Best service you've ever had at a Golf Club in the UK?

[BearwoodLakesGolfer]

I had the pleasure to play at the Grove in Hertfordshire recently and I think it was the best service I have ever experienced at a golf course, they made you feel like a celebrity.

They had huge amounts of staff that were catering to your every need. Whether it would be their overall demeanour, the valet service, taking your clubs initially and putting them on a rack, showing you around, announcing you on the tee, cleaning your clubs after the round & even showing your where you ball went (if they're nearby on the course) - I've not experience anything like it.

Does anyone have any similar experiences at other courses?

 

[batchworth]

Prices they charge at the Grove, I’d expect nothing less than perfect service.

 

[BiMGuy]

Ipswich. Possibly the friendliest welcome I’ve ever had from a pro visiting another club.

Can’t be doing with the over bearing fuss you get at some places.

 

[KenL]

I played at Archerfield once. People there offering to clean your shoes. Totally demeaning to them in my opinion. I don't need services like that.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Hoylake the other week.

Had Salmon Florentine served for breakfast by a man wearing a suit.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Close House 1981. Marvellous experience.

Put 50p or £1 in the honesty box - no staff anywhere - saw only two other groups on the course.
I've heard that people call that "Millionaires' Golf".

I believe the place is quite different now.

 

[Oddsocks]

Seaford head during the clubhouse rebuild while running out of port cabins.

 

[Orikoru]

At Sudbury golf club two years ago. Booked in for my birthday round, it started bucketing down on the front nine. Absolutely torrential, there were puddles on the greens, but we'd paid so we carried on playing. It stopped raining and warmed up a little on the back nine so we were able to get some decent golf in. When we got back to the clubhouse the manager saw us and said they'd actually closed the course while we were out there due to the rain, but they thought they might as well allow us to finish - then gave us a rain-check to come back another day and play for free! We went back a few weeks later, and typically, I played much worse. But still, I thought that was great service for him to do that, since we never would have asked for it or anything.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Turnberry. Everyone smiled, was friendly, courteous, couldn't do enough for you, but without that awkward feeling that you don't really belong there.

Just superb without being fawning or making you feel uncomfortable (certainly no shoe or club cleaning on show ). You were looked after, that felt good.

It was definitely at another level, a lovely experience.

 

[Slab]

I can’t recall particularly great (or particularly poor) service at UK course to contribute to thread

I played at Archerfield once. People there offering to clean your shoes. Totally demeaning to them in my opinion. I don't need services like that.

Is cleaning shoes particularly demeaning? Is it any different to plenty of other tasks staff carry out at every golf club up and down the country from kitchens to toilets and other places

I know the high street/airport/train station shoe shine folks may not be as popular/numerous as they used to be but it’s a pretty established trade and if the golf club choose to have a locker-room attendant that keeps the place spick and span and does shoes while players shower/change etc it seems like a nice additional service
(I guess it also keeps mess to one area and means players won't put dirty/grass shoes into their change bag)

 

[BearwoodLakesGolfer]

Prices they charge at the Grove, I’d expect nothing less than perfect service.

Fair point! I do feel it’s more than just a round of golf there, not something I’ve experienced before

 

[Orikoru]

Turnberry. Everyone smiled, was friendly, courteous, couldn't do enough for you, but without that awkward feeling that you don't really belong there.

Just superb without being fawning or making you feel uncomfortable (certainly no shoe or club cleaning on show ). You were looked after, that felt good.

It was definitely at another level, a lovely experience.

I've been there twice but not played! Just for food both times. Incredible place. Shame about the owner. But as someone said earlier, at the prices they're charging you'd expect that sort of service!

 

[PNWokingham]

Loch Lomond - picked up from Glasgow airport in Range Rovers, back to the course, clubs taken away and showed to the accomodation for the 2 days - just behind/left of 18th green near the jetty with boat. Clubs taken away and saw them next day on the practise round. At Queenwood, you rock up in car in front of clubhouse, someone then takes your car and another person takes and cleans your shoes, making sure you don't set foot on the course with any foreign grasses etc!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I've been there twice but not played! Just for food both times. Incredible place. Shame about the owner. But as someone said earlier, at the prices they're charging you'd expect that sort of service!

You are probably right. I just have not experienced that level before, it stood out. I've been to places with delusions of grandeur that actually made me feel uncomfortable and not relaxed. Turnberry managed to get the balance just right and that is not an easy thing to do to be fair. It is getting that balance that I really liked.

 

[Orikoru]

You are probably right. I just have not experienced that level before, it stood out. I've been to places with delusions of grandeur that actually made me feel uncomfortable and not relaxed. Turnberry managed to get the balance just right and that is not an easy thing to do to be fair. It is getting that balance that I really liked.

Agree with you. Some of the posts made here are too much for me. Taking my clubs and cleaning my shoes for me - I'd honestly find it embarrassing and a bit cringeworthy to be treated like that. I think there's a line that crosses from good service to over-the-top. I don't need to be treated like royalty, just a respected customer I guess.

 

[LincolnShep]

I get somewhat uncomfortable with really high levels of service. For example, I'd be embarrassed if someone offered to clean my clubs or shoes, they're always in a right state!

My wife works for a global hotel chain and we get fantastic staff discounts. We get hotel rooms for £50/$50/€50 regardless of whether the normal price is £100 or £1000. We've stayed in a few really expensive hotels thanks to her discount but found the service can be slightly obsequious and overbearing. Maybe it's a touch of imposter syndrome because we're not paying the full whack but I don't think that's the case. We just know what we like and it's not that!

Anyway, back to the question as asked (kind of), some of the best welcomes I've received have been at Barnsley, Market Rasen, Breadsall Priory, Rufford Park and Radcliffe-on-Trent. None of these are really expensive but, as a visitor, I was made to feel very at home, and there was a sense that the staff wanted me to enjoy my day. The other end of the spectrum is a club where I was a member for six years and the owner sees golfers as an inconvenience.

 

[moogie]

Close House 1981. Marvellous experience.

Put 50p or £1 in the honesty box - no staff anywhere - saw only two other groups on the course.
I've heard that people call that "Millionaires' Golf".

I believe the place is quite different now.

It's defenitely changed a lot since back then......


Archerfield for me for best service, best golf experience

 

[Deleted member 25172]

I honestly cannot think of a specific course where I remember the service being that good that it stood out. Echo the words of some others, I'd feel very uncomfortable if I had someone taking the shoes to give them a clean for example.

 

[PNWokingham]

Agree with you. Some of the posts made here are too much for me. Taking my clubs and cleaning my shoes for me - I'd honestly find it embarrassing and a bit cringeworthy to be treated like that. I think there's a line that crosses from good service to over-the-top. I don't need to be treated like royalty, just a respected customer I guess.

I think the majority of clubs give good service and welcomes although i have had poor and uncomfortable ones at some places. But if we are talking "best service" then there is not much else other than these "extra levels" that are quite common in the US. Is it nice - i would say yes in general. Would i pay lots for it and can live without. Absolutely. At our club we have great service in the bar - they come to your table etc - but we also pay a service charge. i would rather scrap the charge and order at the bar but we would still pay even then and we don't have the option to opt out. We can also pay extra for bag storage, trolley storage and shoe cleaning and storeage. I would love to have all this as it does make thinks more convenient rather than cleaning shoes yourself, packing up clubs and trolley, taking battery into house and charging and remembering to bring next time. I think all 3 cost circa £500 per year. I can't afford/ justiffy the cost but if i could i would jump at it

 

[Slab]

As mentioned other than being a nice service there are very practical benefits to cleaning players shoes after players traipse around the course/rough/woodland etc so that mess/grass/seeds etc isn’t distributed to other areas of the clubhouse, or other courses, same with wiping clubs down especially in areas adjacent to farms &/or livestock etc

I still clean both clubs and shoes after every use whether staff did it or not but as post #16 admits (probably with some humour) so if a player arrives at a quality course with crud etc from who knows where, it has potential to cause serious problems

As with clean toilets, plates, glasses etc I may have used, someone working as a cleaner is not demeaning. My home club doesn’t do shoes but will do the clubs post round

Played away on Saturday and they did clean shoes for me and someone else will have cleaned the shower cubicle after I used that too, i appre4ciated getting into a clean shower as much as finding that someone wiped clean my shoes

I see enough examples to know that some players don't/won't clean their gear