Simplicity,
I would have to say that most golf courses are 18 holes becuase that is the way that the game is truly designed to be played, but there are many 9 hole courses. I would say that there is some differences in the difficulty of them also. It is my belief that most 9 hole courses are designed for beginners over really good players, because beginners are the ones you are typically going to see on these. This doesn't have to be the case because it can vary, but from my experience on 9 hole courses they are usually easier. Although they do design many easy 18 holers, if you are looking for a real challenge, an 18 hole course would be the way to go. I would also have to say that I feel differently than NotMyStyle. 9 hole courses and 3 par courses can have some advantages. They are not usually as busy as courses that are a full 18, and sometimes you can get out there all by yourself and take advantage of practicing all varities of shots on a real course. I feel it is more valuable to be able to practice and hit a ton of balls on a real course over a range or a putting green because it puts you in a playing situation frame of mind and not practice. Unfortunately on 18 hole courses you can't do this often, because you are usually waiting for the people in front of you, or trying to move on to get out of the way for the people behind you. If you are by yourself and it is not some type of tournament or a round that you are taking really seriously, I say take advantage of being able to hit more than one ball for the practice. One thing I like to do is hit my first ball for actual score, and than hit a bunch of practice balls to keep my game sharp if I am by myself. This would not be legal in a tournament and would get you disqualified, but the more you can get out of your practice sessions the better. Personally, I would prefer to play 18 holes if I want a serious round of golf, but 9 holers can be fun to mess around on. I hope my input helped.
