Went out and not a sole on the course. I did the same thing today and had the whole of the front nine to myself. Got met by a guy starting at the 10th so we hooked up for the back nine.
I often play on my own when I get days off as most of my golf buddies are working and the vets greedy is impossible to join unless you have 20 character references or are over 125
Whenever play on my own there is never an issue about me doing so. Indeed looking over the front nine as I meandered my way round the last few holes there seemed to be several singletons out there. In most cases most of our membership will elt you through without too many problems or invite you to join them.
If I do catch a group up and it is obvious I am at the tail end of several groups I try and play slower and where possible (if I have no-one behind) I'll practice my putting on each green to give the group in front a chance to play on.
It is sad that many clubs still see single players as some sort of golfing lurgy and think they cause more problems than they do. There is nothing finer than playing a course on your own either first thing in the morning or late at night. I love being the first to leave a putting trail on a green in the morning or to see the rabbits come out in the evening sun.
I think a lot of being able to get away with single play is being able to judge the traffic on the course. If you kow one nine is particularly busy try and start on the other side. Similarly if it is peak time or there is a society/comp going out then playing alone doesn't make sense. A trip to the practice ground to give the course time to clear a little always seems to work for me
