I Played A 12-Hole Course For The First Time... Is It The Future For Golf?

I remember reading Golf Monthly editor Neil Tappin's article last year on one huge change he'd make to improve the game, and it related heavily to the introduction of more 12-hole golf courses and consequently rounds.

He talked about how it could well be the future of the game as not only would 12 holes take less time than its longer counterpart, but it would also save natural resources and ultimately take some strain off the planet - and that's certainly a message I'd endorse.

At the time, I thought: 'I wonder what it would be like to play a 12-hole course?' but seeing as there weren't any bespoke courses consisting of a dozen greens etc around near me, I didn't ponder any more than that.

Then, as luck would have it, a golf club on the edge of my home town declared it would be expanding from a nine-hole to a 12-hole course in time for summer 2026, giving me the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about.

In the meantime, other colleagues - such as Genelle Aldred - had shared their experience of playing 66% of a full round and I'd also heard about the Mad Swans franchise, which is leaning into a slightly shorter round of golf alongside other sporting activities to create a cracking weekend away for the more active among us.

Most people had spoken very positively of their 12-hole experience, but I really wanted to see it for myself. Finally, on Father's Day, I took up the chance alongside my dad.

On a very warm day in England and with tee times in shorter supply than sun cream, I managed to squeeze us on just before midday.

Ahead of my first shot, I pulled up the England Golf app and submitted my intention to provide a score for my WHS. The app said a 12-hole version was possible, so I clicked save and went from there.

However, once we'd reached the 12th (and final) hole on the course, it wasn't possible to submit a score and I was forced to tap 'did not attempt' on the remaining six holes.

I was ten over par at that stage and pretty pleased, despite having chained six pars together from the second. Yet, because I'd 'not attempted' so many holes, the app says I've scored * rather than a number.

I'm not highlighting this to have a dig at iGolf or the club itself, I only mentioned it to highlight whether golf is really ready for 12 holes if a basic problem like this is happening?

Another issue I found with the whole experience - and it should be reiterated it was very warm and the course was rammed - was that it took us three hours to complete 12 holes. That's clearly far too slow and not far off what it can take to do the full set.

Playing a shorter round should obviously take less time, that's one of the key positives its supporters promote. Yet if 12 holes is taking that long when a course is busy, you might as well stay out for the full 18, right?

As you can probably tell by now, I'm not on board with the 12-hole round at this stage and it will take a good deal of convincing for me to come around. The final issue I discovered is that I came off the course having no real sense of how well I'd scored.

I knew I'd played quite well until the clubhouse was near and the thought of a nice cold pint took my head elsewhere, but as for my score - is 58 good? What's par at this stage? What should a 16-handicapper like myself be on through 12 holes? I have absolutely no idea.

My 12-hole debut left a lot to be desired, it must be said. I can certainly appreciate the potential positives of the format and respect it will work for a lot of other people, yet I just couldn't see that it will work for me.

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time playing golf with my dad, but I'm not sure 12 holes is the future of golf.