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The Little Things that go a long way at a courses you play.

clarkgriswold

clarkgriswold

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What are the little things at your local courses that are just a simple touch, that go a along way in your mind. I’m not talking about extravagant or even paid features, just the tiny things that make you think, hey that is convenient.

For me, at one course I play, they installed a mailbox in between the 1st and 2nd tee box that’s just full of pencils and scorecards, and when I’m rushing to catch a tee time I always forget to grab one at the pro shop.
 
It's more something I really notice when it's the other way, but having water readily available on the course.
 
Those are two good ones. Another is good signage on the course. If you come to a Y tell me what lies ahead on each branch. If tee boxes for two holes are close together have clear signs identifying the hole.
 
Good rangers can make a course, remove friction and frustration, and make people’s day. When I have my kids on the course, they can make my kids feel included and that they belong. That in turn really grows the game
 
Ball washers that actually have water in them..... love it!
Garbage cans that have been emptied that morning...... so good!
Carts that have scorecards on them, and a box of additional cards/pencils after the first hole..... a necessity!
 
I tend to go with water available every few holes. Also, restrooms easily available, at least at the turn.
 
clarkgriswold said:
For me, at one course I play, they installed a mailbox in between the 1st and 2nd tee box that’s just full of pencils and scorecards, and when I’m rushing to catch a tee time I always forget to grab one at the pro shop.
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My place used to do this. Now they just stock every cart with a card and pencil when they're ready to go out. Of course I still forget about this and grab one in the shop so I end up with two all the time. I just leave the extra on the cart when I'm done.
 
Clean carts - no trash from the previous users.
Full sand jugs on the cart.
Coolers attached to the cart.
Pencil in the cart - with more pencils and scorecards available at the starter.
Small towels in the cart.
Working collapsible windshield (front) and rain cover (back) on the cart
Water available at least 1-2 times per 9 - usually on par 3’s.
Trash cans on the course and ball washers - again, usually on par 3’s.
Some sort of pin system or pin position sheets - my club uses red, white, and blue flags to avoid printing daily pin sheets.
Smooth/level cart paths.
Air compressor at the club house to blow dirt off your shoes/spikes or other gear.
Range balls included with green fee and kept stocked on the range(s).
Short game practice areas with bunkers.
Putting greens that match the course greens (cut & rolled on the same day to match current speeds).
Halfway house and cart girls that you see more than once a round.
Restrooms on the course - usually 1 per nine (both men’s/women’s).
Extra sand bottles on the tee boxes of par 3’s.
1 covered area/pavilion per 9 in case you get stuck in rain - especially if it’s just a short passing shower.
 
Friendly staff, cleanliness all around. Maintenance staff that actually care instead of just cutting grass.
 
What does my local course do that's a "nice little touch"? Nothing. I'm lucky if there are easily findable yard markers at every tee box. I will say there's a fair amount of effort going into keeping the course conditions up, but I don't see many "nice touches". They just put up signs at y intersections, but I don't consider that a nice touch, I consider it a necessity.

What would be the single biggest improvement that all courses could easily make? Friendliness/Good manners. 50% of the adult staff (not the kid working a summer job) are just lousy people to be around in general. For example, most times I walk into the clubhouse for my tee time and there's never a "hello" or "welcome". They just look at me until I say something. The ranger drove around during my last round and his biggest concern is that my foursome keep up with the twosome ahead of us, even though the two holes behind us were empty.

The courses are busy at all hours of the day, so I don't see that they have any incentive to change, however.
 
My course keeps cold water on the course. If I play at 8 PM there is still a cooler full of cold water out on the course. That's my big gripe if it is not happening.
 
mpeterson said:
It's more something I really notice when it's the other way, but having water readily available on the course.
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tomcat said:
I tend to go with water available every few holes. Also, restrooms easily available, at least at the turn.
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DataDude said:
My course keeps cold water on the course. If I play at 8 PM there is still a cooler full of cold water out on the course. That's my big gripe if it is not happening.
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Not saying I don't agree with this, which I do, but a local course around here (not my club) stopped putting water out on the course. They are owned by the park district and they claim they will save almost right at $10k per year by not putting water out. There is a "half way" house that you pass half way through the front and half way through the back. Plus when you make the turn from 9 to 10 you can stop by the club house.
 
One of the things I've always liked about my club is the coolers full of ice water near the teebox on holes 2-4-6-8-11-13-15-17. It's very rare for them to run out of cold water, even on hot summer days when they have to be refilled around mid-day. A second thing I like is not having a beverage cart riding around the course slowing down play.
 
I played a local public course last week (that I have not played before), which was challenging. They have a course guide booklet free to anyone to give advice on "good" ways to play each hole. From ideal distance off the tee on blind dog legs to ideal sides to the fairways for optimal approach, it was nice touch if you were not familiar with the course (which none of us were)
 
Here are a few things from my home course
1.) fresh apples from a cooler at the starter's stand
2.) daily pin sheets
3.) 6 water cooler stations around the course
4.) on hot days, rangers offer iced towels on the course
 
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The only thing I can think of is that the new management at my course just added a bunch of yardage signs on the range. Baffles me why more courses don’t have a sign at 50, 100, 150, 200 yards and so on. Seems like a very inexpensive way to upgrade the range.


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2BFAST said:
Not saying I don't agree with this, which I do, but a local course around here (not my club) stopped putting water out on the course. They are owned by the park district and they claim they will save almost right at $10k per year by not putting water out. There is a "half way" house that you pass half way through the front and half way through the back. Plus when you make the turn from 9 to 10 you can stop by the club house.
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You're in Missouri so you know what the weather can be like in July and August. Water is necessary on these days. That savings also sounds like it includes $'s made by forcing everyone to buy drinks in the clubhouse which is deceptive budgeting IMO.
 
2BFAST said:
Not saying I don't agree with this, which I do, but a local course around here (not my club) stopped putting water out on the course. They are owned by the park district and they claim they will save almost right at $10k per year by not putting water out. There is a "half way" house that you pass half way through the front and half way through the back. Plus when you make the turn from 9 to 10 you can stop by the club house.
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If there are water fountains or taps to fill a water bottle at the halfway house/clubhouse I'd consider that being perfectly fine. If you can only buy, I'm wondering how much of that "savings" is people expected to buy water.
 
I love that we have water coolers every other hole on my home course. I didn't realize how often I refill and drink during around until I went to another course locally that was bone dry. Which isn't good here in South Texas.
 
DataDude said:
You're in Missouri so you know what the weather can be like in July and August. Water is necessary on these days. That savings also sounds like it includes $'s made by forcing everyone to buy drinks in the clubhouse which is deceptive budgeting IMO.
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Hard to say, what I posted is what I know. I don't know much else. But I do know water is not on the course anymore......

mpeterson said:
If there are water fountains or taps to fill a water bottle at the halfway house/clubhouse I'd consider that being perfectly fine. If you can only buy, I'm wondering how much of that "savings" is people expected to buy water.
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You pass it going from 5 green to 6 box. Then clubhouse from 9 green to 10 box. Then same halfway house from before from 12 green to 13 box. So it wasn't a HUGE deal to me. I was caddying for a friend of mine in the City Am and while it was hot AF I still strategically was able to make sure I had enough. BUT, where the fountain is if you aren't familiar with the facility you will never know its there. So if it was hot and you and a buddy had never been there one might think damn no water out here?

I dunno, I assume the savings are legit so it is what it is
 
I love it when a course includes a warm up bucket. It always gets under my skin when I pay $90 for a tee time and then $10 for 50 balls on top of that.
 
2BFAST said:
Hard to say, what I posted is what I know. I don't know much else. But I do know water is not on the course anymore......



You pass it going from 5 green to 6 box. Then clubhouse from 9 green to 10 box. Then same halfway house from before from 12 green to 13 box. So it wasn't a HUGE deal to me. I was caddying for a friend of mine in the City Am and while it was hot AF I still strategically was able to make sure I had enough. BUT, where the fountain is if you aren't familiar with the facility you will never know its there. So if it was hot and you and a buddy had never been there one might think damn no water out here?

I dunno, I assume the savings are legit so it is what it is
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Oh, if there's a way to fill water I've got no problem with it. Confusion can be fixed with a couple signs. I was just making sure "the option to buy water" wasn't replacing water out on the course. Every 4-5 holes is fine by me, that way I'm not having to carry a half gallon of water or something.
 
This place I played last week had lemonade iced tea and water available for free by driving range. Inside were free crackers peanut butter and jam. On course the cart girls had ice towels (100 degrees inTexas) for everyone. These 3 things barely cost a thing and makes u feel like they actually care and understand
 
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