Moral Dilemma

[ScienceBoy]

Clubs have mananeged to match for me, any money saved on tee time is usually spent in the bar instead.

If I did take the hot deal it just means I have money for food.

I usually can’t afford both if the tee time costs £££.

 

[sam85]

If you only look at the hot deals then that may be the case. Plenty of good stuff on there too, not all clubs offer hot deals

Perhaps it is different in different parts of the country. Here on the Surrey/Hampshire border there was only 1 maybe 2 courses I'd want to play. Granted I have not heard of all the courses advertised.

 

[Jacko_G]

personally i wouldn't book through these booking sites its just fueling the race to the bottom, clubs slightly to blame, but also the faling cost to nomads is great for non members but what are all the nomads going to do when all the struggling clubs have gone out of business??

Hopefully the new Scottish Golf system will kill these "parasites" off north of the border as all bookings through SG will see 100% of the green fee going to the club.

 

[PJ87]

Surely golf now bookings are just a system made to book on to save clubs for paying for another one.

I’d book via a club if they had a website .. (Like I have for next week) for one your not locked down to office hours to phone , I often like booking when I’m on a night shift for the next week, you also don’t have to check with people over times.

For example my friend and I are playing Wednesday. Gave him a choice of courses he said fancy either of 2 (6 choices) I went on their website, saw the times , sent him a screen shot , asked what suits him best, he picks a time I booked it..

No calling the club hoping the pro isn’t busy on a lesson, serving golfers or the shops closed ..

This one I had to pay in advance but others I don’t they don’t take payment until the day

I’m guessing this website charges a fee to use for the club... so golfnow would charge their fee maybe some clubs just see it as better as they get advertisement included

The course I played Monday their booking system on their website is golf now .. well a version of it

 

[Jimaroid]

Bottom feeding parasites is a sentiment I can get behind. However...

I have seen first hand how they can help smaller or struggling clubs. You need to look further than margin on tee times. If you look at an empty tee time as negative equity, any way of getting people onto the course and through the bar/kitchen/shop is better than losing money. It's obviously not a healthy long-term strategy but in times of crisis it can be enough to just about scrape a little better than even. It is different for different clubs though, finance of kitchens/bars/shops will all differ, but the basic principal on which you have to view it is tee times means customers and any customer is better than no customer.

Memory is a little hazy but I think I'm right that a club is not permitted to undercut GolfNow bookings direct. It's simple business practice but I see why it can be considered immoral.

 

[Hobbit]

You're considering paying them more? I admire your principle, just as I always gave the pro first option. I even paid a few quid more on occasion but there's a limit to what percentage over and above I was willing to go.

If the club can afford to take a £9 hit, at least when you think of commission, they're overcharging. Pay the least amount in this instance.

 

[Hacker Khan]

I'm not a member anywhere and whilst I have used tee off times and the other similar ones in the past, the vast majority of the clubs near me seem to match the prices on these sites now, or are only a couple of quid more expensive. So as long as the club has their own web booking system that most do, I'll book using the clubs web site. Not sure how much more expensive they'd have to be not use the clubs web site, 20% maybe.

 

[BRISTOL86]

Sorry but if they’re refusing to price match a deal on a portal that they voluntarily advertise on, then they have very little sympathy from me.

I’m all in favour of supporting the local guy but that’s a nonsense policy. You can’t have it both ways. You offered them a chance to get more profit than they would have through the portal they they use - of their own free will - and they turned it down. Madness.

 

[PJ87]

Sorry but if they’re refusing to price match a deal on a portal that they voluntarily advertise on, then they have very little sympathy from me.

I’m all in favour of supporting the local guy but that’s a nonsense policy. You can’t have it both ways. You offered them a chance to get more profit than they would have through the portal they they use - of their own free will - and they turned it down. Madness.

Plus if a tee time is free it’s just sitting there.. not earning anything

They get nothing off golf now for the hot deal anyways so if they match it that’s in their pocket

 

[virtuocity]

Pay the cheap fee and treat yourself to a cracking lunch.

 

[williamalex1]

Pay the cheap fee and treat yourself to a cracking lunch.

Or scrounge a game on here , again

 

[HowlingGale]

Or scrounge a game on here , again

Cheeky bandit. 🤣.

 

[williamalex1]

Cheeky bandit. 🤣.

Drew, you know you're always welcome at mine, through Golf Now . Just give me a call mate

 

[Leftie]

Was looking at a course near me earlier. Golf Now twilight fee £20.25. Course on-line price £15. Go figure.

 

[backwoodsman]

Theres no dilemma. Just take the hot deal.

The system is the same here as in the US. Say a club has no online booking system but wants one. It can either buy one, paying say, £25k upfront. Or it can go to GolfNow (or BRS, or someone) who will provide a booking system, in exchange for 2 or 3 tee times per day - which GolfNow or BRS sell for whatever they can get.. Those 2 or 3 tee times are the clubs payment for obtaining a booking system.

We're thinking about it. We have no current system. We are a members club, and if we do it, the system will be available only to members to book tee times. The only tee times that anyone else will see will be the hot deals (or equivalent of). Once they've gone, they've gone and there'll be no more. You can ring the club to see if we have tee times, (and it's likely we will) and you can book them - at the club's going rate. If we wanted to think about discounting, then we would. But we don't need to for the present. But the thing with the hot deal is that if we have given GolfNow, say, 11:50 to sell - it's therirs to sell, not ours. We cant sell you 11:50 at any price. We sell you 12:00 but at our rate.

 

[Jacko_G]

My local club which is on its knees is offering games at £12 & £14 on such a site.

I also see a few surprising Golf Courses at what I would term as very reasonable rates. Golf clubs really are making a rod for their own back. As a comparison I'd say it's now like the Champions League where the rich get richer and the rest get to fight for scraps!

 

[HowlingGale]

Theres no dilemma. Just take the hot deal.

The system is the same here as in the US. Say a club has no online booking system but wants one. It can either buy one, paying say, £25k upfront. Or it can go to GolfNow (or BRS, or someone) who will provide a booking system, in exchange for 2 or 3 tee times per day - which GolfNow or BRS sell for whatever they can get.. Those 2 or 3 tee times are the clubs payment for obtaining a booking system.

We're thinking about it. We have no current system. We are a members club, and if we do it, the system will be available only to members to book tee times. The only tee times that anyone else will see will be the hot deals (or equivalent of). Once they've gone, they've gone and there'll be no more. You can ring the club to see if we have tee times, (and it's likely we will) and you can book them - at the club's going rate. If we wanted to think about discounting, then we would. But we don't need to for the present. But the thing with the hot deal is that if we have given GolfNow, say, 11:50 to sell - it's therirs to sell, not ours. We cant sell you 11:50 at any price. We sell you 12:00 but at our rate.

That's something I hadn't thought of. I suppose there needs to be some benefit to the club even if it's minimal.

 

[HowlingGale]

Drew, you know you're always welcome at mine, through Golf Now . Just give me a call mate

I did see your gaff on there but I'm still scarred from the last time I played there. Was it the 16th green that needs a health warning? Never seen anything like it. All that was missing was a windmill or king Kong robot.

 

[Orikoru]

If the choice is paying £15 or £24 for the same round of golf then that's an absolute no-brainer, I'm taking the cheaper option every time. 'Supporting the club' is not a factor in my thinking. I'll buy a breakfast and a few pints while I'm there so they'll still make more money from me playing there than not.

 

[Smiffy]

Go to Lydd. Breakfast and 18 holes £12.50. Or just the breakfast for £17.95