An old friend of mine lives on the west side of Los Angeles, near one of the busiest courses in the area. Of course it’s nice having a course right near your house, but when it’s so busy, getting a tee time can be a headache. So, his solution was to book way in advance, and in addition book super early. Apparently, getting up at the crack of dawn was worth it to play at his favorite nearby course – and not have to sit through traffic.

If you’re looking to get a good tee time, you don’t necessarily have to be so hard core. But there are a few helpful steps you can take if you’d like to make it onto the course with a good tee time. First of all, the most obvious bit of advice: play at a less crowded course. The popularity of a course is based on a lot of factors, such as reputation and maintenance quality. If you’re willing to play at a somewhat lower quality course, you will be rewarded with an easier tee time. And you can use your round there as a way to practice for more crucial games at tougher (and possibly more crowded) courses.

Also, it helps to gravitate toward courses that let you book online. This can be done at sites like Golfzing or by looking up the individual website of the golf course. Also, it helps to be methodical. For instance, you can make one day of the week your tee time booking day, to set up times at a certain course. If you like playing on Fridays, make Monday your booking day.

Also, sometimes if you go straight to a course, you can get lucky and get put in with another group. I’ve done this a number of times, and it’s been the source of many a great slice story!