How Long Does 9 Holes of Golf Take?

This question definitely falls under the “well, it depends…” category.

There are a ton of factors involved to give you the best idea of how long does 9 holes of golf take.

But fear not, because we rundown the most common scenarios to give you the best answer.

How Long Does 9 Holes of Golf Take?

How long to play 9 holes of golf largely depends on how many people are playing, and if everyone is riding or walking. A solo golfer can take a minimum of 45 minutes to play 9 holes, and a group of 4 golfers can take a maximum of 2.5 hours to play 9 holes.

Time to Play 9 Holes

So, pending how many players are in the group(or if you are solo) will ultimately determine how long it will take you to play nine holes of golf. We’re talking a wide range of 45 minutes to two-and-a-half hours long.

If you are looking to stretch out your day and tackle a full round, see how long does 18 holes of golf take.

How long does it take to play 9 holes with 4 players?

Anywhere from 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours long. Very rarely will a large group of 4 golfers only play 9 holes of golf. Simply because the bigger the group the more planning was involved for everyone to make it out to the course.

This usually means playing on the weekend when golf courses are the most crowded with a ton of other large groups playing 18 holes as well.

How long does it take to play 9 holes with 3 players?

Anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours long. Playing 9 holes of golf as a threesome is way more likely to occur than playing as a foursome. Personally, I can’t really recall ever playing 9 holes as a foursome.

But playing as a threesome is fairly common on a weekday since most the population isn’t able to play golf on weekdays, and sometimes the pro shop will prefer to pair up 3 players in the event they all show up to the course right after work.

How long does it take to play 9 holes with 2 players?

Anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours long. As you can see, playing 9 holes of golf as a twosome doesn’t really take long at all. Especially if both golfers are in separate carts. Rarely will a twosome only play 9 holes on the weekends. This happens mostly on weekdays.

How long does it take to play 9 holes solo?

Anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour long. Playing solo means you can absolutely fly around the course as long as there’s not a group holding you up.

In a perfect world any group slowing you down would kindly let you play through, but sadly I still see groups of golfers not understanding the pace-of-play concept and not letting faster golfers move on ahead.

Tip: My favorite way to play 9 holes solo is to hit range balls for about 20-30 minutes before teeing off. Especially if you’re only playing 9 holes because you don’t have time to actually play 18 holes, but by hitting range balls you can still [most importantly] warm up while getting in those extra swing reps.

So far I’ve only been speaking on the basis of playing IN A CART. 

However, many golfers prefer to walk when they play golf(myself included).

Let’s go over exactly how playing golf with, and without, a cart affects how long it will take to finish.

What is a Good Golf Score for 9 Holes?

Finding what is considered “good” can vary depending on things like course difficulty(course rating/course slope), and also weather conditions.

But, if we just boil it down to an average golf course with standard conditions, we can safely average out what is a good golf score for 9 holes with the following handicap ranges…

Handicap	Avg. Score
Handicap0-5	Avg. Score38.75
Handicap6-10	Avg. Score41.5
Handicap11-15	Avg. Score44
Handicap16-20	Avg. Score46.5

So, use this table as a jumping off point if you’d like.

Go ahead and find your handicap and start making those practice 9 holes worth while.

How Long to Play 9 holes of Golf with Cart (With Advanced Practice)

Assuming you’re solo here, I average about 3-4 minutes a hole and if you’re able to play the full nine holes uninterrupted then you can easily play in 30 minutes or so. 

However, if no one is behind you I highly recommend hitting 2 balls on every shot just to squeeze in more reps.

Want to make things more challenging? Play from the worst of the 2 shots to spice up that practice even more, because what may happen is lets say you hit a perfect drive down the middle and think to yourself there’s no way you can repeat that same swing and you subsequently put one of your worst swings ever on the second ball.

Well, if you do decide to play your approach shot at the location of your worst tee shot then this will put a greater emphasis on repeating that awesome swing you served up on your first tee shot.

Same concept here goes for approach shots. What better way to work on hitting more greens than to lock in and try and do it TWICE on the same hole? 

For putting, I’d say go ahead and can this method if you drain the first putt. Take that one. You’ve earned it.

How Long to Play 9 holes of Golf Walking

Now for my favorite way to play golf—WALKING.

For shorter golf courses, you could play in as quick as 1 hour or so. For longer courses, I’d say it would take anywhere from 1.5 hours to 2 hours long.

Here I would not recommend the more advanced practice method mentioned above and hit multiple shots every time (unless you just really want to burn a ton of calories).

Go ahead and save the extra reps around the greens when it’s easier to chase down that second ball before you whip out the putter.

Are You Playing on a Weekday?

If you are playing golf on a weekday, then those dreamy 30-60 minute 9 holes is always in play, but what if you are attempting the unthinkable and playing on the weekend?

I would never recommend this personally because it’s almost guaranteed you will be waiting to hit every single shot, and if no groups let you play through then you’re going to have a lot of free time on your hands.

Are You Playing on a Weekend?

But let’s say you are going to brave the elements and play 9 holes on the weekend. Timing here is key.

Do not try and do this in the morning. Weekend mornings is by far the busiest time of the week for golf courses. 

Plus, every golf course offers twilight rates when it gets well into the afternoon. So, by waiting to play 9 holes later in the day you get the benefit of both a less crowded golf course and the potentially cheaper green fee.

Are You Married?

Every single married golfer in the history of playing golf has been asked this one question…

“Hey babe how long do you think it will take you to play golf today?”

Always…always give yourself some leeway here. Never ever ever give the best possible outcome and say “well, since I’m only playing 9 holes it should only take me 30-45 minutes.”

This is a HUGE MISTAKE!

You don’t really know if you will end up playing behind a group that refuses you exist in this world. So, by this alone it could potentially take you 1-2 hours to just play 9 holes.

Rule of thumb: Go ahead and say around 2 hours or so. This way if you show back up at home in under 2 hours you look like a hero. Cheers.

What’s Your Skill Level?

I haven’t talked much about skill level, and how this can play a pretty big role in how quickly you can play 9 holes of golf.

It goes without saying that golfers with higher skill levels hit less shots…duh. But it’s not always due to the fact of playing one ball each hole.

You’ll find golfers with high handicaps, at times, will hit a poor shot and immediately drop another ball from his/her pocket and rip another shot at the green (or hopefully somewhere nearby).

You can see how this affects total playing time, but as I mentioned earlier…if you basically have the course to yourself I’m all for playing multiple shots every time.

I believe this is a great way to get those extra golf swings in, and more importantly forget about keeping a score.

Many amateurs get too caught up in keeping their score that it hinders how they actually think about HOW THEY SCORE instead of WHAT THEY SCORE.

Can You Lose Weight by Playing Golf?

Is there a better way to burn calories than to play golf? Survey says….no.

Huge caveat here. You must walk the course to burn all those glorious golfer calories, but walking the course (assuming you have a push cart) makes most people play better anyway.

According to Daily Calories Calculator, a 165lb golfer can burn approximately 208 calories every thirty minutes of walking the golf course.

So, multiply that by 3 and we’re easily burning over 600 calories if it’s taking 1.5 hours to walk 9 holes.

I live in Louisiana, and walking 18 holes of golf in the summer is a damn workout.

Knowledge is Power

Now that we are well equipped with all the knowledge if knowing how long it takes to play 9 holes of golf with 1, 2, 3, and 4 players, let’s get out to the course and and work on our games.

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