Golf Society - Worth the effort??

[AndyT]

Hi Folks

I've been asked to set up a golf society at work. There are about 20 people interested in joining. Has anyone else done it, is it worth it, what do you gain and what are the pitfalls?

Any help gratefully received!

Andy

 

[Val]

It's worth it to get the golf in and play different courses etc in but it's a thankless task as you'll never please everyone, it can take up a bit of time but it is also rewarding in the fact rarely does anyone not enjoy themselves

 

[pbrown7582]

will take lots of time and be frustrating with the yeah i'll be there but when it comes to it or paying its a different matter brigade. On the plus side though a tremendous satisfaction that you all get a day out you wouldnt have if you didnt sort it.
Good luck!

 

[GripandRip]

I set up a society for the pub that I used to run and it was great.

Getting to play different courses and sort out the social side of it as well was really rewarding, but don't expect to get much thanks for it (not that that should be why you do it).

It can take up as much or as little time as you want depending on what you want to achieve for each day and how enthusiatic everyone is.

The main pitfalls to be wary of is getting money out of people which can be a bit stressful as everyone leaves it to the last minute and having people drop out late in the day. I used to ask for a non-refundable deposit (only £10 or so) to ensure that I wouldn't be left carrying the can if someone pulled out but, in fairness to the guys, that only happened once or twice and I was always given as much notice as they could.

 

[swanny32]

Never set one up myself but am planning on setting one up with some guys off my CPFC forum, one of the guys who is going to help me run things has been the president of a society before, his one bit of advice was set up a separate bank account for it and get money at the earliest opportunity from people, don't book anything yourself as there is a massive chance you'll lose out on your own money.

 

[Rooter]

2 toughest things will be collecting cash, and then policing handicaps.... with most societies, a lot of people may not have an official handicap, i play in one where one guy played off 11 a few years back, was given a h/c of 28!! and he accepted it and won suprisingly... You will get a lot of social golfers who are pretty handy, all claiming 28. I suggest max the handicap at 24 and present a mandatory cut for the top 3 players each game.

 

[chrisd]

but am planning on setting one up with some guys off my CPFC forum,

Tell me more Swanny - I saw my 1st game in 1967 and been a fan ever since

 

[bladeplayer]

For the 1st year or so keep the prizes simple , this avoids the temptation to cheat . set out some basic rules & have them written down so anyone can see them .. have a joining fee of £20 or so , that will detract the time wasters from the start, also should stop you geting stung .. appoint a committee , add £5 on top of the green fee for the day to go twords the prizes ..

we have a big society where the overall winner gets cut 3 shots (2 if under 5 handicap ) catogary winners cut 2 , runner up 1 ...
as for geting shots back say you win and get cut to 10 , play the next comp & dont win a prize you go to 10A, then 10B then 10c then 11 . every 3 comps without winning a prize you get a shot back .. (samller societys may cut less & get back sooner)..

 

[mattdeeks]

Have started a society recently at work. I would recommend looking at www.societygolfing.co.uk. It's a free web space, where you can put all you society information in, handicaps, up coming events, results, Player of Year etc.

It also works out handicaps, once you start playing. Need to put a starting handicap in to begin with, you can adjust as required.

All the guys find it really good. We've played about 5 events so far since November. Obviously you can't make everyone happy when booking events. I book a different course every month and try to keep it as cheap as possible. Usually coffee and bacon rolls then 18 holes. Most courses we have played so far have charged £25 on average.

We also chuck in £5 on the day for prizes. Winner, runner up, LD and NP.

Good luck.

 

[harvey4banger]

Used to do the odd one for all the boys, always ended up out of pocket, but we all had a good laugh on the day, so it was kind of worth it.