Booking system v no booking system

[GB72]

I have always preferred no booking system. I want to play between 8 and 9 on a Saturday. Unless I have very fast fingers, i am not going to get that under booking system (my old club had booking for comps) especially with certain officers of the club having early access. With no booking system, I turn up at 8.00 and I was pretty certain to tee off well before 9.00 every week.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

We found 6pm to early , given traffic these days people can’t get home for 6pm so we went to 7pm.

we got rid of our booking system as people were filling the sheet up but not playing.
but if we just turned up there was nobody there , just no checking people that booked actually turned up.
a hybrid system was mooted but rejected.
unfortunately people are selfish and book tee times they don’t use and sod anyone else.
Just turning up is great and at least you get a game ,very rare to have to wait on the tee.

only Saturday comp has a booking system .

6pm, 7pm, whichever suits. An evening time for release is as fair as you can get. What your club did sounds very fair.

We have an issue of people booking and not turning up but that can be resolved by ensuring they check in at the pro shop first of all. If a pattern starts to show then you can react. They are supposed to do this but it doesn't really happen. You had to at my previous club and they were quite feisty if you didn't do it, quite right too. It's ingrained in me so I do it all the time now. It is is pain when people don't show as our club looks busy very frequently, summer in particular, and I'm sure there are times when I could get out and play but the system suggests otherwise.

Saying that, I've been at a turn up and play club before and I couldn't go back to that method. The answer is booking, but enforce the behaviour, imo.

 

[Imurg]

During Covid, when everything was booked, we found the system slowed down at 8pm as this seemed to be a very popular time for clubs to open booking slots.
We moved to 8.06pm as an opening time and it works perfectly...
We still only book Tuesday mornings (Ladies) and Sunday morning (Men) plus some competitions on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

 

[patricks148]

The only problem with online booking at my club is its easy to book, and the same people speculatively book time then don't cancel or turn up. Sat is the worste. Booked as soon as it goes live, then when you turn up a fair few havnt turned up. The club don't sanction the repeat offenders they just get a telling off. We no longer even try to book when it goes live for the Saturday, just look the night before, usually a few times get cancelled or just turn up around the time we want to play. Not had once instance where we havnt managed to get out over the last few years.
The booking system does have its advantages, you can see who one the course, ie big visitor groups.

 

[Robster59]

Pre-Covid we didn't have a booking system, but the combination of Covid restrictions, and an influx of new members due to a local course closing down, led to us going down the booking route. I admit at the time I was a bit sceptical but, now it is bedded in, I'm a convert. It means that I know that if I book a time, I can turn up at the course and not have to wait. Previously, if after work I fancied a game, it would be pot luck as to whether the tee would be free, or there would be a queue and an hours wait. Now, if I fancy a game, I can just get my phone out, see if there is a slot available, and book it. With modern technology and being able to book quickly on my phone, it's easy.
Our booking time was originally 8pm on a Thursday but that was very slow due to other clubs using the system so it was moved to 8:20pm and that made a big difference to the speed.
At our AGM this week, there was a debate about this very subject. There are still some members who would like to go back to the "turn up and play" system, but the Board have decided to keep the booking system going forward. I'm pleased about that.
However, I also said there has to be a penalty system in place for those repeat offenders who book and don't turn up.

 

[GB72]

I can very much see the benefits of both options. I want to pretty much guarantee playing in a certain time slot every week. As such, turn up and play suits me as I know that as long as I am there by a certain time, I am going to tee off in the time slot i want. Being about the most popular time, booking systems would not provide that. I also like a degree of spontanaity. Talk to mates on a Friday night, we want to play on Saturdy morning. Under a booking system, that is unlikely and you need to have booked that time on the day it was released, if it is turn up and play, no problem. Equally, if my there is an offer of something to do on a Saturday afternoon that comes up last minute, under a tee booking system I am pretty much tied in to what time i have booked due to availablity. With no booking system, I am flexible and can turn up earlier or later depending on other plans and just need to take into account a bit of queuing time.

Other people place more value in knowing that they do not have to wiait and can turn up at a time and be guaranteed to walk onto the tee. I can see the benefits of that as well and can also see the benefit to clubs who can maximise the use of the course.

My opinion on this is totally selfish. I want to be able to play golf when I want and the only way to ensure that is to have a system of just turning up and being prepared to wait a bit.

 

[Mandofred]

Fair....just that word can start an argument. Is it fair that full members have the right to get a tee time at pretty well any day/time etc? My first answer would be yes. But what about all the times that get blocked off for visiting groups, comps, business days etc etc. It turns into quite a few days and times where I get blocked off the course, a lot of the time by people that are not members. Luckily during the Summer when this issue really starts causing some issues, we usually head to one of the nearby reciprocal courses....so it kind of works out most of the time. I guess the club must bring in some extra money on these visits/occasions.....but I'd rather pay a little more in membership fees and not get blocked as often as we do.

Our tee times open 4 weeks ahead, so myself and another guy tend to book 2 tee slots well ahead of time, and then the guys who usually play with us put their names in eventually. I always feel a little bad about blocking those 2 slots since it quite often turns into just 1 slot during the Winter when the others don't show up. We have an influx of members starting up on 1 April....a few of them will be playing in our group.....so those 2 slots are likely to turn into 3 slots at that time. This process annoys me as well because of the clubs £700 plus £5 a play membership. A couple of us reserve these tee times out to 4 weeks, but most of the other guys wait until the last minute to book (and pay their £5) so we never know until that morning how many will be there.

Fair? The swindle group I play with on and off are pretty quick off the mark at reserving their times on Sat mornings (also M/W/F)......it would cause some hard feelings if some people decided that they wanted to break up this group and force their way into these slots (usually about 7:30-8:45am). I'd play with this group a little more, but I don't like a couple of the weird rules they play by.

 

[Deleted member 25575]

Fair? The swindle group I play with on and off are pretty quick off the mark at reserving their times on Sat mornings (also M/W/F)......it would cause some hard feelings if some people decided that they wanted to break up this group and force their way into these slots (usually about 7:30-8:45am). I'd play with this group a little more, but I don't like a couple of the weird rules they play by.

This is a point that I think would hack me off were I to regularly come up against it. However, if it is a fair booking system and they happen to get in first and secure their slot, that’s perfectly fine, however, if I want to play early on any of those days and get in at say 8am, then have no recourse to complain about my appearance in the middle of their swindle

 

[GB72]

A whole different topic but I did get frustrated with course closures at weekends, selfishly because I could only play at weekends. At the club I was at we had club matches, various opens for all 3 sections, competitions (OK unless all booked up or with a condition on entry), event days, county events etc all of whcih closed the course for some or sometimes all of the weekend. Not that big a deal unless you can only play at weekends and so that reduces the value that little bit more.

 

[Mandofred]

This is a point that I think would hack me off were I to regularly come up against it. However, if it is a fair booking system and they happen to get in first and secure their slot, that’s perfectly fine, however, if I want to play early on any of those days and get in at say 8am, then have no recourse to complain about my appearance in the middle of their swindle

That was my point.....you do have the right to book those times....but are you willing to annoy a bunch of the people at the club? I wouldn't be. This actually happens to them occasionally and they tend to contact the people to see if they would switch tee slots...it "usually" works out in some manner.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Pre covid no booking system and not that long ago rejected by a vote of the membership; immediately post covid…membership voted for one. I’m fine with most aspects of how it works.

That said, today group of 28 members with seven tee times. I asked organiser…is this a rollup? No…was the response…it’s a gathering. Aren’t they the same thing says I? No…says organiser…it’s a closed group. I could tell that the organiser had taken umbrage that he was asked…clearly it’s a sensitive matter with others in the club. I did not challenge and excused myself for asking. I think they organise themselves to block book the seven tee times as soon as tee booking opens.

Now I admit that I was pretty certain (though not 100%) about what it was, and so my question was gently mischievous…but deliberately so. I am very egalitarian in my view of golf and so find closed groups of members (call them cliques if you wish) essentially block booking tee times an anathema. And it was such as this group and their block booking that was part of what made me a firm opponent of tee booking for members.

At least they don‘t have a reservation and appear to have to book and don’t seem to have any arrangement to make it easier for them to do so. Bottom line is that I feel tee booking system encourages and enables cliques. But it’s not a hill I’d ever chose to die on.

 

[Swango1980]

At my last club, pre Covid, we ran informal roll ups every week. Usually on a Thursday evening in summer, and quite a few at weekends when no comp was on. As Committee me members organised it and put the message out, it worked well. Especially at integrating new members into the club, or giving members who do not have a regular group to get a game.

Once Covid hit us and the booking system was required, it pretty much killed off a lot of the social aspect of being at the club. Some found their own little groups, others stopped playing as much. The owner would not allow us to book 5 or 6 slots to allow people to still "roll up", as he saw that as lack of income if all slots were not filled (which could either be used by visitors, or green fee members which was the majority). This time last year, most of the regulars golfers at the club, who played in comps, have now left. That left only a handful of regular players playing in club comps (one main weekend competition only had 4 players, pre CoVid you would get 30-50 generally)

However, at new club I like the booking system. But, I guess it is only because I've quite a few I can play with regularly. Probably about 12 or so of us, so I just book a slot when they open 4 weeks in advance, and then others add themselves in as time goes on. The club also book an hour slot on Saturday and Sunday (non comp days) for a group of guys that play regular roll ups. So, given my situation now, I like the booking system as I know when I am playing, and it is also surprisingly easy to get prime morning weekend slots. But, at my last club, the booking system didn't really help for what we were trying to do in integrating members.

 

[Mandofred]

Pre covid no booking system and not that long ago rejected by a vote of the membership; immediately post covid…membership voted for one. I’m fine with most aspects of how it works.

That said, today group of 28 members with seven tee times. I asked organiser…is this a rollup? No…was the response…it’s a gathering. Aren’t they the same thing says I? No…says organiser…it’s a closed group. I could tell that the organiser had taken umbrage that he was asked…clearly it’s a sensitive matter with others in the club. I did not challenge and excused myself for asking. I think they organise themselves to block book the seven tee times as soon as tee booking opens.

Now I admit that I was pretty certain (though not 100%) about what it was, and so my question was gently mischievous…but deliberately so. I am very egalitarian in my view of golf and so find closed groups of members (call them cliques if you wish) essentially block booking tee times an anathema. And it was such as this group and their block booking that was part of what made me a firm opponent of tee booking for members.

At least they don‘t have a reservation and appear to have to book and don’t seem to have any arrangement to make it easier for them to do so. Bottom line is that I feel tee booking system encourages and enables cliques. But it’s not a hill I’d ever chose to die on.

I was a BIG fan of organized/booked time rollups. But.....the rules of any rollup I've ever been part of stated very clearly that anybody was allowed to play in them. Young, old, female, bald, short+fat etc etc were all welcome.

Our small group of guys play M/W/F mornings about 10:30. We occasionally get new members jumping in with us.....one of the guys is the Assistant Mgr's father.....so it's easy for him to just let his father know that someone will be joining us. I was pointed to this small group when I joined (partially because a few of them are ex-Menwith Hill people) and also towards the Wed/Sat swindle group as a good way to meet a lot of people quickly. That was a great benefit of the rollups....it is an awesome way to get into the membership and meet lots of others. Getting rid of organized rollups is a mistake in my opinion.......the trend now seems to be to push these groups out and just have people playing with their mates. The big groups of happy hackers is being slowly eliminated.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I was a BIG fan of organized/booked time rollups. But.....the rules of any rollup I've ever been part of stated very clearly that anybody was allowed to play in them. Young, old, female, bald, short+fat etc etc were all welcome.

Our small group of guys play M/W/F mornings about 10:30. We occasionally get new members jumping in with us.....one of the guys is the Assistant Mgr's father.....so it's easy for him to just let his father know that someone will be joining us. I was pointed to this small group when I joined (partially because a few of them are ex-Menwith Hill people) and also towards the Wed/Sat swindle group as a good way to meet a lot of people quickly. That was a great benefit of the rollups....it is an awesome way to get into the membership and meet lots of others. Getting rid of organized rollups is a mistake in my opinion.......the trend now seems to be to push these groups out and just have people playing with their mates. The big groups of happy hackers is being slowly eliminated.

That doesn’t seem to be the case at our place

If anything the big groups have got bigger and it’s down to the booking system

Before the booking system our sat early swindle had maximum of 12 turn up - we now have 28 people play with us because two other smaller groups joined us and we now have a minimum each week of 5 groups - we book our tee times when they come live , some meet up early for a chat , but we are all together at the end

Sunday group before booking was around 24 , it’s now over 50 of us , same as the Saturday group , some meet up , some arrive for their tee time. And it’s the same with crooks during the week

Only one group hasn’t been flexible enough to organise themselves and they still want to be able to just rock up and throw the balls up -there is just the 8 of them now because the rest joined a group

Swindles are a big part of our club and they work very well - everyone bar one is open to anyone

 

[Mandofred]

Swindles are a big part of our club and they work very well - everyone bar one is open to anyone

As they should be

 

[YandaB]

Swindles are a big part of our club and they work very well - everyone bar one is open to anyone

What that one do to get singled out for exclusion?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I was a BIG fan of organized/booked time rollups. But.....the rules of any rollup I've ever been part of stated very clearly that anybody was allowed to play in them. Young, old, female, bald, short+fat etc etc were all welcome.

Our small group of guys play M/W/F mornings about 10:30. We occasionally get new members jumping in with us.....one of the guys is the Assistant Mgr's father.....so it's easy for him to just let his father know that someone will be joining us. I was pointed to this small group when I joined (partially because a few of them are ex-Menwith Hill people) and also towards the Wed/Sat swindle group as a good way to meet a lot of people quickly. That was a great benefit of the rollups....it is an awesome way to get into the membership and meet lots of others. Getting rid of organized rollups is a mistake in my opinion.......the trend now seems to be to push these groups out and just have people playing with their mates. The big groups of happy hackers is being slowly eliminated.

Our Saturday late morning rollup has reserved tee times from 10:30 to 11:30 (traditionally a quiet time at our place). Anyone can play in it - and 36 rolled up for it Sat just gone - normally 24-28. Club uses it as first port of call for new members to meet a load of others. Random draw for groups. All gather for the draw and many wait until all are in for winners announcement and mention of any funny, weird, unusual or silly things that happened. The gathering I refer to is closed. Not a fan.

 

[IanM]

Its "clarity" v "flexibility." Pros and cons to both.

 

[rosecott]

What that one do to get singled out for exclusion?

Liverpool supporter?

 

[nickjdavis]

What these online booking systems that seem to rely on a "fastest finger" approach need is a "waiting room". If you want to book a tee time, you log on before the appropriate time and are placed in a waiting room. The booking system then randomly picks a selection of people...say half a dozen for example and invites them to book a tee time...giving them 2 minutes to do so. Once the 2 mins are up they get kicked out and another half a dozen folks get invited to book...etc etc etc. Keeping track of user ID's who have been able to book would allow in future the booking system to recognise folks who have always been at the "back of the queue" and prioritise them. Computers are clever...they can be programmed to do this sort of stuff.