Golf Now taking bookings without stipulating the state of the course

[Foxholer]

A thread about £2 ?

Wrong!

 

[Leftitshort]

Normal visitor fee £25 on the BRS booking site, we paid £23 through GN.

Even now the BRS site has the message up for today, but click on next friday and its not there.

For £2 I’d book direct with the club. Speak to a human person. Also think you have a point. You should know re course condition.
I have used 241 vouchers years ago but never used an online discount site. Seems they want to offer savings, bank their cut but offer no real value

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Without knowing the ins and outs, a lot of clubs are analogue, GN is digital. Ring the club to book...... this is 2022. Go on GN, book a time, pay online, all sorted. Some clubs offer this to visitors but others still have the palaver of ringing and booking that way. Fine for some but archaic to others. I haven't rung a club for ........... genuinely can't remember and wouldn't bother if I had to.

 

[Bobthesock]

Remember when it was called teeofftimes and they had a 20% off code for new users. Every week create a new account and get your discount. Played loads of great courses for about a tenner.
Now I normally book direct with the club. With the £1 "convenience" fee it's usually dearer to book with golfnow, unless you find a really good hot deal

 

[Foxholer]

Well, this thread has morphed into a general discussion about GolfNow!
FWIW, it seems to me that it's the club's responsibility to notify GN that some holes are out of play and they should have that sort of requirement in their terms. So not an issue with GN, but should be reported to them either directly or through feedback.

 

[howbow88]

Perhaps GN do secret shopper style checks on clubs that get them into trouble if they match GN prices? I would if I were them. Keeps the club in check.

GN provides a service, a service clubs seem happy to use and as a customer I think it's a pretty darned good service for golfers. As it happens, I tried a few times initially to get clubs to price match but they didn't do it for me either so I gave up trying.

I was thinking about this - if people started ringing up the club and asking to match GolfNow, issues could arise if the club agrees to the match, but then word spreads amongst locals. Then you'll have 20 people each day asking to match. It's probably not a problem if it is just a couple of quid difference, but a fiver or a tenner and it could become costly.

 

[Crumplezone]

I can hear them sobbing from here!

In all seriousness, I take your point, but if you are a nomad, you'll have a decent idea of who does what locally. So is a bit of checking too bad if you are looking to save money on a tee time?

But, if booking direct with club, there's no excuse for not being fully informed.

Obviously the situation with trollies and temp greens can vary from day to day. Most clubs are stuck in the dark ages and don't update their web sites and social media regularly or just don't care about visitors.

 

[IanM]

I'm sure some clubs are like that, but that's on the wain these days.

Our Head Green keeper updates our course status by 7.30 every day. Wife's club does similar. One is private one is hotel.

But they might be radical exceptions

We don't get many visitors. The arrogant gits who have paid an annual sub are filling all the starting times

 

[PJ87]

Obviously the situation with trollies and temp greens can vary from day to day. Most clubs are stuck in the dark ages and don't update their web sites and social media regularly or just don't care about visitors.

I once called a club we were to play the next day .. they had lifted the trolly ban

Told my group

We all turned up next day with trollies and none carry bags etc

Not a hint of rain overnight (course is local Ish to me)

Trolly ban lol

Luckily one of the group had a couple spare bags in his boot

 

[Crumplezone]

I'm sure some clubs are like that, but that's on the wain these days.

Our Head Green keeper updates our course status by 7.30 every day. Wife's club does similar. One is private one is hotel.

But they might be radical exceptions

In my experience. That is the case. If clubs are selling tee times on Golf Now etc, then they should make an effort to provide up to date information for visitors.

 

[MadAdey]

I often use these sites like GolfNow, very useful as you can see what courses have tee times available for when you want to play, saves a lot of time ringing around clubs or going to their personal websites. I have even managed to nick a couple of tee times at expensive courses on the cheap. I never use it though to book way in advance though as you can end up unsatisfied like you. Where I live you have to be careful because some courses have bent grass greens, some bermuda and some hybrid bermuda. All have maintenance done at different times, so ringing in advance is key. Check the internet too, as I know some courses round my way do not hold up to prolonged wet spells so you can make an informed judgement.

I think what I am trying to say is if you book way in advance you take a chance of the course not being in the best condition, especially this time of year.

Just read back on what you had previously said before putting this reply up, when you booked the round did the course already have closed holes? Did you ring the club before booking to check on hole closures? If the course was fully open when you booked it, then then they closed holes after you had booked, then IMO you should have not played and got a full refund as you are not recieving the product you had purchased.

 

[IanM]

In my experience. That is the case. If clubs are selling tee times on Golf Now etc, then they should make an effort to provide up to date information for visitors.

I agree. If they don't they'll lose custom.

 

[Orikoru]

I once called a club we were to play the next day .. they had lifted the trolly ban

Told my group

We all turned up next day with trollies and none carry bags etc

Not a hint of rain overnight (course is local Ish to me)

Trolly ban lol

Luckily one of the group had a couple spare bags in his boot

Another win for the hybrid golf bag. ?

 

[PJ87]

Another win for the hybrid golf bag. ?

It was from that day that I moved to a hybrid bag of some kind lol