Chute versus booking system

Does your club use a chute system or a booking system for non-competion/general play golf?

  • Total voters
    100
  • Poll closed .
stymied said:
I've called about 12 different courses/clubs home and a couple more away clubs. Every club has been busy Saturday mornings and to a lesser extent Sunday. It'd be a real luxury to have a course with a small enough membership not to require weekend tee times but still able to pay the bills. I've never been at a club where tee times weren't accepted. All have now gone to online tee sheets. Similarly I've never been at a course that didn't maintain a waiting list and fill in singles, pairs or groups when openings on the tee sheet occur. Have been at clubs where groups could decline a single joining their time and I'm ok with that as policy.

Unfortunately I've been at a number of clubs where it's an absolute mad dash when the tee times open for booking Saturday and within 30 seconds the tee sheet is booked from opening to 10am. Individuals have started to pay to have a computer program book their times as soon as the tee sheets open. One club I've been a member at has 8am shotgun start for most Saturdays during June and July. Not the most enjoyable thing walking out to the 8th hole to start your round, and the rounds end up being on the slower side, but I'd take that to not playing.

Something I'd like to see enacted is a lottery system for weekend times say until 10am. Something where every group who wants to play on Saturday needs to submit their group by say 8am Friday. The club randomly draws group names filling in the tee sheet. If a group of 2 is drawn the next group of 2 is paired with them. Once the tee sheet is established groups can try and trade times to meet personal preferences. Maybe even do the lottery by hour slots so say you put your name in for an 8-9am time. If a group needs to cancel they can't enter the following week and the time is opened for first available book.

The other problem I've encountered on courses that are extremely busy on the weekend is groups booking for 4 and showing up with only 2 or 3. One club I was a member the same group would somehow manage one of the first tee times every week (multiple courses) and show up with 2-3 people. I would regularly show up as a single and play with them (club policy to fill times with 4 if a single was available). They were good enough people who really wanted to play quickly often finishing an hour or more in front of the second group. Another club similar thing where one guy would just go out in front of the first group on the weekday. He played in under 2 hours. I guess it kind of works out but do feel like in a club, individual desires of a few shouldn't be catered to, at the cost of everyone else.

One additional thing I very much appreciate is the ability to book a limited number of tee times well in advance of normal booking when bringing guests. It's tough to have a friend travel for a golf visit without the certainty that golf will be possible. Each club I'm a member at requires full payment at time of booking in these instances.
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Would love to know the details for this computer program.
 
3 jabber said:
What if you had to be home by 1pm. Means you wouldn't get a game today.
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Under the chute option you co
3 jabber said:
You're missing the point. Your plans change, suddenly you are free on a Saturday morning and decide you want to play golf.

Booking system = no golf

Ball chute = play golf
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Except in a time limited scenario, ball chute might include the option - go to club, see massive queue, still no golf, return home. Not an issue if you live next door but a waste of an hour if you don’t, while online booking you could see if course is full in 10 seconds. So chute a much worse outcome.

Ball chutes only work for people who place little value on their own time.
 
The Squirrel said:
Under the chute option you co

Except in a time limited scenario, ball chute might include the option - go to club, see massive queue, still no golf, return home. Not an issue if you live next door but a waste of an hour if you don’t, while online booking you could see if course is full in 10 seconds. So chute a much worse outcome.

Ball chutes only work for people who place little value on their own time.
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We all have our own preferences.
My own free time is very precious to me however I can live with a wait of perhaps 20 mins over watching the clock and having to interrupt life and join the race to be able to log in and book a tee time that is hopefully when I would like to play.
 
The Squirrel said:
Under the chute option you co

Except in a time limited scenario, ball chute might include the option - go to club, see massive queue, still no golf, return home. Not an issue if you live next door but a waste of an hour if you don’t, while online booking you could see if course is full in 10 seconds. So chute a much worse outcome.

Ball chutes only work for people who place little value on their own time.
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If this were the case then no clubs would ever have a roll up and play system.
Patently it isn’t as many clubs have had the opportunity due to COVID to experience both ways and most have voted on the matter, some have chosen to keep the roll up system, some have gone to all booking, some have a bit of both. So plainly there are pros and cons of both ways of working which suit some and not others.
We have both and it works well, in 30 years on roll up days I have never not been able to play and can’t remember waiting more than 20 minutes, but on Saturdays this wouldn’t work for us but on 4 other days it does.
It is not as black and white as some are saying.
 
Would love a mix. A few hours a week where a ball in the chute for a roll up. Gives you the chance to play with new players. Majority on an online booking in advance is always going to the preferable for me.
 
Doon frae Troon said:
I once had 45 golfers in a queue to play one of my 9 hole courses using that system.
We worked out the golfers would have spent the same time queuing as playing.
I changed it to booking and had a load of complaints to start with but then it settled down nicely
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I fail to see how that compares to an 18 hole with 2 start holes
 
Ring ring....'Hello golf club'

'Hi, can you look out the window please and tell me if the 1st tee is busy?'

10 seconds job done
 
3 jabber said:
Ring ring....'Hello golf club'

'Hi, can you look out the window please and tell me if the 1st tee is busy?'

10 seconds job done
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And 45 minutes later after your drive there and getting your kit out of the car there’s a queue at the tee?

Give me a booking system, any booking system, all day long.
 
Years ago we had ball shoot.
We have a fairly large group play at a regular time on Mondays and Thursdays we would all say our goodbyes on Monday with a see you Thursday arrive on Thursday and find the club had booked in a society or group of visitors in what was our usual time. So no game.

We also had a period when another group tried to set up a rollup for same time.

With a booking system when you have booked you are guaranteed that time.
 
The other things that happened when we had a ball chute was the hassle with Saturday mornings. We had players turn up at 5 am to put their ball in the chute. Some turned up very early put their ball in the chute worked out roughly what time they would get to play and go home again and come back closer to the time they would get to play.

One person would get there early and put 4 or 5 balls in the chute for their swindle and the actual players would not turn up until it was roughly their turn to play.
 
clubchamp98 said:
I would say like the old waiting room at the doctors you might have to wait but at least you got seen to.

Our booking system filled the sheet almost instantly.
But seven days later a lot of them just didn’t turn up
So looking at the sheet it was full but the course was empty.
There were lots of complaints so we had a vote roll up/ hybrid/ booking and just roll up won except for comps.

Suits our membership but clubs vary.

Tbh the comittiee should have sorted the no shows out but didn’t and took the easy option of a vote!
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WE use IG

When you have booked you also have to sign to say you are there and playing on the day.
The office monitor it and send out 'ticking off' letters/ emails to those that abuse the system.
 
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