Extortionate green fees!

[Doon frae Troon]

Morally i agree. There's not many morals in business unfortunately.

I would say the American visitors take great delight in paying for the top courses. Its in their nature to rate it by cost. If Turnberry was 50bucks the Americans wouldnt play it.

I somehow think they would but it would be impossible to get a tee time.

The St Andrews Links trust has done a great job over the last 30 years.
It used to be a bit of a mess but now all the courses are thriving.
I would imagine employment and Trust club memberships are well up.
Hundreds of local caddies getting £100 a round and hotels B&B's pubs shops all doing a roaring trade.
What's not to like and applaud

 

[HomerJSimpson]

People will always look for the cheaper option, Ascot was very proactive after Covid with offers and incentives (according to your facebook page) but I’d hazard a guess that unless yous were foolishly tied to a longterm contract the Club will have also raised it’s fees for parking etc when they close it for events nearby.

No chance any decent course will close to allow thousands of cars to park on it, regardless of amount offered.

Wimbledon Park for the tennis before AELTC bought the land off the club. We have a deal with Crown Estates (they own the land) and Ascot Authorities with whom we work with around racing so ultimately they to a large degree dictate the terms especially over using the practice ground for coach parking in Royal Ascot week. We aren't exactly dictated too and do negotiate but from a weakened position so it is hard to push too hard

 

[PaulMdj]

Wimbledon Park for the tennis before AELTC bought the land off the club. We have a deal with Crown Estates (they own the land) and Ascot Authorities with whom we work with around racing so ultimately they to a large degree dictate the terms especially over using the practice ground for coach parking in Royal Ascot week. We aren't exactly dictated too and do negotiate but from a weakened position so it is hard to push too hard

Like I said, no top course would allow it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Like I said, no top course would allow it.

Was rated quite well in the day.

 

[D-S]

I believe it was something Woodhall noticed - they didn’t get many US visitors and mainly it was prob because the US didn’t see them as a top course because they were cheap ( at the time)


The yanks will pay a lot of money to play courses in the UK and Ireland - especially the ones in the Top 100 and Classic Links

And clubs nearby know that so boost up their green fees - there are a number of clubs that prob do that

As you rightly say the American visitors concentrate almost exclusively to famous links courses, predominantly in Scotland and Ireland and sometimes stray as far as the Lancashire coast. If they are in London naturally the top Surrey Berkshire courses are visited but rarely as a designated golfing trip. You only need to see US golf travel brochures which bear this out.
The amount of these visitors playing in Wales, the South West and elsewhere is minute and of no commercial impact.
Woodhall doesn’t get its ‘share’ as they are neither in Scotland nor Ireland and aren’t a links course, the green fees have little to do with it. The disproportionate trickle down effect at mid range top 100-200 parkland, heathland and lesser links is the issue.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Green fees are similar to cars. Everyone wants something exclusive but barely have boris bike budgets.

Mrs V and I bought one of those in 2006. It was one year old at the time.
It is called a Citroen C3 Exclusive 1.6 diesel.
It was a bit pricey, but worth it as it is still going strong today.

 

[Blakey]

Wimbledon Park for the tennis before AELTC bought the land off the club. We have a deal with Crown Estates (they own the land) and Ascot Authorities with whom we work with around racing so ultimately they to a large degree dictate the terms especially over using the practice ground for coach parking in Royal Ascot week. We aren't exactly dictated too and do negotiate but from a weakened position so it is hard to push too hard

The AELTC always owned the land, they just leased it to the golf course, part of the agreement was that they could use the land as a car park during the tournament. The lease was due to run out in about 20 years, they just bought them members out of the remaining. I'm pretty sure they also arranged pretty good reciprocals at other clubs while the course was out of action.

 

[D-S]

It will be fascinating to see what happens if the Dollar/Sterling rate ever returns to pre 2016 levels or if the Americans become more travel averse as they were in the early 2000s.
Might be a risky strategy basing your business plan on a continuing weak currency and hopefully a stable political environment.

 

[GB72]

Burleigh Park just outside Stamford has to give up a chunk of the course foe the annual horse trials. If the weather is bad, it can take months to recover.

On the original question, the interesting thing will be to see of this price hike has a knock on effect. Are other elite courses going to up their prices, will the tier below up the green fee to keep in line with those prices etc. It could be a one off price rise, it could be the start of a wider inflation in golf.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The AELTC always owned the land, they just leased it to the golf course, part of the agreement was that they could use the land as a car park during the tournament. The lease was due to run out in about 20 years, they just bought them members out of the remaining. I'm pretty sure they also arranged pretty good reciprocals at other clubs while the course was out of action.

They did. I think they could use Royal Wimbledon for a while (although think RWGC then pulled the offer). I could happily play that course every day and I really rate it. I know everyone got £80k as a payout including Ant and Dec who were members (as if they needed the cash lol). I knew Dean Wingrove who was the Wimbledon Park pro and now here https://www.thegolfgroove.com/

 

[Morfeen75]

I somehow think they would but it would be impossible to get a tee time.

The St Andrews Links trust has done a great job over the last 30 years.
It used to be a bit of a mess but now all the courses are thriving.
I would imagine employment and Trust club memberships are well up.
Hundreds of local caddies getting £100 a round and hotels B&B's pubs shops all doing a roaring trade.
What's not to like and applaud

At least the Americans wouldnt be playing it.

 

[chico]

I genuinely think they could push the prices at the top courses much higher and Americans would still pay it. Most of them spend more in the club shop than they do on the green fee when they're visiting.

 

[Robster59]

Not just St Andrews…Turnberry and other major courses are an important part of Scotland’s sporting history…and IMO access should not be the exclusive ‘property’ of the very wealthy. The fact that Trump is the owner of such a beautiful and famous piece of Scotland, especially sticks in my craw.

Besides…Playing such as Turnberry is for many I am guessing all about the bragging. Dot all to do with the quality of the course.

I refuse, as a matter or principle, to play any course which Trump has any part in the ownership. I know my token gesture will make no difference to that individual, but it would stick in my craw to play any of them.
Prices are ridiculous at many courses now and, as some have said, its reacting to market demand, it prevents the everyday person on average wage to justify the money to play these "premier" courses.

 

[patricks148]

It will be fascinating to see what happens if the Dollar/Sterling rate ever returns to pre 2016 levels or if the Americans become more travel averse as they were in the early 2000s.
Might be a risky strategy basing your business plan on a continuing weak currency and hopefully a stable political environment.

id agree, look at what covid did, some of the clubs now charging extortionate fees were begging locals to play. or at least some of the pay and play ones in Scotland were, it didn't take them long to forget these locals through

 

[Oddsocks]

Mrs V and I bought one of those in 2006. It was one year old at the time.
It is called a Citroen C3 Exclusive 1.6 diesel.
It was a bit pricey, but worth it as it is still going strong today.

A shiton exclusive … bless her

 

[Blakey]

They did. I think they could use Royal Wimbledon for a while (although think RWGC then pulled the offer). I could happily play that course every day and I really rate it. I know everyone got £80k as a payout including Ant and Dec who were members (as if they needed the cash lol). I knew Dean Wingrove who was the Wimbledon Park pro and now here https://www.thegolfgroove.com/

Not just Ant and Dec, I think Piers Morgan was a member too and maybe Dermot O’Leary.

I went to the golf groove recently, on the subject of extortionate green fees, it’s not cheap there either.

I’m Pretty local and have never played Royal Wimbledon, I think I worried about the amount of balls I’m going to lose. I’ll have to check it out. They used to do a discount for Merton residents iirc.

 

[CliveW]

The last time I played Turnberry (Pre Trump) I got chatting to a bunch of Americans in the bar. They told me they had flown in from New York to Prestwick and were playing Turnberry, Royal Troon and Prestwick over a long weekend. For them it was cheaper to do that than it was for them to stay home and play in the States.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

At least the Americans wouldnt be playing it.

How much does The London Golf Club charge for green fees.
Bet it is not a lot different to St Andrews and I feel certain not many Americans will be queuing up to play it.

In the late 1960's my father and I were in an hotel bar conversation with a couple of English golf tourists.
One was noisily sounding off about the recent increase in green fee charges at our top Scottish links course.

My father asked him how much visitors fees at his club were and his reply was more than he was paying in Scotland.
He then asked if those fees were for weekends to be told his the club did not allow visitors at weekends.
My father then asked if his club [a decent Yorkshire course] was better then the one he was about to play.
No, was the answer

 

[Rlburnside]

How much does The London Golf Club charge for green fees.
Bet it is not a lot different to St Andrews and I feel certain not many Americans will be queuing up to play it.

In the late 1960's my father and I were in an hotel bar conversation with a couple of English golf tourists.
One was noisily sounding off about the recent increase in green fee charges at our top Scottish links course.

My father asked him how much visitors fees at his club were and his reply was more than he was paying in Scotland.
He then asked if those fees were for weekends to be told his the club did not allow visitors at weekends.
My father then asked if his club [a decent Yorkshire course] was better then the one he was about to play.
No, was the answer

I played the London Golf Club recently for free but green fee for the day I played was £175 , great course but I wouldn’t pay that to play there.

 

[simo71]

The last time I played Turnberry (Pre Trump) I got chatting to a bunch of Americans in the bar. They told me they had flown in from New York to Prestwick and were playing Turnberry, Royal Troon and Prestwick over a long weekend. For them it was cheaper to do that than it was for them to stay home and play in the States.

I see this sort of thing fairly often, but there's just no way it's true, is it. Such nonsense. That's easily a $2000 trip (obviously a lot more now) - where can they not play in the states for that?