Friend: “Hey man, did you play golf on your honeymoon?”
Me: “Well, I didn’t go on a honeymoon. But if I did, I would have. Why do you ask?”
Friend: “I am going to Napa Valley in June after the wedding, and I want to try and play golf.”
Me: “Hell yeah you should try to play?”
Friend: “I just haven’t talked to her about it yet. Don’t know how she’d react.”
This was the exchange between my friend and I recently in regards to him playing golf on his honeymoon. A lot of people know how much of a golf nut I am and lots of my buddies come to me for golf advice. In all honesty, if you don’t want to talk about golf, I likely won’t be engaged for very long. Either way, my friend here is pondering how to approach this topic with his wife-to-be.
When it comes to golf advice, I always take the “Golf Now, Explain Later” methodology. What this means is you simply cannot pass on an opportunity to play golf, no matter the when, what, where and why. My motto is just play golf now and do your best to explain it later.
So back to my friend. He’s going to Napa Valley, CA for his honeymoon and will spend a few days driving up and down the California coast. This happens to be home to some of the most beautiful scenery and best golf courses in the United States. Now I do need let everyone know, I’ve been married for almost five years now and I have the best wife ever. She knew what she was marrying and has no problem with me playing golf when I want, to an extent… Also, in full transparency, the wife and I didn’t take a honeymoon when we got married. But if we did, there’s no doubt in my mind I would have played golf. I would have also followed these same rules outlined below and this would have been my exact roadmap during the honeymoon golf.
6 Rules to Play Golf on Your Honeymoon
1.) MAKE NICE DINNER RESERVATIONS AFTER THE ROUND
You’re probably going to be eating out every night of your honeymoon, right? If that’s the case, you’ll definitely need to make this dinner stand out. Talk with the concierge at the hotel and ask them what it takes to get reservations at the nicest restaurant in town. I guarantee they know and you spend whatever it takes to get that concierge to get you reservations. Play golf in the morning and then turn all your attention to your new wife at the best restaurant in town. This brings me to my next two tips.
2.) DON’T BE LATE
Plan enough time between golf and dinner so you won’t be late. It’s always good to have a buffer because we all know what can go wrong on the golf course. Maybe you stick around for some cold ones at the 19th hole. Or maybe you have five slow groups in front of you and your round of golf takes 5 hours to play. It’s a bad idea to schedule dinner at 6:30 PM and your tee time at 1:00 PM. There’s a possibility you could be late to those dinner reservations
3.) DON’T GET DRUNK WHILE PLAYING
Look, I like to have a few brewskis on the golf course. It’s not like I get totally wasted and shotgun a beer a hole, but I’ll have several throughout the day. Being on your honeymoon though might give you a more relaxed sense, which could allow you to let your guard down. It’s a bad idea to get drunk on the golf course while your wife is back at the hotel room waiting for you. You don’t want to be slurring your words and stumbling around at the nicest restaurant in town. You want all your attention to be on your wife, and you need to be in a sober state for that.
4.) SCHEDULE A DAY OF PAMPERING FOR YOUR NEW WIFE
You can do this two ways. First, you can schedule a day of pampering for your wife while you play golf. Go above and beyond for her. Full body massage, mud bath, manicure, pedicure, etc. Make it as long as possible so while you are out playing golf she is occupied. The second option is to schedule a separate day of pampering and join her. Yep, that means you get yourself a full body massage, get your toes done and just spend the day with her doing that. I guarantee that will make her happy.
5.) INVITE YOUR BRIDE TO COME ALONG
This tip should probably be closer to the top. It’s really a no-brainer. Even if your wife has never seen you play during your other 50 rounds a year, ask he if she’d like to ride along. Tell her she’ll be able to get some sun, enjoy the scenery and maybe she can even have a few drinks with you on the golf course. This is yours and her honeymoon, so if you are going to play golf, might as well invite her to spend that time with you.
6.) LIMIT YOUR GOLF TO 1-2 ROUNDS
My friend is going to be on his honeymoon for 6 nights. The average honeymoon probably lasts 5-7 days if I had to guess. Use your brain when it comes to the number of rounds you’ll play. I told my buddy to limit to 1-2 rounds, likely only 1. The last thing you want to do is spend 6 days on your honeymoon and push your luck in playing golf everyday, although that would be sweet.
Don’t Blame Me if Playing Golf on Your Honeymoon Doesn’t Work Out
The best overall scenario for any of us golf nuts is to have a husband or wife who likes to play golf as much as we do. If this is the case, you might be able to get away with more than 1-2 rounds of golf and you surely won’t have to tread lightly when approaching this subject prior to the honeymoon.
But here’s the deal. I’ve laid it all out for you above. I strongly believe if you follow these six rules you should have no problem playing golf on your honeymoon. You’ll come back from vacation still married and have a tremendous life together. If it doesn’t work out and you have a misstep somewhere, don’t blame me if you start your marriage off on the wrong foot. Frankly, if your significant other doesn’t already know the extent of your love for the game of golf, well then your days of playing the other 51 weekends of the year won’t be fun. They should already know you’re a golf nut in ever sense of the phrase. And yes, they love you for who you are, which means you should get to play golf on your honeymoon.
Do you have anything else to help newly weds play more golf on their honeymoon? Let them know in the comments below or hit us up on Twitter, @Front9Back9.
Davis says
Great tips for someone like me who is always suggesting a holiday spot that features golf course.
This will definitely help in me being more considerate of the wife’s wishes 🙂