At the risk of getting slated....

[USER1999]

The course is an amenity, it costs money to maintain, you are using the facility, you are not paying towards its up keep, you should be.

Yes you repair pitch marks, replace divots, but do you jump on a mower and cut the grass?

 

[mouth]

We have a public course a couple of miles down the road. I've started heading down at about 730 every evening to play six or seven holes or practise my short game.
As the clubhouse is closed, I just park at an 'alternative entrance' that's a few holes in and jump on the course.

Does anyone else do this? Feel mildly guilty about not paying but if the clubhouse is closed then what can you do?

Shoot him. Move on.

 

[theWOAT]

So the clubhouse is down the road........and you can't find a 10 minutes in your ultra busy working 7 days a week 8-6 life to talk to them about possibly offering about £10 a month to use their course.

Btw, I play out of hours at a local 9 hole par 3, I pay £99 for that privilege, £8 a month. Hell when I first went and the shop was closed I felt guilty about being there, but they said it was more than fine.

This place has a range too, which I've wondered if I could use with my own practice balls, but I never do, nor have I asked about that, I should really. But sometimes they have tons of balls left out.

Most sub 30 9 holes seem to have very good prices for unlimited play tbh.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Sorry, I'm a bit sceptical about the numbers and reasons.

Why didn't you employ someone - or pay existing staff a bit more as 'overtime' - to ensure the freeloaders actually paid. For an investment of 5K, you would have had a return of 20-30k (and that's only 25-35% return from your numbers).

They may have been losing £80k and had a problem with freeloaders, but I doubt it was because of freeloaders!

As for the OP's question. Consider yourself slated. Stick some cash through the letterbox or find out how best to pay for you use of their facilities.

Foxholer, not that simple I am afraid.
I put extra staff on, and all that happened was the jumpers stayed away. More expense.
We put evening rangers on and they were laughed at and threatened. The final straw was when one of the staff had a knife pulled on him.
The facilities were historically run at a loss but when income dropped due to folk jumping on without payment and expense increased someone had to say stop.

 

[North Mimms]

Given that it's a public course and the public have right of access, I'd hardly call it theft!
I accept it isn't the right thing to do but every divot is replaced and every pitchmark repaired. That's better than the majority of golfers I've met. If the clubhouse was open when I finish work I'd speak to them but until then, I see no harm in practising my short game when it affects nobody.

Do they not have phones in west London?

 

[Alex1975]

I'm sure that those on this forum who have commented on this subject, have never done something as bad in their lives as playing 9 holes without paying.

I have done far worse things and I am sure many have but I dont think its an excuse. This is a no no in my opinion and is costing other people in the long run. Golf is about more than hitting a little white ball.

At the end of the day my motto is live an let live but as you have posted about it I have to say I dont agree.

 

[North Mimms]

I've played golf in New Zealand on a unmanned course.
You take a bag tag from a box in the porch, tear receipt off it and put your money and half the bag tag in a plastic bag through letter box.

You could quite easily come to some arrangement to pay towards your practice sessions.

 

[MegaSteve]

Do they not have phones in west London?

If its a Hillingdon Boro' course I am led to believe you'll be 'lucky' to get a reply... Can't speak for Ealing courses been a long time since I played Brent Valley....

 

[hangukgenius]

Not to further stoke the fire but if a council run football pitch that charges for use of the pitch has no staff there and people play on that pitch in a public park, does that make it wrong? Same with tennis courts.

I definitely get it for private courses where loyal members pay and the public have no right of access though. In my experience, public course staff members don't give a hoot about rules. When I was younger, I used to see staff let their friends play all the time for free. Ah young people!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I put people who jump on fee paying public facilities on the same level as shoplifters.
They think this is a victimless crime but along the line someone has to pay

 

[MegaSteve]

I am sure the course operators factor in summertime 'freebie's'... Only really possible for relatively a few weeks a year... At least when there's golfers present [even if they are freeloaders] there's less likelyhood of the oik's on motorbikes etc tearing up the course...

I was a key organiser of a radio controlled model car club that was based in a public park... All and sundry felt it perfectly OK to use our facility without care for the cost we had repairing damage caused by third party users... Not a lot you can do about it so we never got our knickers in a twist about it... Pooh 'appens as they say... In fact amongst the worst 'abusers' were dog owners who thought it perfectly acceptable not to clean up after their animals....

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Dog poo is by far the biggest single issue of complaints to local authorities.
Strange how middle class yobbos think it is OK to let fido crap all over the local football/rugby/hockey/cricket pitches and golf courses.
At one of my local courses in a posh area the dog owners even think it is OK to pick up the dog poo in a bag and place the bag inside the tee boxes, how crass is that.

 

[hangukgenius]

Dog poo is by far the biggest single issue of complaints to local authorities.
Strange how middle class yobbos think it is OK to let fido crap all over the local football/rugby/hockey/cricket pitches and golf courses.
At one of my local courses in a posh area the dog owners even think it is OK to pick up the dog poo in a bag and place the bag inside the tee boxes, how crass is that.

Gross. As much as hate the warm feeling of dog poo in a bag, I'd never either leave it there or put it in a place where it affects others.

 

[palindromicbob]

I'm sure that those on this forum who have commented on this subject, have never done something as bad in their lives as playing 9 holes without paying.

Playing nine holes once without paying is one thing. Repeatadley playing nine holes at a time when you know there is no staff around so as to avoid paying is a completely different matter.

 

[DaveM]

We have a public course a couple of miles down the road. I've started heading down at about 730 every evening to play six or seven holes or practise my short game.
As the clubhouse is closed, I just park at an 'alternative entrance' that's a few holes in and jump on the course.

Does anyone else do this? Feel mildly guilty about not paying but if the clubhouse is closed then what can you do?

Technically it is theft and as such a criminal offence. You cant play many holes in nick, unless its Holloway.

Enjoy your golf!!!!

 

[DaveM]

Not to further stoke the fire but if a council run football pitch that charges for use of the pitch has no staff there and people play on that pitch in a public park, does that make it wrong? Same with tennis courts.

I definitely get it for private courses where loyal members pay and the public have no right of access though. In my experience, public course staff members don't give a hoot about rules. When I was younger, I used to see staff let their friends play all the time for free. Ah young people!

A public course only means it is open to the fee paying public. Not every tom,dick or harry that fancies a bit of free golf.

 

[TPO77]

I have neither the ability, money or means of transport to get to or play at a private club. I pay £300 a year for my pass for all the Aberdeen municipal courses and nothing pisses me off more than seeing people walk on either the 9 hole or 18 hole at hazelhead, after the first hole, without paying. Then usually they proceed to stand and practise their short game on the greens. Most of them don't bother repairing pitch marks or divots so fair play if you do but do you think it's fair that I need to pay and these people can just stroll on? I'm fairly certain you'd be able to get a monthly pass or something so that you can at least contribute to the cost of the facilities. Same problem up here though. A queue of 5 top motors sat waiting for the warden to finish for the night so they can play for free. Enough money for an M3 and the latest golf kit but not enough to pay a tenner for 9 holes.

 

[pbrown7582]

I put people who jump on fee paying public facilities on the same level as shoplifters.
They think this is a victimless crime but along the line someone has to pay

I think along these lines too, out of order and to think you thought it was only a risk of getting slated. I think you have found yourself well and truly slated now you have returned from your freebie practice.

 

[sydney greenstreet]

You have been well slated on here, but maybe you were wishing that more on here would side with you. Go along and enquire about doing out of hours practise and arrange a payment but i have a sneaky feeling you will carry on regardless.