Winter Greens Fees.

[Mungoscorner]

Does your club reduce green fee's during winter ?
My home course is still closed (3 weeks now !!) due to waterlogging.A mate invited me to play at his club,which is a nice track in summer,but obviously not at its best during the colder months.He explained that the main tee's were closed,and that they are teeing from the fairway in front of the tee's.As with most course's locally,they have also had problems with flooding/waterlogging recently,and that two holes have been shortened considerably because of this.
I decided to play there with him and another group this morning,but was gobsmacked when the chap in the pro shop asked me for the green fee.There was a slight reduction in price due to playing with a member,but it was still the same price that they would charge in peak season,so no reduction in price to take into account the temp tee's,shortened holes,and overall poor condition of the course due to the weather.I didn't bother stopping,and put the clubs back in the boot and drove home.
Is it any wonder golf clubs are struggling,when they refuse to reduce green fee's when the course isn't at its best ?

Rant over,i'm now going to sit here sulking all day,and will probably be dragged out christmas shopping to boot !!

 

[louise_a]

I thought all clubs reduced green fees in winter, ours are halved

 

[CliveW]

We have half-price introduced guests all year round, and in winter conditions that is reduced by half again, so in effect I would pay a quarter of the guest rate at this time of year.

 

[duncan mackie]

can see both sides of this one

in these conditions your visit to their club will cause a lot more course damage than it would in the summer so why should they charge less?

otoh

why should you play the same price for something that's of a lower quality?

the general 'kicker' in this is the nature of the course - at this time of year there will be significant pressure on the available tee times (more when the weather and conditions are good obviously) so members will want to see top dollar being charged to any visitors (even members guests). The application of a flexible demand driven pricing will, rightly, be beyond most operations - and is also inappropriate unless arangements are limited to 'on the day'; and even then most would want to know how much the guest was going to get charged before they turned up at the course!

 

[garyinderry]

the fact there is a reduced rate at most clubs and the lack of light have stopped me joining a club until the longer evenings come in. i may aswel play a new course every weekend until such time as i can sneak 9 holes in during an evening.

so far i have i got slightly reduced rate everywhere. some more than others but i think its only fair if the course is not in full bloom or even some holes closed!

 

[Fish]

Our winter green fee's are reduced slightly for visitors but it looks like the discounted rate when playing with a guest or on a county card are the same!

Our guest rate is £20.00.

 

[Mungoscorner]

The club in question is a proprietary club,and not a private members club.It is obviously run with profits in mind first and foremost,however it has a membership of about 500,and is far from busy during the winter months,even at weekends.
In business,sometimes "some" money is better than "no" money.Obviously some course's/clubs will be busier than others,but in my neck of the woods,the situation seems to be too many course's,and not enough golfers.Even some of the most traditional clubs,have opened there membership up for the first time in decades,and most are offering pay and play deals,with no requirement to pay a joining fee.
With the economic climate the way it is,i don't think a lot of clubs can afford to price themselves out.A reduced green fee,and the possibility of that person then spending money in the bar/restaurant,and maybe even considering joining if they enjoyed the day,is far better than the loss of a few pounds on a reduced green fee.

 

[moogie]

All clubs in my area have Winter rate green fees, nobody is going to pay summer rates all year round, and some clubs are almost cutting their own throats to be competitive, almost giving the golf away to get people through the doors

1 local club in particular -- Mondays a 4 ball for £16.00...........!!
Fridays -- Golf + a PINT :cheers: £9.00


As they are nearly all parkland courses, nearly all play shorter, winter / forward tees, the odd winter green, or some have winter rules, eg -- no play from fairways, take to 1st cut semi...........fairway mats.........etc

 

[Fish]

All clubs in my area have Winter rate green fees, nobody is going to pay summer rates all year round, and some clubs are almost cutting their own throats to be competitive, almost giving the golf away to get people through the doors

1 local club in particular -- Mondays a 4 ball for £16.00...........!!
Fridays -- Golf + a PINT :cheers: £9.00


As they are nearly all parkland courses, nearly all play shorter, winter / forward tees, the odd winter green, or some have winter rules, eg -- no play from fairways, take to 1st cut semi...........fairway mats.........etc

At those prices could this not work in reverse and actually become detrimental to the upkeep of the course! By encouraging more people to hack up and trample soft ground the course could take a pounding and not recover well enough for the Spring/Summer and could take more costs and man hours to keep open. Could it not be a false economy and only upset the members if the course then becomes closed due to extra visitor footfall leading to extra maintenance?

I think those that are either not reducing their green fee costs or reducing them slightly are protecting their courses from possible excessive use, especially when so many neighbouring courses may be closed! Is that a bad thing if they can afford to make that call?

 

[moogie]

YES I totally agree Fish
But desperate times = Desperate Measures

And some courses in My County are NOT doing very well at all Financially

The example given is a true one off, but as a rule u can probably get a 4 ball for between £40-60 at this time of year at most of the other courses in my county

Lots of guys I know take up winter memberships ( 5-6 months ) at Links courses up the coast........Goswick, Dunstanburgh Castle, etc........its the Only way to play a course that is still playing something like it normally does, condition/length/greens

 

[Mungoscorner]

Fish,
i'd be very surprised if there are more than a handfull of clubs who can operate purely on membership fee's alone.Visitors green fee's and society days are not there for the sole purpose of generating income,these monies also help to keep yearly membership fee's as reasonable as possible.
I was a committee member at a former club several years ago,i was stunned when shown how much money was taken from visitor green fee's alone,it was hundreds of thousands of pounds a year !!

 

[ScienceBoy]

Are higher during the winter in golfing holiday destinations! Up to €30 more in fact

 

[Fish]

Fish,
i'd be very surprised if there are more than a handfull of clubs who can operate purely on membership fee's alone.Visitors green fee's and society days are not there for the sole purpose of generating income,these monies also help to keep yearly membership fee's as reasonable as possible.
I was a committee member at a former club several years ago,i was stunned when shown how much money was taken from visitor green fee's alone,it was hundreds of thousands of pounds a year !!

I know and I understand that, however, the example prior seemed to encourage more usage at a time when restraint would be more appropriate. Having a good society income is essential in keeping membership costs down but its also about striking the balance.

I see a lot of wastage at my club and massive misuse of time management and I'm sure that could be said of many other clubs so I'd rather see better housekeeping before trying to increase gross turnover by attracting more visitors.

 

[trevor]

Went to sign my friend in yesterday at my club and was told that as there were so many temp greens at the moment he wouldn't bother charging him anything.

 

[spawn_ukuk]

At my local club they are doing cheaper fees for all of December, doesn't matter if its full course or winter greens or whatever
Luckily my course is fully open no snow no waterlogged greens or fairways, so having the best of the weather

 

[Fish]

At my local club they are doing cheaper fees for all of December, doesn't matter if its full course or winter greens or whatever
Luckily my course is fully open no snow no waterlogged greens or fairways, so having the best of the weather

What course?

 

[spawn_ukuk]

What course?

Cannock its only 5100 yards but its quite a challenging course,
Small greens quite bit of slope in them.
its not bad course , cheap to, and its going to be redeveloped too in Jan
They are even lowering the memberships costs in Jan
Cannot complain

 

[Fish]

Cannock its only 5100 yards but its quite a challenging course,
Small greens quite bit of slope in them.
its not bad course , cheap to, and its going to be redeveloped too in Jan
They are even lowering the memberships costs in Jan
Cannot complain

Good to here.

Just keeping a list of courses nearby that are not affected too much in case I get cold turkey. Your not too far away.

 

[full_throttle]

Played today with 18 temp greens, but they played well. Back nine had been closed all week and was wet. When I arrived I didn't have to haggle the price down, i was charged 25% less than the advertised rate, course was quiet.

Oh and I beat Philthefragger