Tee Times - Staying or Going

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when golf clubs were reopened back up it was under the restrictions that each tee time must be booked and people can’t just rock up

Now a lot of clubs at that stage were just “rock up and play” clubs but introduced the booking system

Now as we approach 21st June there is a chance that EG will remove the restrictions for tee times for club the question is

What are your club looking to do ?

Are they going to keep them , remove them totally ? Some sort of hybrid ?

And which way do you want the club to go ?

Has the feeling about tee bookings changed over the past 12 months ?
 

wjemather

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Since booking was mandated, there has been huge pressure from the established core of senior members at many member's clubs locally to return to the old turn-up-and-play model. I have no doubt that they will get their way.

However, I get the feeling that many (particularly those with families) have appreciated being able to schedule their golf around their home/work-lives due to knowing exactly what time they'll tee-off, and would like to retain the booking systems.
 

BiMGuy

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For me they need to stay. Its fine for the seniors to say they don't want them. But they generally don't have the same pressure on their time.

I, and pretty much everyone I play with, need to know when what time we are playing.
 

Wabinez

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Happy for them to go back to how they were.

it was tee bookings after 9am Monday - Friday.

ball chute on a Saturday until 11am when the ladies had tee times, and after them it was bookable times

sundays was also ball chute to 9am, after which it was bookable.

worked really well
 

apj0524

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We are trying a hybrid system at the moment, roll-up tee slots until 9:30 and from 4:30, not sure which way it will go as the members seems to be 50/50
 

Golfnut1957

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Shouldn't be an issue for us, we had a booking system in place prior to covid which everyone had accepted.

The only issue to be resolved is whether or not I (or anyone else) can turn up really early on a Thursday morning and go off the 10th. Currently, I need a tee time to play and can only go off the first.
 

GG26

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I much prefer having bookings. Prior to lockdown we were just turn up and play. Take this afternoon, for example, in previous years it would been fairly empty on a bank holiday afternoon. Today, with the increase in members, it was booked though to 5.40. At least I could see that the course was going to be full with 3 or 4 balls and there was no point in making a wasted journey. Also, it enables me to see if there is a space with people I know as I don’t belong to any particular group.
 

Imurg

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I much prefer having bookings. Prior to lockdown we were just turn up and play. Take this afternoon, for example, in previous years it would been fairly empty on a bank holiday afternoon. Today, with the increase in members, it was booked though to 5.40. At least I could see that the course was going to be full with 3 or 4 balls and there was no point in making a wasted journey. Also, it enables me to see if there is a space with people I know as I don’t belong to any particular group.
Wise words Mike(y)
I hope they stay
I imagine it will go to EGM once restrictions lift.
 

Lord Tyrion

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A few weeks ago I played with a guy who was hugely defensive of his club being turn up and play when I had first played with him a few years ago. He stated 'I won't be a member of a club that has a booking system '. I was interested to hear how he had found the last 12 months, or whatever it was. He had mellowed and believed his club would have a hybrid system where they would block out certain times of the day for turn up and play and the rest would be booking only. As someone who had been a hardliner on this issue, as his club had been, I thought this was a good compromise.
 

fundy

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A few weeks ago I played with a guy who was hugely defensive of his club being turn up and play when I had first played with him a few years ago. He stated 'I won't be a member of a club that has a booking system '. I was interested to hear how he had found the last 12 months, or whatever it was. He had mellowed and believed his club would have a hybrid system where they would block out certain times of the day for turn up and play and the rest would be booking only. As someone who had been a hardliner on this issue, as his club had been, I thought this was a good compromise.


wonder if you'll see the same compromise from the hardliners on the other side? nah ill get my coat lol
 

Grizzly

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For me they need to stay. Its fine for the seniors to say they don't want them. But they generally don't have the same pressure on their time.

I, and pretty much everyone I play with, need to know when what time we are playing.

Nailed it in one. I doubt I would have found it nearly so easy to integrate into my club had I had to wait to be asked to join others, and - when work and the like take up a lot of my days, I don't need to be turning up and waiting two hours to tee off.

I agree there is an argument for roll ups/swindles and the like - but these can easily be blocked off within the likes of BRS, so a hybrid approach should be straightforward enough.
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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I much prefer having bookings. Prior to lockdown we were just turn up and play. Take this afternoon, for example, in previous years it would been fairly empty on a bank holiday afternoon. Today, with the increase in members, it was booked though to 5.40. At least I could see that the course was going to be full with 3 or 4 balls and there was no point in making a wasted journey. Also, it enables me to see if there is a space with people I know as I don’t belong to any particular group.
Except you could only not play because of the tee booking in place. If your club was ‘turn up and play‘ today then you could have rolled up; put your ‘ball in the chute‘, and waited until it was your turn. If there were too many balls in the chute I.e. too many ahead of you for you to be bothered or have the time to wait then you would have just gone home. If not so many in the queue and you had time to wait then you would have played.

My club is waiting until we know what’s going to happen on the 21st and then the board will make a recommendation to the members. There will be very significant and heated debate. Some 5 yrs ago the club piloted tee booking for a 3 month trial - at the end of which the members voted strongly against its retention.

I think the vote will be much closer this time, especially as we have a load of newer members who are used to being able to book a tee time - either new to club membership or moved from clubs with tee booking. I think an element of turn up and play will be retained...most probably for weekday golf and possibly also for weekends after maybe 3pm. Weekend golf to mid-afternoon and midweek roll ups i can see being tee booking. But there is a possibility that 100% tee booking will win the day, and that will cause ructions in the membership especially amongst members of longer standing.
 
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Humpy

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Our committee has recently agreed to scrap tee times as soon as possible and return back to how things were pre covid. The majority of the members were in favour of having no tee times.

We are quite a sweep heavy club, some days having more than 1, so tee times don't really work in the main. Plus we have the availability of 3 starting holes which doesn't really suit tee times.
 

SammmeBee

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Our committee has recently agreed to scrap tee times as soon as possible and return back to how things were pre covid. The majority of the members were in favour of having no tee times.

We are quite a sweep heavy club, some days having more than 1, so tee times don't really work in the main. Plus we have the availability of 3 starting holes which doesn't really suit tee times.

You mean the minority get preference over everyone else then!?!?
 

apj0524

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What happens if sufficient people have rolled up that they spill over into the booked tee times... ?

So far it hasn't happened as the Blocked off Tee time were studied for the number of players who play on average and the they have allowed for some spare capacity. But you are right its going to happen but the club have communicated the that there is a risk of turning up to play and advising if they don't want to take to take the risk use the tee booking process
 
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