Two for one schemes - good or bad for golf?

[chrisd]

It has to be good for both. The golfers get to play at a reasonable cost when they might otherwise not choose to play at certain courses. The club gets a minimum fixed income for its tee time and the possibility to sell many additional products eg food, drinks, golf gear from the pro shop as well as course planners etc. Additionally, if the deal is good and the course lives up to expectations they might just have some referalls as well as the possibilty of new members.


Chris

 

[Toby_LeRhone]

Anybody have any evidence (other than anecdotal) that any clubs are actually losing money overall through accepting 2 Fore 1 vouchers?

 

[Kellfire]

I only use them on good courses I normally wouldn't play due to the initial price. So that's instant new custom for any course I use one at. If they're a good course, I might just return as a full paying customer. Only a good thing imo.

 

[GB72]

Maybe the problems are not with the vouchers as such. There are a few comments on here stating that people have played courses that they would not pay full price for. Now a number of people on here, myself included, have complained that there are too many average or worse courses charging £30-£50 a round and £30 seems to be the norm now for non-municiple golf. Simple fact is that the vouchers exist and flourish because most courses are charging too much in the first place. Bring down your midweek prices and watch the number of visitors increase without lining the pockets of a middleman.

 

[Driven2Distraction]

can only be good - it encourages golfers to expand their horizons, and if the clubs in question look after them, it may encourage them to come back with friends/societies at a later date when it's not necessarily on 2fore1

 

[Timh27]

It is a good thing for golfers.

Clubs do have a choice. Some choose to use tee time booking websites and reduce green fees at quite times.

 

[SammmeBee]

16 of us from the forum went down and played East Brighton a few weeks ago, and are planning to go back on March 9th.
Using 2 fore 1 vouchers we got on for £15.00 each. Bargain.
Would we pay £30.00 each? Nope. As nice as East Brighton is, it's not worth £30.00.
The club took £240.00 in green fees along with whatever was spent in the bar on food and drink.
Can clubs like East Brighton afford not to take 2fore1 vouchers?
The Wentworths of this world will get by without them. But I think they offer some of the smaller clubs a much needed lifeline in the current financial climate.

Then their green fee would be overpriced then wouldn't it....?

 

[bozza]

Good idea i think as i've used them and played courses i was abit unsure about playing due to the cost but enjoyed them that much i have went back and played them again and paid the full green fee.

 

[madandra]

If golf clubs priced rounds more reasonably then there would be no need for any 2-4-1 deals. If the annual cost for a member is £1000 and they play 100 times a year then the average cost is £10 oer round so why are they charging £100+ for a game?

 

[shagster]

they are great for golfers, they can try different courses.
no one makes golf clubs take them, so they must see it as a good idea.
how many times do you play your/any course at quite times, so any buisiness is good buisiness.
most clubs hsve to run as a business, and anything that keeps MY subs down is good [but we dont operate this system, but i will mention it again]
as it is most clubs overcharge, so anything that brings cheap golf is a bonus
shagster

 

[Region3]

2 points.

Firstly, I don't think clubs have that much of a choice whether or not to accept them. Obviously they do have a choice, but what I mean is if they don't, people will play 5 miles down the road instead where they do accept 2-4-1 etc.

Secondly, why on earth would anyone who's played a course they like on a 2-4-1 go back again and pay the full green fee rather than use vouchers again?

Where I work, if we have a special offer on a product it's almost impossible to get the proper price for it again afterwards unless the promo is for a new product.

 

[HRC99]

It is a good thing for golfers.

Clubs do have a choice. Some choose to use tee time booking websites and reduce green fees at quite times.

Long term that it is a much more viable option for clubs as it will allow clubs to charge fees more appropriate to the tee time. day of the week and the time of year.

 

[Smiffy]

What about "County cards?" Should we scrap these too because they allow people to play other courses cheaply?
I don't currently hold a county card, but one course I visit quite regularly, and have got to know the 'pro, will always let me and my mates on at county card rate.
The 'pro appreciates our visits and he would rather take 4 x £20's off of us than stare out over an empty 1st tee.
The course isn't "overpriced". They charge the going rate for a reasonable track in this area.

 

[MashieNiblick]

I can't see anything wrong with them and clubs who participate must have made a decision about whether it's good or bad for business based on their particular situation. Some business must be better than none. Certainly it's good for golfers who get to play courses they otherwise couldn't afford or wouldn't think were good value at full price.

However, like others I've never really understood why we need them. Clubs in them could either just reduce their fees or have cheaper rates on certain days or times. Would be interested to know what the deal between the clubs and the schemes is. Will that be in the debate?

 

[JezzE]

Would be interested to know what the deal between the clubs and the schemes is. Will that be in the debate?

It's kind of mentioned in passing in the debate which, rather than two GM staffers discussing, will actually be between a representative of the GreenFree scheme, and a club secretary against the concept.

In terms of the GreenFree people (I don't know about other schemes), it is free of charge to participating clubs

 

[Doh]

I Agree to some extent that it's bad for clubs, all the clubs in the area do 2 for 1 so we are forced to in someways to do the same.What we have done is give visitors another 2 for 1 voucher only valid for our club.

 

[PaulE]

What about "County cards?" Should we scrap these too because they allow people to play other courses cheaply?

The County Cards are supposedly there to compete with 2-4-1 vouchers and make membership of a club seem more appealing.

The idea being that if more clubs opted for the County card scheme and refused 2-4-1 vouchers, then more people would be inclined to join golf clubs and get a card as that would be the only way to get cheaper green fees.
This would also increase revenue into clubs through membership fees further reducing the need to offer 2-4-1 deals.
Bit of a dull and long-winded explanation I know.

 

[Smiffy]

The County Cards are supposedly there to compete with 2-4-1 vouchers and make membership of a club seem more appealing.

I think you'll find that County cards have been around a lot, lot longer than any type of 2fore1 voucher.
They were considered a "bonus" for being a member of a reciprocating club and were in great demand at one time.
2fore1 vouchers give all the benefits of county cards to non club members. What's wrong with that???? It opened up golf to the masses. Got to be a good idea

 

[viscount17]

In two minds

A good idea too often let down by their online information, which is too often out of date, eg clubs stopped taking them or applied a different set of restrictions etc.

Playing away - great opportunity to try new challenges, especially useful for a golfing holiday.

Playing at home - need to be carefully monitored.
(Absolute worst for us was signing up to one of these online Tee-sales/golf package outlets who ignored/oversold the allocated tee-times.)

 

[GB72]

Not sure that I agree with the view that it has to be good in the long run. What clubs want is members to provide long term stable income. What these vouchers do is encourage nomadic golfing. Would like to know how many people have ditched their membership because they can pay and play cheaper with a half price voucher.