s tough to tell in the photo above) is not a massive shift, perhaps the bigger problem for players will be that they are not as able to cut the corner up the left side because some of the overhanging trees block that ball flight.

Some players like Tony Finau, Bubba Watson, Cam Young and Rory McIlroy may still attempt a line way out to the left, but the hole is certainly going to engender a wide array of strategies than it has in the past. More and different strategy is what you want when you’re watching and experiencing championship golf. While the path to get to this point (lack of equipment regulation) has been frustrating, this is ultimately a good decision and should be a net positive both for ANGC as well as the Masters.

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For the first time in more than a year, Brooks Koepka is victorious. Capturing the 2022 LIV Golf in Jeddah event on Sunday, Koepka finished at 12 under and needed three playoff holes to overtake his teammate and 36-hole leader Peter Uihlein at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. Playing alongside each other on the final day, up-and-down rounds were experienced by the two members of Smash GC.

Beginning the day one stroke off Uihlein’s pace, Koepka quickly went in front as his playing competitor carded a double bogey and bogey in his first three holes. The four-time major champion remained steady on his outward half, and ultimately turned in 1 under before adding another birdie on No. 10 to command a two-stroke lead over Uihlein, Sergio Garcia and a large cast of pursuers.

Only then did Koepka begin to experience some troubles of his own. Making three consecutive bogeys from Nos. 11-13, the 33-year-old’s name plummeted down the leaderboard. An unlikely birdie from the desert on the par-4 15th put Koepka back on the straight and narrow before he added another birdie on the 54th hole alongside Uilhein to knock Garcia and Joaquin Niemann out of contention at 11 under.

The two traded birdies on the first two extra holes, but disaster struck for Uihlein on the third playoff hole when he hit his third shot from the greenside bunker into the water. Leaving the door open for Koepka, the Smash GC captain marched on through and secured his first win on LIV Golf with yet another birdie.

“The last two years, they haven’t been fun. It’s been a long road, I am super excited,” said Koepka. “My whole team, we got the band back together, literally. We got Claude [Harmon] on the team, Peter [Cowen] — I’ve worked with Pete very, very hard — and Jeff [Pierce] as well, so shoutout to them, this is for them.

“I didn’t know if my career was over for a half second. I told Claude that I wasn’t sure if I was going to play. It’s nice to be able to come back and to be able to win.”

Koepka not only triumphed individually but also led his team to its first victory. While Brooks was the star of the show, it was younger brother Chase who provided the steady hand as his scores were used in each of the three rounds. With the victory, Smash GC moved up to fifth in the team standings — narrowly missing out on a bye in the first round of the Team Championship — and will be the first to pick their quarterfinal opponent for the LIV Golf finale in two weeks.

Team leaderboard

ZOZO Championship + LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah Recap, Reaction & Analysis | PGA Tour Podcast. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

What is next for LIV Golf?

The Team Championship is set to take place Oct. 28-30 at Trump National Doral in Miami. The 4 Aces, Crushers, Fireballs and Stingers have all secured a bye on the first day of competition while the teams ranked 5-12 will partake in the quarterfinals. 

Koepka’s Smash GC is the fifth seed, and as such will have the first opportunity to select the opponent it wishes to face. This selection process will continue for the Majesticks, Torque GC and the Hy Flyers. Teams will compete in three matches — two singles and one alternate shot — on the first two days of the championship before taking to stroke play where all four members’ scores will count.

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