is it really this difficult to get a game!!

[philly169]

Can you not ask in the pro shop if they know anyone who would be willing or if there are any 1 balls going out?

When I play as a 1 ball I normally book a tee time and say im a 1 ball, if they then said oh by the way, this chap is going round for his card, id be happy to oblige.

the pro should be able to find someone for you to go out with, I mean they are in the pro shop and check everyone in...

If not club captain..?

ps. if you spend so much time on the putting green, i'd never want to bet against you!

 

[MoonPig]

my best mate was captain last year - he spent the whole year picking up waifs and strays ("new members") as we played our way round and he always brought them into groups. To my mind he did a brilliant job as captain, purely for doing that all year round

Good on him Sev, I see that as an important role of the club Captain. He should be visible, approachable and above all encouraging to all members either new or existing. I speak to lots of members of other clubs were the Captain is in his own "click" and is rarely seen or evn friendly to members. Thankfully our current Captain is great and is always chatting to members on comp days and in teh clubhouse afterwards, does a great job in my opinion.

 

[bigfoot1985]

i played my first round with the captain as he is my uncle!!

i can enter comps and use that as my handicap entry card but i can also just try get up there in the week and try to get my cards in.

Using a comp to get my handicap card in just means my score wont count in the comp..

Im sure i will get it done its just i want it sorted sooner than later!!

 

[GB72]

I had the same problem. None of our comps are drawn and people turn up in their own groups. I worked out that it was busy at 8.00 onwards so just went up to the club and asked around until a group let me join. I now know that group are up there most weekends so they are my back up option and most times they can find room. Outside of that I will not say it was easy but now have a group of a dozen or so people I can call on for a game.

This to me is the biggest area that clubs can focus on and the most important outside of the course. So many are devoting time and resources to attracting new members but next to nothing to keep hold of them or to retain existing members. Roll ups and drawn comps seem the ideal way but even ideas outside the box like Facebook pages to arrange a game on would help. I even thought of leaving my club because of this but when I visited another (Belton Park) I asked about finding rounds and was informed that basically if I turned up I should find something, not even an offer to sort me out a round or 2 when I first joined. As a result I stayed where I was. Most of the members at my club seem to have spent years getting to know everyone and expect everyone else to put in the years to do the same.

 

[bigfoot1985]

the comp setup is great at the club, they basically put up on the board when the comp is and have 3 time slots 7-9 9-11 11-1 somewhere around them time slots. You put your name down in the preferred slot and you get drawn with whoever else is in that time slot so you are always playing with different people.

Once i get my handicap then happy days!!

 

[PNWokingham]

Agreed - this is not the way to run a club. We have a rollup - 7am (7.30 winter) to 10 on Saturday and Sunday - come to the club have a coffee and bacon etc and stick your name on the rollup list in the bar - managed by a pro - and you go out in a 4-ball and have a laugh - a great way for any new member to meet people - I don't think I would join a club which didn't run anything similar - it costs nothing, encourages spend in the bar and a good atmosphere etc.

 

[Imurg]

I have to say that this could be my club - or course where I play if I'm going to be accurate.
There is hardly any club atmosphere at all. All the Midweek comps are roll-ups so I play with Fragger and CVG, everyone has their own little group. Very occasionally you get to play with someone else but it's not often. The &-dayers may see it differently, some of their comps are drawn but it seems to be the same few playing every week.
One of the reasons I joined there is because CVG was a member so I would have someone to tag along with and now Fragger has joined too.
If I was joining on my own, not knowing anyone I can imagine it being quite hard.

 

[jammydodger]

I joined a new club this year and was told "we're all very friendly here , you'll never have a problem getting a game".

This turned out to be very true , the first weekend I was put into the captains group. Great start no probs. Everyone says hello and stops for a chat , have you got a game etc.

The thing is I like playing on my own so I tend to try and get a tee time when no-one else is on the course which suits me perfectly. Take tomorrow for instance , theres a 2 ball out at 7.40 and I know one of the guys but i've put myself down for 7.30 on my own. I'd much prefer to go out and work on my game in peace and quiet.