Golf Club Visitors

[ScienceBoy]

Turns out Whitby is a very friendly club and welcomes unexpected visitors with open arms. The nature of the crossing over holes means it can be a touch dangerous if you are really wild however.

Overall as friendly as clubs come, no complaints on that front.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Maybe it's easier to leave this restriction on and not enforce it 99% of the time rather than say all welcome except people who hack the course up. If they see a golfer taking chunks out of the course this catch all makes it easier to remove them. I have played at a range of courses, all in the north of England, many of them very nice, and not one has ever asked for a certificate. Where I would take notice is of a course that states a maximum h/c of say 18. If I saw that then I would expect that to be enforced and I would not chance my arm there.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Good point LT but I think it's more due to the sheer amount of crossing over holes or ones that play over one another than course condition.

 

[Hacker Khan]

]Maybe it's easier to leave this restriction on and not enforce it 99% of the time rather than say all welcome except people who hack the course up[/B]. If they see a golfer taking chunks out of the course this catch all makes it easier to remove them. I have played at a range of courses, all in the north of England, many of them very nice, and not one has ever asked for a certificate. Where I would take notice is of a course that states a maximum h/c of say 18. If I saw that then I would expect that to be enforced and I would not chance my arm there.

Possibly yes. But as others have said it seems a bit counter productive if it is just there as a last resort method to turf someone off and it is never enforced. Surely there are more 'customer friendly' ways of expressing that if that is it's purpose. After all, would in reality a complete 'hacker' who is doing damage to the course play at such a course anyway? Seems even more daft if as people have said, it is a very friendly club anyway.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I was making my point relating to most clubs rather than Whitby specifically. My fault for not clarifying that. Pretty much every club I have visited has had the same restriction on their website if you look closely enough but I have never seen it enforced. I suspect the clause is there out of tradition.

Perhaps GM forumers can suggest a more user friendly sentence that could replace the current clause. One that does not put people off but gives the club wriggle room to remove people who are damaging the course or holding up play as they are not good proficient enough to go on a full sized course yet. If the wording is good enough then GM can print it and encourage clubs to adopt it.

 

[Hacker Khan]

I was making my point relating to most clubs rather than Whitby specifically. My fault for not clarifying that. Pretty much every club I have visited has had the same restriction on their website if you look closely enough but I have never seen it enforced. I suspect the clause is there out of tradition.

Perhaps GM forumers can suggest a more user friendly sentence that could replace the current clause. One that does not put people off but gives the club wriggle room to remove people who are damaging the course or holding up play as they are not good proficient enough to go on a full sized course yet. If the wording is good enough then GM can print it and encourage clubs to adopt it.

To be honest I'm struggling to see the need for it if it is purely there as a tool to be able to turf people off. If clubs really think a statement is needed to give them the ability to turn paying customers off then something like 'Anyone causing damage to the golf course or the associated buildings will be asked to leave' will surely suffice?

 

[Lord Tyrion]

HK - Simple and yet perfect. You get my vote :thup:

 

[Craigg]

Well, I arrived in North Yorkshire safe and sound on Saturday. Called in to the pro shop at Whitby today with a view to booking a 6.30am start tomorrow. "No problem was the answer, but the shop won't be open so just call in and pay after your round"I offered to pay up front a day early but he was having none of it. So far so good, and not a mention of a handicap certificate. Tee time booked, weather is set fair. Now all I need to do is hit that little white ball around in as few shots as possible! Oh, and if anyone is passing at 6.30am, bring your clubs and join me.

 

[Biggleswade Blue]

I've seen some clubs say - "We do not ask for a formal handicap certificate, but do expect visitors to be able to play to at least an equivalent standard of 28 (Men) and 36 (ladies)". I think that covers it, and would mean they can encourage you to the Par 3, or Putting Green, or Range, if you've not got a clue.

 

[Liverbirdie]

Well, I arrived in North Yorkshire safe and sound on Saturday. Called in to the pro shop at Whitby today with a view to booking a 6.30am start tomorrow. "No problem was the answer, but the shop won't be open so just call in and pay after your round"I offered to pay up front a day early but he was having none of it. So far so good, and not a mention of a handicap certificate. Tee time booked, weather is set fair. Now all I need to do is hit that little white ball around in as few shots as possible! Oh, and if anyone is passing at 6.30am, bring your clubs and join me.

I hope your not scared of heights - them bridges!!!!

 

[Craigg]

I hope your not scared of heights - them bridges!!!!

Yes, that's a hairy walk over that bridge. I did manage to get a couple of memorable 3 woods away accross the ravine. Lovely course with stunning views and a welcoming pro shop. Drove the ball well but sadly my short game was woeful today, but didn't let it spoil my enjoyment. I will give it another whirl on Thursday morning.

 

[Dan2501]

Loads of clubs mention them on their websites, but I've never been asked for one. Played on courses in the UK, and in Portugal, Spain and France that mentioned handicap certificates, and never been asked for them. The way golf participation is currently, I think most are just happy to take your money.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Seems like where pubs say they will only serve over 21s when in fact that is really to protect to protect themselves if they think that someone is under 18.

As far as clubs are concerned - maybe they just state something like 'as golf is a difficult game a handicap of about 24 or a reasonable standard of golf is required for the golfer to be able to enjoy the delights of our course. If you are unsure please do ask our professional and they will be able to advise on what is best'

Of course the professional, when asked, might simply suggest that a player or group with no h/cap certs or that might not have played much should go off at a very quiet time so as not to feel pressured by other players.

 

[drew83]

We are going for our annual weekend away & the course states that all players must have a handicap cert.

When questioned (as most don't) they said that it is to keep people of a poor/ non golfing standard away. I.e stag do's that want to get beered up & have a raucous time.

They said that as long as we are all able golfers we are welcome.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

This event of yesterday spans a number of discussions - but I'll stick it here.

Four of us walked to our 1st tee yesterday just before 1pm to tee off our foursomes match. Quiet around the tee as it often is Sunday lunchtime - we knew that a ladies match was due to tee of a 1:30pm so we were keen to get away. As we checked handicap allowance etc a four ball arrives on the tee and one comes up to us and asks us when our tee time is. We said we were members and didn't need a tee time - thinking to ourselves - we don't have a tee booking system - what tee time do they think they have (1pm clearly).

We politely explained we were a club foursomes match so were just like a two ball (we weren't sure they'd know) and so would be quick - so best if we went before them. Chatting further - they'd never played the course before and none had handicaps. As we walked up the first after teeing off one of our group muttered to me 'this place is getting like a expletive deleted pay and play - why am I paying £1500 for this - Fred (the new business manager driving the change) will most likely be gone in a year or two'. And it really annoyed me - and I'm a supporter of change.

What would be your take on that.

 

[CheltenhamHacker]

This event of yesterday spans a number of discussions - but I'll stick it here.

Four of us walked to our 1st tee yesterday just before 1pm to tee off our foursomes match. Quiet around the tee as it often is Sunday lunchtime - we knew that a ladies match was due to tee of a 1:30pm so we were keen to get away. As we checked handicap allowance etc a four ball arrives on the tee and one comes up to us and asks us when our tee time is. We said we were members and didn't need a tee time - thinking to ourselves - we don't have a tee booking system - what tee time do they think they have (1pm clearly).

We politely explained we were a club foursomes match so were just like a two ball (we weren't sure they'd know) and so would be quick - so best if we went before them. Chatting further - they'd never played the course before and none had handicaps. As we walked up the first after teeing off one of our group muttered to me 'this place is getting like a expletive deleted pay and play - why am I paying £1500 for this - Fred (the new business manager driving the change) will most likely be gone in a year or two'. And it really annoyed me - and I'm a supporter of change.

What would be your take on that.

I'm confused as to what the problem is? You met another group, who let you play ahead of them (as I understand it?).

 

[Slab]

Off topic I know but got to ask how were the ladies due to tee off at 1:30 if you don't have a booking system, & how would you know they were due out at that time?

Maybe the visitors were given a tee off time after all

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I'm confused as to what the problem is? You met another group, who let you play ahead of them (as I understand it?).

Issue is that we don't have tee booking for casual play. And so to let a visiting fourball, none of whom had handicaps and none who'd played the course before, book a time to go out at a Sunday lunchtime when members often choose to roll-up for a knock irritated us. We know it can be quiet Sunday lunchtime - it's a great time to tee off it you have Sunday pm free. It's one of the reasons we pay £1500+ a year to be a member. Into the bargain we didn't expect to be getting challenged by visitors about our 'tee time'. And apart from anything else we were not happy that we could easily have found ourselves behind a four ball not having a clue what they were doing. If my club is going to go down the route of taken pay and play players with no handicaps at such times of the day then we were questioning the value we get from paying £1500 and year.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Off topic I know but got to ask how were the ladies due to tee off at 1:30 if you don't have a booking system, & how would you know they were due out at that time?

Maybe the visitors were given a tee off time after all

Our on line system shows when tee is reserved. We don't do casual golf tee time booking. The four ball clearly had the impression that they'd booked a 1pm tee time and were going to stick with it until we pointed out we were essentially a two ball and so would be much faster than them. I did complain in the pro shop afterwards - when I said that I was all for opening up tee for visitor bookings on a Sunday after say 2:30pm - but not before.

Question is - if we go down tee booking route for visitors should I as a member expect the tee to be reserved for members only for some periods of the week - and even if none are booked to play it is kept free - just in case a member decides to turn up for a few holes of a Sunday lunchtime (say)

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Welcome to what most of us simply accept as the norm. The question you and your pp have to ask is does your club need visitors green fees? If the answer is no, you are financially strong then make a complaint and get this stopped. If you need green fees, and most clubs do, then you need to accept that visitors will book, turn up and play your course. If you want restrictive times where no visitors can play, and this is not unusual, then you need to agree those restrictions as a club. Some have no visitors before 11am for example. Otherwise, as a visitor, if I had booked a tee time at 1pm and 4 people turn up at 1pm and expect to go then I would also ask the question they did. Seems pretty fair to me and decent of them to let you tee off first. Good etiquette.