Say you are playing solo, and it's twilight or early morning. You are on a typical suburban course, which is to say, there are adjacent holes. You tee off into the low sun, and never see the ball.

Should you yell 'Fore!'?

Interesting post. I guess there are times when you have no idea where the ball is heading, and in that case I yell fore. If I know that A) noone is on the course around me due to the routing etc or B) there is no way it is out of my fairway (based on feel etc) then I dont

However, I havent played many rounds by myself recently so id be interested to see some other responses

If there is any chance your ball may be headed for someone, you need to yell FORE at the top of your lungs. No one gets pissed if you yell fore and the ball misses them by a mile. However, if you don't yell and it lands near them....

When in doubt, belt it out!

I agree with that, in theory. But as Yogi says, there is a difference between practice and theory ( at least in practice ).

In this situation, almost everyone playing this hole for a few hours would be yelling. At what point does that become desensitizing, and counter-productive?

I think, in this situation, if I'm reasonably sure I hit it straight-enough to be on my hole, I'm not yelling. As it happens, the particular spot which inspired this post has 2 tees, and 1 green all just off the right side of the hole. There is no protection except a couple hedges and bushes, which only serve to conceal them from the tee I was on. It would be substantially annoying to be playing from either of those tees or that green, and have people constantly yelling fore.

( For the record, I didn't hit anyone, or come close. No one on the other holes noticed the ball near the hedge, as far as I could tell. )

Yep, always!

of course you yell!!

Better to have yelled for naught, then never to have yelled at all.