Find golfers to play with

How to find golf partners, groups, and crews near you

The hardest part of golf isn't the swing

It's finding three other people who are free on Saturday morning.

Every golfer knows the routine. You text your usual group. Two can't make it. You widen the circle — the guy from the company scramble, your neighbor who plays sometimes, a friend-of-a-friend. Still need one more. You end up either playing as a twosome, getting paired with strangers by the pro shop, or just not going.

The National Golf Foundation estimates that more than 25 million Americans played golf in 2025, but the average golfer plays fewer rounds than they want to. The number one reason isn't cost or time — it's not having someone to play with.

This is the problem bagboy solves. Not by matching you with strangers, but by giving you a crew — a group of golfers who actually play together, post games, and show up.

Open games: post a round, fill your group

An open game in bagboy works exactly like it sounds. You're heading to your home course on Thursday afternoon and need one or two more players. You create the round, set it as open, pick the course and tee time, and it's visible to nearby golfers on bagboy.

Here's what makes open games different from random pairings:

• You control who joins. When someone requests to join your open game, you see their profile — handicap, scoring average, home course, crew affiliations, rounds played. You accept or pass. No anonymous matchmaking.
• Games are already set. If you're posting a game with skins and a $10 Nassau, that's visible upfront. Players who join know what they're signing up for. No awkward first-tee negotiation about stakes.
• You're building relationships, not getting a one-off pairing. After you play with someone from an open game, you can add them to your crew, follow them, or just play together again. It's the start of a golf relationship, not a throwaway tee time.
• Your crew can see it first. Post a game to your crew's feed before opening it to everyone. Your regular group gets first dibs; open spots fill from the wider bagboy community.

Open games are free. There's no booking fee, no markup, and bagboy doesn't sell tee times. You book the tee time however you normally would — through the course, on a booking app, by calling the pro shop — and use bagboy to fill the group and run the games.

Crews: your permanent golf group

A crew is bagboy's version of a golf group, except it's not just a group chat that dies after three weeks. A crew has structure: members, a feed, a leaderboard, seasons, records, and games.

Here's what a crew looks like:

Create your own crew

If you already have a regular group — the Thursday afternoon guys, your college buddies who play whenever you're in the same city, the work league — create a crew and invite them. Everyone's games, scores, and results live in one place. You can see who has the best scoring average, who's won the most skins, who's on a hot streak.

Join an existing crew

bagboy has crews for every kind of golfer:

• City crews. Phoenix golf, Austin golf, Denver golf — find golfers in your metro area who are looking for games.
• Course crews. Some courses and clubs have crews on bagboy. Join to find members looking for a game at your home course.
• College crews. D1, D2, D3 golf — alumni and current players connecting over rounds. The rivalries carry over from match season to weekend golf.
• Interest crews. High-handicappers learning together. Scratch players who want competitive games. Couples golf. Early-morning-only players. Whatever your niche, there's probably a crew for it.

What crews give you

• A feed. See your crew's rounds, results, highlights, and trash talk in one place.
• Leaderboards. Scoring averages, season records, head-to-head rivalries. Crews make every round count toward something.
• Seasons. Run structured seasons within your crew — point standings, playoffs, a season champion. Turns casual golf into something you care about.
• Rivalries. bagboy tracks head-to-head records between crew members. You'll know exactly how you stack up against every player in your crew, across every game you've played.
• Tournaments. Organize a crew tournament — two days, match play bracket, stroke play qualifier. bagboy handles the format, the leaderboard, and the results.
• Group chat. Coordinate tee times, talk trash, plan the next round. No separate group text needed.

How to find golfers near you with bagboy

1. Download bagboy. It's free on the App Store. Create your profile: name, handicap, home course.
2. Browse open games. See rounds being posted at courses near you. Filter by date, course, or game type. Found one that fits? Request to join.
3. Join a crew. Search for crews in your area, at your home course, or for your college. Join one (or several). You'll immediately see the crew's upcoming games and can jump in.
4. Post your own open game. Heading out and need players? Create a round, mark it open, and nearby bagboy users can find it.
5. Play together. After the round, add people to your crew, follow them, or challenge them to a rematch. Your golf network grows with every round.

Why bagboy is better than the alternatives

vs. Facebook golf groups

Facebook groups for golf are full of people posting "anyone playing this weekend?" into the void. There's no structure, no scoring, no way to vet who's responding, and the posts get buried in an hour. bagboy's open games are purpose-built: you see the course, the time, the games, and the profiles of people who want to join. After the round, scores and results live on — it's not just a post that disappears.

vs. GolfNow and tee time apps

Tee time apps are great for booking. They are not great for finding playing partners. Some offer a "join a group" feature, but it's random pairing with strangers who may or may not want to play games, talk, or move at your pace. bagboy isn't a tee time app — it's a crew app. You build a group of people you actually want to play with, and use whatever booking method works for you.

vs. random pro shop pairings

Walking up as a single and getting paired by the starter is fine. You might meet a great playing partner, or you might spend four hours with someone who takes eight practice swings and doesn't talk. With bagboy, you're joining a game where you already know the format, the pace, and the vibe. No surprises on the first tee.

vs. asking around at work or the gym

This works until it doesn't. You exhaust your immediate circle fast. bagboy expands your network to every golfer in your area who's on the app. And because crews have leaderboards, seasons, and rivalries, the people you find actually stick around — they're not just filling a slot once.

Getting started takes two minutes

1. Download bagboy from the App Store. Free. No subscription. No trial period. Get it here.
2. Create your profile. Add your name, handicap, and home course. Upload a photo so people know who's joining their group.
3. Join a crew. Search by city, course, or school. Request to join one that fits. Most crews accept new members quickly — they want more players too.
4. Post or join an open game. See what's coming up near you, or post your own. Set the course, the time, and the games.
5. Play, score, repeat. After the round, your scores feed into the crew leaderboard. Rivalries build. Seasons unfold. Your golf life just got a lot more social.

Frequently asked questions

Is bagboy a tee time booking app?

No. bagboy doesn't book tee times or charge fees. You book through the course or any tee time service you like, then use bagboy to organize the group, run the games, and keep score.

How do I know if the people joining my game are legit?

Every bagboy user has a profile with their handicap, scoring history, crews, and rounds played. You approve every player who requests to join your open game. If someone doesn't look like a fit, you pass.

What if there aren't many bagboy users in my area yet?

Start a crew and invite the golfers you already know. As they invite their friends and post open games, your local network grows. Every crew starts with one person who decides to build it.

Can I use bagboy with my existing golf group?

That's the main use case. Create a crew, invite your group, and start playing with live scorecards, side bets, and leaderboards. You don't have to use the open-games feature to get value from bagboy.

Is bagboy free?

Yes. Free to download, free to use, no premium tier. All features, all games, all crews.

Is bagboy on Android?

Not yet. iPhone only right now. Android is coming soon.

Related