All Day Comps but Tee Bookings only to 11:30am

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Quite a few of our comps are all day - so you can enter and tee of any time during the day. For most of these comps the tee is only reserved until 11:30am. We have on-line booking so if I want to play in the morning I can see where there gaps and can just stick my name down - and I'm in.

But often I cannot play in the morning and can only tee off after say 1:30pm. We have a group of 16 or so who meet up midday (their normal time) and will sort themselves out; enter comp, and off they go. Most who can't play in the morning will turn up and join that group. SO when I trundle up at 1pm there is usually no-one about looking to play in the comp.

All my normal golfing buddies will have headed off earlier as they prefer to play mornings - so I usually don't have anyone to call to see if they want to play (Billy few-mates me).

I'd like our on-line tee booking system extended to say 5pm on these days. Though the tee can't be formally bookable after 11:30am (current club rules) I or anyone else in my situation could just stick my name in at say 1:30pm and that would be visible to anyone else looking for an afternoon tee off. But there are issues around the club doing this (to do with the fact that it would look like I was actually booking the 1:30pm slot and no way to indicate my flexibility in respect of tee off time).

Obviously I can ask the shop to note that I want to play and to contact me if anyone rolls up or calls in - OK for one or two singletons but not a generally workable solution.

How does your club handle singletons wanting to play in a comp outside of normal booked tee off times?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Comps are normally booked until 2:30 and then anyone playing after that arranges with other to turn up

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Comps are normally booked until 2:30 and then anyone playing after that arranges with other to turn up

That would obviosuly suit me fine - but for whatever reason we're stuck to 11:30am - probably members not wanting tee booking over a period midday to 2pm when they might want to roll-up and and not wanting to find folk booked in *their* timeslots. But good to know that some clubs DO have tee booking to cover early afternoon starters.

 

[CheltenhamHacker]

I agree that this is one of the issues without tee booking, and what makes it harder sometimes for new people to join clubs. If they can only play in the afternoon, it can be harder to meet people

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I agree that this is one of the issues without tee booking, and what makes it harder sometimes for new people to join clubs. If they can only play in the afternoon, it can be harder to meet people

Indeed - my place can actually be very quiet weekend afternoons.

 

[pbrown7582]

Indeed - my place can actually be very quiet weekend afternoons.

which will be why there is no requirement for tee bookings in the afternoon.

this was one of the things I considered when joining my latest club tee booking on line from 7am throught to 3.75 from sunset on comp days.

there is also an arrange a game set up on the website where you post when your looking for a knock, quite handy for new members needed cards signed.

 

[Foxholer]

Seems to be just one of those situations where the club has catered for as much as it can, but the 'special' situation you find yourself in makes it a bit awkward.

Wouldn't really make any difference if club expended time for comp either, as if there are no takers at your time, there are no takers!

Remember though that you being in the comp doesn't require your marker to be in the comp, so as long as they are going to complete the round, any suitable member will do.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Indeed - my place can actually be very quiet weekend afternoons.

If very quiet then there is not a need for booking surely ?

 

[patricks148]

if its just Puller medal you can play with who you like but the club does have two 1hour slots for guys with no pre arranged partners one at 9am the other at 1PM.

for all the drawn comps you just select what your preferred tee time is and you get drawn with others who also want to play at that sort of time.

 

[CheltenhamHacker]

If very quiet then there is not a need for booking surely ?

You're ignoring the main reason why he wants booking. It isn't so that it controls who wants to go out, but so you know when others are, and can join them if needed. At an old club I was around for about 2 hours before someone else came who I could go for a round with!

 

[Foxholer]

if its just Puller medal you can play with who you like but the club does have two 1hour slots for guys with no pre arranged partners one at 9am the other at 1PM.

for all the drown comps you just select what your preferred tee time is and you get drown with others who also want to play at that sort of time.

Gets a bit wet (as well as windy) up there then!

The joys of predictive text!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

You're ignoring the main reason why he wants booking. It isn't so that it controls who wants to go out, but so you know when others are, and can join them if needed. At an old club I was around for about 2 hours before someone else came who I could go for a round with!

That's it exactly.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Its a tricky one. Can you not put a note in the locker room looking for like minded players at the time you want and get some regular partners. It would be ideal if the club could understand the issue the OP has extend the booking system without the need to actually close the tee

 

[Deleted member 15344]

That's it exactly.

Can social golf be played if no one has booked a time ?

Do you not have regular playing partners throughout the week ?

 

[Deleted member 18588]

Trouble is we golfers are creatures of habit.

On Saturdays, when there was no competition, 1st tee would be very busy from 8.00 am to 9.30 am (ish) and again from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm (ish) and some members moaned about how busy it was.

When it was suggested they could play outside those times the response was that nobody wanted to play at those "unusual times".

We then started having comps on approx 46 of 52 Saturdays with a BRS start sheet from 7.00 am to 3.00 pm, in summer time, and many of those who previously moaned happily book into those same "unusual times".

What's the difference?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Its a tricky one. Can you not put a note in the locker room looking for like minded players at the time you want and get some regular partners. It would be ideal if the club could understand the issue the OP has extend the booking system without the need to actually close the tee

Got a big bunch of regular partners - who all play mornings or 12-1pm. I could cast around the week before if I knew I could play in the comp the following week - but often it's a 'spur of the moment' thing if my wife hasn't planned something for the afternoon of the day of the comp. I'm then left frustrated - getting OK to play - but no-one to play with (all together then - awwwww )

I'm thinking the only real answer is to seek to get the club to push tee reservations out to maybe 2pm or publish the tee booking sheet for all of the day but make reservations only until 11:30am. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way of indicating the 11:30am cut-off for tee reservations on our system or in enabling me to indicate flexibility around a time I'm available to tee off. We've got 'I want a game' function on our website but it isn't used - even by those who can access it. Maybe I just get the club to promote the use of that aspect of the website - but with all such things it's a case of 'you can take a horse to water but...'

Just wondering if anyone's club had developed a novel way of putting players together - or enabling them to find each other - in such circumstances.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Trouble is we golfers are creatures of habit.

On Saturdays, when there was no competition, 1st tee would be very busy from 8.00 am to 9.30 am (ish) and again from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm (ish) and some members moaned about how busy it was.

When it was suggested they could play outside those times the response was that nobody wanted to play at those "unusual times".

We then started having comps on approx 46 of 52 Saturdays with a BRS start sheet from 7.00 am to 3.00 pm, in summer time, and many of those who previously moaned happily book into those same "unusual times".

What's the difference?

What's BRS btw?

We should be able to extend the tee booking into the afternoon - maybe with a way of showing my flexibility around the time slot I put my name in (so I could add a comment or flag indicating +-30mins if that's my flexibility). But on-line tee booking is new - just this year for comps. And tee time booking for casual play is a very contentious subject...and so we don't have it...yet

 

[chellie]

System for our mens competitions seems to work well. For this coming Saturday there are times booked from 7.22 to 15.54. You can't enter online but at the club you put when your preferred time is eg after 11.00am, between 7.00am - 9.00am and other variations. You can also enter as a one, two or group of three. Entry is done from one week before. Times are all drawn and put into groups of three. There might be groups of two's if people withdraw or it's under subscribed but that rarely happens and there is usually a reserve list.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

System for our mens competitions seems to work well. For this coming Saturday there are times booked from 7.22 to 15.54. You can't enter online but at the club you put when your preferred time is eg after 11.00am, between 7.00am - 9.00am and other variations. You can also enter as a one, two or group of three. Entry is done from one week before. Times are all drawn and put into groups of three. There might be groups of two's if people withdraw or it's under subscribed but that rarely happens and there is usually a reserve list.

Yes - I've heard of this approach - and it would work great for me. I'd put my name in a 1pm-3pm pot and even if only a handful of others were in this pot we'd get sorted - and we could adjust our tee off time within the band to best suit us. But this approach is just too far away from our traditional system and wouldn't be considered for the relatively small numbers of folks such as I.

 

[chellie]

Yes - I've heard of this approach - and it would work great for me. I'd put my name in a 1pm-3pm pot and even if only a handful of others were in this pot we'd get sorted - and we could adjust our tee off time within the band to best suit us. But this approach is just too far away from our traditional system and wouldn't be considered for the relatively small numbers of folks such as I.

What a shame