Openplay

[virtuocity]

Hi folks. Hope you’re all doing well. Haven’t hit a ball since August 2021 having discovered a weird love of marathon running.

Got the bug for hitting a ball about again but this will absolutely be a secondary hobby. I have no inclination to join a club again, but I would be keen to have the option to play in a few opens in the summer months.

I’ve seen that since I moved away from the game that there is an option ‘openplay’ via Scottish Golf for £50- looks right up my street to get the handicap I need without the price of a club membership. This, coupled with a season ticket at my local muni makes golf a financially viable second hobby for me.

Any Scots using ‘openplay’? Are clubs accepting of this for open entries or has there been pushback? Hi to the forum stalwarts I haven’t seen/heard from in ages.

 

[rosecott]

Welcome back Dave.

Marathons? Always thought you were a bit unhinged.

I don't know about Scottish Opens but there seems to be a bit of wariness about English Opens accepting players with the England Golf similar scheme - igolf.

 

[virtuocity]

Welcome back Dave.

Marathons? Always thought you were a bit unhinged.

I don't know about Scottish Opens but there seems to be a bit of wariness about English Opens accepting players with the England Golf similar scheme - igolf.

cheers Jim. Hope all is well with you sir.

 

[doublebogey7]

Does your "local muni " not offer any sort of membership scheme.

 

[Banchory Buddha]

Any Scots using ‘openplay’? Are clubs accepting of this for open entries or has there been pushback? Hi to the forum stalwarts I haven’t seen/heard from in ages.

In the north-east for sure some clubs are now insisting on club membership as a condition of entry, not all, but some for sure. And no wonder, seen some strange scores at clubs where they have accepted these players, memorably from last year, winner of the Newmacher 3-day event which carries a substantial voucher for the winner. Still I'm sure Scottish Golf gave him a very thorough handicap review at the annual review point

 

[patricks148]

Some will I think, but the higher profile clubs that fill up quickly don't I'm told.

 

[virtuocity]

Some will I think, but the higher profile clubs that fill up quickly don't I'm told.

I’m thinking more of more modest courses rather than £££

 

[virtuocity]

Does your "local muni " not offer any sort of membership scheme.

Yes- £80 more a year than OpenPlay with no benefit for me whatsoever.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Yes- £80 more a year than OpenPlay with no benefit for me whatsoever.

The difference being that the extra £80 opens the door to Opens elsewhere. At that point there becomes a clear benefit.

 

[patricks148]

I’m thinking more of more modest courses rather than £££

I'd ring a round a few clubs where you intend to enter and ask.

 

[williamalex1]

Welcome back Dave.

Marathons? Always thought you were a bit unhinged.

I don't know about Scottish Opens but there seems to be a bit of wariness about English Opens accepting players with the England Golf similar scheme - igolf.

Knowing Dave his marathons will be Snickers

 

[williamalex1]

Hi folks. Hope you’re all doing well. Haven’t hit a ball since August 2021 having discovered a weird love of marathon running.

Got the bug for hitting a ball about again but this will absolutely be a secondary hobby. I have no inclination to join a club again, but I would be keen to have the option to play in a few opens in the summer months.

I’ve seen that since I moved away from the game that there is an option ‘openplay’ via Scottish Golf for £50- looks right up my street to get the handicap I need without the price of a club membership. This, coupled with a season ticket at my local muni makes golf a financially viable second hobby for me.

Any Scots using ‘openplay’? Are clubs accepting of this for open entries or has there been pushback? Hi to the forum stalwarts I haven’t seen/heard from in ages.

Let me know when you want a game mate, I've missed the income

 

[Swango1980]

I'm based in England. A couple of my mates membership ran out last month. They are planning in joining the local "cheap" course, but with no real intention to play there. Instead, they will play in 20-30 Opens over the year, and social golf (submitting cards) when the opportunity arises. One of them did a very detailed spreadsheet, working out total costs (including mileage expenses travelling to various other clubs for Opens), and worked out it would still be cheaper for them than what they played last year to be a member of a relatively expensive course (both of whom rarely played there as there wasn't much on at weekends).

The England Golf igolf scheme would have been another option. But, it is just too risky if you fancy playing in Opens, as there could be quite a few clubs that prohibit entry to players without a club.

 

[virtuocity]

Helpful and quick reply for Scottish Golf:

Hello, delighted that you are thinking of getting back into golf. OpenPlay is a great way to stay in golf, manage your handicap at an affordable price. We have to be honest and say that - yes, some clubs do not allow OpenPlay members to play in their Open competitions. However, we are trying to change that mindset. Last year an OpenPlay member made the match play rounds of the Men's Am - so we know that OpenPlay golfers are of quality and integrity. If you would like more information or to sign up, you can email openplay@scottishgolf.org and they will help you out.

 

[Swango1980]

Helpful and quick reply for Scottish Golf:

Hello, delighted that you are thinking of getting back into golf. OpenPlay is a great way to stay in golf, manage your handicap at an affordable price. We have to be honest and say that - yes, some clubs do not allow OpenPlay members to play in their Open competitions. However, we are trying to change that mindset. Last year an OpenPlay member made the match play rounds of the Men's Am - so we know that OpenPlay golfers are of quality and integrity. If you would like more information or to sign up, you can email openplay@scottishgolf.org and they will help you out.

Haha, not sure how that fact proves OpenPlay golfers have integrity.

To be fair, I am sure most do. It is the few that don't who ruin it for the rest.

 

[Banchory Buddha]

Helpful and quick reply for Scottish Golf:

Hello, delighted that you are thinking of getting back into golf. OpenPlay is a great way to stay in golf, manage your handicap at an affordable price. We have to be honest and say that - yes, some clubs do not allow OpenPlay members to play in their Open competitions. However, we are trying to change that mindset. Last year an OpenPlay member made the match play rounds of the Men's Am - so we know that OpenPlay golfers are of quality and integrity. If you would like more information or to sign up, you can email openplay@scottishgolf.org and they will help you out.

Reality is different mate, initially opens were open, now that folks are understanding the scheme more & more clubs are heading towards club members only. It should go without saying that when SG "try to change mindsets" they usually manage to change it to being more negative towards them and their agenda. This scheme was introduced with no consulation, and the feedback they got from clubs once launched was entirely negative, despite them raising all their revenue from said member's clubs and their job being to help those clubs.

The bit highlighted is absolutely laughable

 

[wjemather]

Haha, not sure how that fact proves OpenPlay golfers have integrity.

To be fair, I am sure most do. It is the few that don't who ruin it for the rest.

Why should a small proportion of non-members ruin it for the rest, but a small proportion of club members do not? There are a plenty of club members that lack integrity and/or knowledge of the rules - yet I never see all club members being tarred with the same brush in the way independent golfers seem to be.

Also, being a member of a club is no guarantee of more effective oversight of handicaps (or even rules education and cheating in general) than having the union do it remotely, especially given the proportion of clubs that still do not have a handicap committee, let alone one that fulfils it's responsibilities, and the reluctance of many players to report known issues with individual handicaps.

Reality is different mate, initially opens were open, now that folks are understanding the scheme more & more clubs are heading towards club members only. It should go without saying that when SG "try to change mindsets" they usually manage to change it to being more negative towards them and their agenda. This scheme was introduced with no consulation, and the feedback they got from clubs once launched was entirely negative, despite them raising all their revenue from said member's clubs and their job being to help those clubs.

The bit highlighted is absolutely laughable

According to press reports, as in England, there has been extensive engagement with clubs in Scotland.

I find that people who are hostile to the authorities are often the ones that do not read any of their communications or attend meetings/presentations/seminars/workshops and then claim nothing was communicated.

 

[Banchory Buddha]

According to press reports, as in England, there has been extensive engagement with clubs in Scotland.

I find that people who are hostile to the authorities are often the ones that do not read any of their communications or attend meetings/presentations/seminars/workshops and then claim nothing was communicated.

Not unusually for you, you couldn't miss by a wider margin than this. They DID NOT communicate that this would be part of the VMS launch, nor the App launch, it simply came along part way through a year, when they should have been fixing the enormous amount of bugs in their systems. Instead they'd been working on this little money maker for them. They've had a number of meetings, and online training sessions since the very start of VMS (both old & new versions), I've been to many, and caught up on the rest online. If you had access to their Hive (which I do and you don't, so you're relying on the press release spin and not first hand knowledge) then you'd know how wrong you are, and how much criticism it received. But then you're never wrong are you?

 

[Swango1980]

Why should a small proportion of non-members ruin it for the rest, but a small proportion of club members do not? There are a plenty of club members that lack integrity and/or knowledge of the rules - yet I never see all club members being tarred with the same brush in the way independent golfers seem to be.

Also, being a member of a club is no guarantee of more effective oversight of handicaps (or even rules education and cheating in general) than having the union do it remotely, especially given the proportion of clubs that still do not have a handicap committee, let alone one that fulfils it's responsibilities, and the reluctance of many players to report known issues with individual handicaps.


According to press reports, as in England, there has been extensive engagement with clubs in Scotland.

I find that people who are hostile to the authorities are often the ones that do not read any of their communications or attend meetings/presentations/seminars/workshops and then claim nothing was communicated.

Don't ask me that question. Ask the clubs that do not accept these types of players into their Open competitions. They make those decisions, not me.

I've also never said that these types of players cannot be a member of a golf club. In fact, there are many threads on Golf Monthly that have discussed such players pre and post WHS. However, I suspect those that run Opens feel that there is a better chance that such players will be more easily identified, and dealt with if they are a member of a golf club (I'm sure there have been other threads where you have pretty much tried to convince everyone that this should absolutely be achievable by a decent Handicap Committee). Or, if players in Opens submit suspiciously good scores, the organisers may feel it is easier to report these back to the players home club?

However, with these nomad type of handicaps, how do the National Authorities truly review every players handicap (genuinely interested to know)? They certainly cannot meet and interview every player. They will not have a clue who any of these players are. How does the Annual Review actually work?

 

[wjemather]

Not unusually for you, you couldn't miss by a wider margin than this. They DID NOT communicate that this would be part of the VMS launch, nor the App launch, it simply came along part way through a year, when they should have been fixing the enormous amount of bugs in their systems. Instead they'd been working on this little money maker for them. They've had a number of meetings, and online training sessions since the very start of VMS (both old & new versions), I've been to many, and caught up on the rest online. If you had access to their Hive (which I do and you don't, so you're relying on the press release spin and not first hand knowledge) then you'd know how wrong you are, and how much criticism it received. But then you're never wrong are you?

Scottish Golf's plans for VMS always included offering handicaps to "nomad golfers", as reported in The Scotsman in March 2019, The Times in September 2019, etc. Following publication of The Scotsman article, there was a thread on the subject here.

Plans for such a scheme were announced two years before that (National Club Golfer reported in 2019 that "Scottish Golf announced at their national conference two Decembers ago that they would be offering a handicap to independent nomadic golfers").