Golf Empire - Charging for advanced search function

[KenL]

We would love to know about any clubs in England, Scotland or Wales where we don't have their opens listed. I'm sure there will be the odd handful but if we ever spot one where they haven't sent us the details (and we do keep our eyes wide open for them) we would just add them to the database and link to their website then speak to the Secretary for future years.

How much are you paying? ?

 

[golfempire]

Are there any adverts? That's how they should make their money.

Yes, there are ads on the main (free) site but none on the Premium Member pages: Advanced Search Area, Calendar Tool, Recently Listed section.

The ads are golf related as much as possible.

 

[KenL]

Yes, there are ads on the main (free) site but none on the Premium Member pages: Advanced Search Area, Calendar Tool, Recently Listed section.

The ads are golf related as much as possible.

That makes it more acceptable to charge. ?

 

[Banchory Buddha]

People like me?

Who are picking specific courses and then playing their open as you described and not folks who are playing an open schedule, thought my post was very clear no?

 

[KenL]

Who are picking specific courses and then playing their open as you described and not folks who are playing an open schedule, thought my post was very clear no?

Gotcha?

 

[Banchory Buddha]

We would love to know about any clubs in England, Scotland or Wales where we don't have their opens listed. I'm sure there will be the odd handful but if we ever spot one where they haven't sent us the details (and we do keep our eyes wide open for them) we would just add them to the database and link to their website then speak to the Secretary for future years.

No idea mate, it was in response to my post earlier that there are nowhere as many opens in England, one other poster said many clubs (in the north-west Eng) don't list on your site. I have no idea which ones, but I assumed the info was correct, it may not be

 

[golfempire]

Nope that’s all women’s competitions. You can’t get a list of just women’s individual comps.

Sadly, there aren't that many Ladies Individual comps put on by golf clubs but you could very easily find what there is available in the Premium Section. There are 189 in total, at the moment across England, Scotland & Wales.

 

[golfempire]

No idea mate, it was in response to my post earlier that there are nowhere as many opens in England, one other poster said many clubs (in the north-west Eng) don't list on your site. I have no idea which ones, but I assumed the info was correct, it may not be

Yeah, sorry I saw that. I was just saying if there are any that we have missed we'd love to find out about them so we can include on the site. I think we have 99%+

 

[golfempire]

Is free advertising for the "pay per search" website allowed on here?

I've deleted it, was just trying to help @Kaz

 

[evemccc]

I’m a big fan of the course reviews on Golf Empire…I actually think it’s the best course review site — I like the depth of description etc. and some of the articles also about course architecture are interesting..specifically ‘How many links courses are there in GB?’

I paid last year for subs but won’t this year because I’m not playing v many opens

 

[IanM]

Search on a date is very useful... it's saved me a lot of time when trying to book adjacent events.
There's no need to pay if you don't need/want to.
I wonder how many people subscribed at the higher rate? Did it tail off?

"Pay per search" isn't correct or fair...
unless I've misunderstood your reference

 

[Deleted member 31467]

The annual subscription is roughly the cost of 1 premium ball. Hardly worth getting in a fluster over.

 

[golfempire]

Cheers, yeah and I watched the video.

I've always assumed the reason your website didn't allow these to be searched for was you'd modelled the data poorly. Now seeing you can do it on the premium site is a bit frustrating. A good enhancement would be to give women the same search options on the free site as men already enjoy.

I'm not sure I get you. In some ways Ladies already have better search functionality on the free site as we have a dedicated section for ladies events (we don't for men).

 

[Deleted member 31467]

I'm not sure I get you. In some ways Ladies already have better search functionality on the free site as we have a dedicated section for ladies events (we don't for men).

I just signed out and searched as a non payer. For men you can search on individual, team etc but all ladies competitions are under one heading, not split out into individual, team etc.

 

[golfempire]

No we don't, as a user of your site I can assure you it's quite the reverse. You have several separate searches dedicated to different categories of men's events - individual, pairs, scratch, seniors, team. All the women's events are bundled into a single category - "Ladies".

Just to be clear there isn't a 'men only' section on the site.

The "Individual", "Team" & "Pairs" sections do include mens events plus 'any combination' of gender opens (which we are seeing much more of nowadays) and these make up the majority of events on our site.

You are correct that the 3 sections above do not include 'ladies only' events (or juniors for that matter). We give both of these a dedicated section of their own - the thinking behind this is that the % of events is much smaller and they would get lost and be much harder to find.

Do you not think it is easier to have ladies events in their own section as opposed to lumped in with the others? That was the overwhelming feedback we got when we set it up like that.

I don't search for ladies events myself but I do use it search for junior events (which are effectively set up the same as ladies) and think it would be a nightmare trying to find them in and amongst all the other events.

Genuinely interested in hearing why you think it would be better the other way.

 

[golfempire]

Seems obvious. If I'm looking for an open to play in I'm looking for a women's (or mixed) individual event. The way your site is set up I have to scan through a list of all women's events for the individual ones, not all of which are clearly labelled as such and not all of which I might meet the age criteria for. I then have to search the individual events and scan through for any that might not be men only.

If you're looking for a men's individual open you just need to go to the "individual" search and everything that comes up is an individual open you can play in.

For me, the latter option would suit better. Others might have a different opinion.

I don't want to argue but you're being disingenuous to say the individual etc sections aren't men's sections. Every event they return is open to men to enter and the mixed gender ones don't come up in the "Ladies" search so women have to search there as well.

Anyway, lets leave it there. That's my feedback on your site but it's entirely up to yourself how you want it to work.

Appreciate the detailed reply.

 

[Banchory Buddha]

Seems obvious. If I'm looking for an open to play in I'm looking for a women's (or mixed) individual event. The way your site is set up I have to scan through a list of all women's events for the individual ones, not all of which are clearly labelled as such and not all of which I might meet the age criteria for. I then have to search the individual events and scan through for any that might not be men only.

If you're looking for a men's individual open you just need to go to the "individual" search and everything that comes up is an individual open you can play in.

For me, the latter option would suit better. Others might have a different opinion.

I don't want to argue but you're being disingenuous to say the individual etc sections aren't men's sections. Every event they return is open to men to enter and the mixed gender ones don't come up in the "Ladies" search so women have to search there as well.

Anyway, lets leave it there. That's my feedback on your site but it's entirely up to yourself how you want it to work.

This is true, but conversely if you're searching for all Men's events, you have to search Individual, then Team, then Pairs, which is the opposite way around, and as the Ladies list is much smaller doesn't that make sense? Also for the English events, many are restricted to 5 and under, but rather than being in the scratch section, they are in the individual section, which believe me is a monumental pain when your handicap fluctuates between 4 & 7

 

[golfempire]

This is true, but conversely if you're searching for all Men's events, you have to search Individual, then Team, then Pairs, which is the opposite way around, and as the Ladies list is much smaller doesn't that make sense? Also for the English events, many are restricted to 5 and under, but rather than being in the scratch section, they are in the individual section, which believe me is a monumental pain when your handicap fluctuates between 4 & 7

Both you and Kaz make some really great points, all of which have been taken on board and will/may be acted upon or at least tested... because it is in our interests to make it as easy as possible for golfers to find events. We are not trying to make it difficult! Ultimately though the way it is set up will never meet everybody's individual needs/circumstances. Admittedly it is far from perfect but I think it works well 90%+ of the time for 90%+ of our users.

The Advanced Search Area was born out of trying to improve the search functionality of the site for users and, whilst again not everyone will agree, I think it really does help make finding events so much easier and saves a lot of time. It can be a complicated system at times but that is largely because it allows you to filter by so many variables etc..

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Both you and Kaz make some really great points, all of which have been taken on board and will/may be acted upon or at least tested... because it is in our interests to make it as easy as possible for golfers to find events. We are not trying to make it difficult! Ultimately though the way it is set up will never meet everybody's individual needs/circumstances. Admittedly it is far from perfect but I think it works well 90%+ of the time for 90%+ of our users.

The Advanced Search Area was born out of trying to improve the search functionality of the site for users and, whilst again not everyone will agree, I think it really does help make finding events so much easier and saves a lot of time. It can be a complicated system at times but that is largely because it allows you to filter by so many variables etc..

Personally, I quite like the catch all element so apart from the area I don't use any filters. That way I trawl through the county / clubs / courses I want to play at and see the various options available. I'm playing in a range of opens this year, individual, 4bbb, team, mixed, and seeing all at each club gives me great visibility to choose which type to go for.

I fully appreciate some people want to filter down to something very precise but I thought it worthwhile to give a thumbs up from people in the other category, who are just looking generally.

 

[golfempire]

Personally, I quite like the catch all element so apart from the area I don't use any filters. That way I trawl through the county / clubs / courses I want to play at and see the various options available. I'm playing in a range of opens this year, individual, 4bbb, team, mixed, and seeing all at each club gives me great visibility to choose which type to go for.

I fully appreciate some people want to filter down to something very precise but I thought it worthwhile to give a thumbs up from people in the other category, who are just looking generally.

Another great point!

Everybody who uses the site will have different requirements. Hopefully the basic/free site covers the vast majority of users and helps them find what they are looking for, even if it may require a little extra leg work. Whilst the Advanced Search Area is beneficial for those that play a lot of opens or are looking to find something a little more niche or they are more flexible and not restricted so much by time or place.

I personally find the ASA comes into its own if I'm looking to play an open competition on a specific date but am not too fussed whereabouts or what format etc...