Are open prizes worth it?

Jigger

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Firstly, I love opens. It’s a cheap way of playing a new course so I usually go with the attitude that I don’t care if I’m way off the mark in terms of winning. However, when we’ve won prizes it’s been a real mixed bag.

A mate had previously won £70 and all the club had was a snack shop so he ended up buying a years worth of snickers! On the other side, I’d won a local comp at £120. I called the shop and they ordered and sent out some footjoys. Job done! However we‘ve won recently won a Texas at Roxburgh this year and the prize was a box of pro Vs and £75 each. Amazing! thats where the story turns. We emailed the shop to see if we could get some balls sent down and they wanted to charge £15 a sleeve before we even discussed delivery as “they didn’t sell them by the dozen”. At the time this was £15 more than RRP so we held on to the voucher. We’ve since been playing a course nearby and popped into the shop to find they were selling a dozen balls for £50 (present rrp)!

What have your experiences been like? Have you felt you were getting ripped off? Should opens move to online shop vouchers for ease? Especially given people travel to them from far and wide.
 

KenL

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I won a prize, £50, at a club about 60 miles away from home.
It was a voucher that had to be spent in their proshop.
Not very convenient!
 

Backache

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I have no expectation of winning a prize when I enter an open so if I did then I'd see it as a bonus, whatever form it took.
Just this, I don't know if there was a typo in the title and it should have read prizes.
But whether or not the price is worth it to my mind is solely dependant on the golfing enjoyment.
 

patricks148

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Up here now pretty much every prize vouchers would be SG vouchers which are taken at all clubs and even some high St retailers.

I do remember about 10 years ago I won a nearest the pin prize at Muir of Ord on the long par 3 at the start of the back 9. Almost holed it and hit the pin and ended up 6 inches away. The prize was sponsored by a jewellers in Inverness, £250 voucher, gave it to the wife, on her return from a shopping tip.she informed me I owed her £50, there was nothing for under £300 she liked?
 

GG26

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Got a multi-store card for £90 for winning an open earlier this year. Can’t argue with that.
 

Lord Tyrion

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I think it's tough when the pro shop is poor and that's only how you can use the voucher. Could you use it to play there again, to cover the green fee?

A bloke I played with earlier in the year won £75 in a nearest the pin prize. He ended up buying a couple of tops for his son, there was nothing in the shop that actually fitted him ?. A nice club as well, he was very disappointed.
 

evemccc

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Up here now pretty much every prize vouchers would be SG vouchers which are taken at all clubs and even some high St retailers.

I beg to differ re: all Scottish clubs taking SG vouchers

I won a decent-ish amount this year and St Andrews Links Trust and Royal Troon would not accept the SG voucher…the Starter at St Andrews said he’d never seen one before and neither had his colleague. Me pointing out the R&A seal on the voucher did no good ?

All quite frustrating as the Green Fee at either Troon or the The Old Course would have been a lot more palatable…as it is I’ve had to buy something I don’t really need over the phone as the vouchers are about to be invalid
 

Captainron

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I beg to differ re: all Scottish clubs taking SG vouchers

I won a decent-ish amount this year and St Andrews Links Trust and Royal Troon would not accept the SG voucher…the Starter at St Andrews said he’d never seen one before and neither had his colleague. Me pointing out the R&A seal on the voucher did no good ?

All quite frustrating as the Green Fee at either Troon or the The Old Course would have been a lot more palatable…as it is I’ve had to buy something I don’t really need over the phone as the vouchers are about to be invalid
Did you ring them beforehand and ask if they would accept them as payment towards your rounds?
 

evemccc

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Did you ring them beforehand and ask if they would accept them as payment towards your rounds?

Called Troon because it was (well, would have been) towards a future booking

Was in singles queue at SALT- didn’t know I was going to ‘get on’ til 6am - hence I referenced speaking to the Starter and his colleague in the OC Pavilion
 

patricks148

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I beg to differ re: all Scottish clubs taking SG vouchers

I won a decent-ish amount this year and St Andrews Links Trust and Royal Troon would not accept the SG voucher…the Starter at St Andrews said he’d never seen one before and neither had his colleague. Me pointing out the R&A seal on the voucher did no good ?

All quite frustrating as the Green Fee at either Troon or the The Old Course would have been a lot more palatable…as it is I’ve had to buy something I don’t really need over the phone as the vouchers are about to be invalid
Tbh thats a new one on me as in
Paying for a round. Tbh I ment pro shops at clubs.
 

evemccc

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Tbh thats a new one on me as in
Paying for a round. Tbh I ment pro shops at clubs.
Tbh thats a new one on me as in
Paying for a round. Tbh I ment pro shops at clubs.

Do you mean their validity to use a SG voucher as a green fee?
I asked the office at the club where I won the voucher if it could be used as a green fee, and was told unequivocally yes - as the voucher states “goods or services” (from memory) - and I was given the examples of lessons, green fees, products from the pro shop etc.

Obviously, I’ve learnt it’s at the discretion of the pro-shop / club..and not all accept them.. Obviously I would have loved to have used it at Troon as I don’t fancy paying north of £300 cash for a round of golf…Vouchers tho are more like Monopoly money comparatively ?

Either way, I only entered the comp for the same reason as I’m sure most others do, to play a good course at a reduced GF rate and in a competitive format. Happy to have won anything!!
 

patricks148

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Do you mean their validity to use a SG voucher as a green fee?
I asked the office at the club where I won the voucher if it could be used as a green fee, and was told unequivocally yes - as the voucher states “goods or services” (from memory) - and I was given the examples of lessons, green fees, products from the pro shop etc.

Obviously, I’ve learnt it’s at the discretion of the pro-shop / club..and not all accept them.. Obviously I would have loved to have used it at Troon as I don’t fancy paying north of £300 cash for a round of golf…Vouchers tho are more like Monopoly money comparatively ?

Either way, I only entered the comp for the same reason as I’m sure most others do, to play a good course at a reduced GF rate and in a competitive format. Happy to have won anything!!
I never considered using one for a green fee myself or heard of them being that way.
I'm surprised the links Trust didn't take it if that's where you got it inthe first place?

Maybe Something has changed,we used to even be able to use them to pay for your membership, but I noticed this year we had note from the clubsaying they no longer would.
Never had any problems myself used them in pro shops all over. A mate even recently used a lot on a fitting at a well known club down south.

As you say must be at the clubs discretion, I wouldn't be surprised if you tried to use one at Muirfield they would tell you to bugger off as well?
 

Voyager EMH

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I won an £80 voucher in a seniors open in May this year valid for 12 months. Course is same distance away as my club, but in opposite direction.
Couldn't find anything in the shop worth buying. £60 polo shirt - no thanks. No Srixon soft feels or Callaway supersofts - high price premium balls only and I have enough of them already.
Very, very poorly stocked shop compared with pro-shop at my club.
Might have another look before Xmas if I'm passing that way.
I know a few members there. Another option is to sell the £80 voucher for £60 cash.
I would rather treat myself to something, but I just couldn't find anything.
I would have no such problem in my club pro's shop or even, and I hate to say it, an AG store.
 
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