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Golf Course to Charge by the Hour

krispyk

krispyk

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I was listening to PGA Tour channel on Sirius radio today and they said there is a course (I think in Minneapolis or Minnesota) that is going to do a charge by the hour rate at $10 per hour. They said the thinking was that if people only have an hour or two to play then they could come play what they can in the time limit they pay for.

What's your thoughts about this idea?

I think this would only work for a course if their 18 hole round is (at the least) over $50.00 otherwise you might as well pay the 9 hole rate which would probably be cheaper than 2 hr rate at $10 per hr.
 
wouldn't slow play really disrupt this? i can imagine a whole host of golfers b1tching to the pro shop that they didn't get their money's worth.
 
c.a.eleric said:
wouldn't slow play really disrupt this? i can imagine a whole host of golfers b1tching to the pro shop that they didn't get their money's worth.
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^^^ This. Without strict pace of play enforcement, it's a recipe to tick people off.
 
I like the thought. Going to be some unintended consequences of fights over slow play with groups not wanting to let people play through because they are on the clock basically. Now I am all for it if they charge you 10 bucks because you tee off an hour before sunset. I don't see how this could even work during weekend days ect. All for thinking outside the box though.

I would love this if a course had a very nice short game area with good bunkers, real greens to hit into with shots up to 50-70 yards and handed you a bag of premium balls and you got charged by the hour to practice.
 
I give them a thumbs up for thinking outside the box. I think this is an idea destined for failure. Alot of people are cheap or broke. I can only imagine how many people are going to get hit into with the policy.
 
ntanygd760 said:
I would love this if a course had a very nice short game area with good bunkers, real greens to hit into with shots up to 50-70 yards and handed you a bag of premium balls and you got charged by the hour to practice.
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this would be so awesome, and it's something i've thought about a lot. have a range with certain hitting areas that have perfectly manicured grass. obviously you would pay a premium for time in that area. then you have other areas with "normal" grass for less, and then mats for the lowest price. you could have tiers of quality balls to practice with, all with different price points. you could have portable launch monitors for rent. you could have a big box store with certified fitters share the property so you can test outdoors. then you have a premium short game area with rented time (maybe even "tee" times), and then normal free-for-all short game area. bring in some instructors. maybe put a 6-hole course on property, 2 par 5s, 4 par 4s, 2 par 3s. i would be all over something like that.
 
Lol this is such a terrible idea, but I do appreciate the effort to do something different.

The speed golfers (whip around in 2h) will act like they own the place to get their cheap round in, and the slow golfers (4.5h+) won't give a crap since they are paying for their time anyways. Hope they don't allow guns.
 
I like the idea but think it will only work for the first tee times of the day and twilight hours, which are often discounted anyways.

Also, the payment options would be interesting. Do they hold your credit card? What if you only have cash? Is there a flat fee upfront then a refund or additional payment?
 
I can see it working with each group getting a GPS device that tracks your time and round and then after the round you get prorated on your time.
Example would be your group plays the front in 1:45 only to make the turn and get held up a couple holes later by a slow group (we have all been there!) and then the back takes that group 2:45 minutes to play.
Why should your group be penalized and end up paying more because of slow players ahead of them when in actuality it would have taken your group to really play 18 in 3 1/2 hours?

Don't know if this makes sense but it kind of makes sense....maybe.
 
mski said:
I can see it working with each group getting a GPS device that tracks your time and round and then after the round you get prorated on your time.
Example would be your group plays the front in 1:45 only to make the turn and get held up a couple holes later by a slow group (we have all been there!) and then the back takes that group 2:45 minutes to play.
Why should your group be penalized and end up paying more because of slow players ahead of them when in actuality it would have taken your group to really play 18 in 3 1/2 hours?

Don't know if this makes sense but it kind of makes sense....maybe.
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Agreed, I see that you will piss off a lot of players who will say the pace of play was slow and cost them money. I play with guys and we finish a round in 3.5 hours if not being help up, but if a group ahead is slow I would NEVER play because I m being help up. Good out of the box thinking, but will fail quickly in my opinion.
 
c.a.eleric said:
this would be so awesome, and it's something i've thought about a lot. have a range with certain hitting areas that have perfectly manicured grass. obviously you would pay a premium for time in that area. then you have other areas with "normal" grass for less, and then mats for the lowest price. you could have tiers of quality balls to practice with, all with different price points. you could have portable launch monitors for rent. you could have a big box store with certified fitters share the property so you can test outdoors. then you have a premium short game area with rented time (maybe even "tee" times), and then normal free-for-all short game area. bring in some instructors. maybe put a 6-hole course on property, 2 par 5s, 4 par 4s, 2 par 3s. i would be all over something like that.
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You have this already at the members area of Grand Cypress.
3 full practice holes, two putting greens that are perfectly manicured, etc.
Plus a par 3 that can play from 30to90 yards.
 
Depending on the price of a regular 18 hole round, this could ruin the courses' bottom line. Say a 4some has a fun enjoyable round going but they are behind a group that happens to be finishing their last hole or two when their "next hour" just began. Instead of playing a few more holes they take their sweet time on 17-18 since they don't want to have to wait in line at the first tee.

This 4some behind them was going to hit the bar up like they normally do for 2-3 hours of drinks, but now they are ticked those last two holes take forever and decided to drink at a buddies house instead. Golf course just lost out on 20-40 bucks per person for food and drinks, plus they might not play that course again, losing another $200+ each time.

Playing devil's advocate here, but unless the pace of play is managed better and golfers respect it, I don't think this is a good idea for any course.
 
I think we had a thread on this a while back, there's a course in Lake of the Ozarks, MO that did this year year. I'm a fan, I'd be all for it. But I could definitely see how it could get a little dicey when you have a super slow group in front of you.
 
JB said:
You have this already at the members area of Grand Cypress.
3 full practice holes, two putting greens that are perfectly manicured, etc.
Plus a par 3 that can play from 30to90 yards.
Click to expand...

but the membership isn't just for the practice, so the value prop isn't really there. i tried to go out there to practice, and i had to pay full greens fees for the privilege of hitting off mats. their short-game area is ok. the best place for something like this would be tranquilo. their practice facility is excellent.
 
Playing by the hour is interesting. I've actually seen places by me go to 'charging by the hole' so folks can come out and play a few holes after work or whatever. Seems like a nice idea, if they actually stick with it and only play that many holes.
 
Bad idea ... it would never work & would cause more harm then good. I can see people getting really irate very quickly if a fast player gets behind a group that doesn't care about how much money they have to spend or how long it takes.
 
I honestly don't think it would work and would probably cause more problems with people who want to run round the course as fast as they can, whilst others are quite happy to take their time and play in 4 hours

And the busier the course, the worse it will get

Good idea in principle, but not one that would work in my opinion

If a course wanted to introduce something like this, I would suggest something along the lines of 'x' cost if the round is played under 4.5 hours (being very generous based on normal round times at my home course) but then double or triple that cost for anything longer. Surely that would encourage people to keep to a relatively decent pace?
 
My course would be like a billion $ a round on certain days haha. I love the idea


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I think it's awful. It breeds a sense of entitlement where some will feel that they paid for the time so it's theirs to use as they see fit. While others will understandably feel as if slow players are literally costing them money.

I think a better approach would be along a different psychological tact. A course can advertise the cost of a round as say $50 with a cart. However if a group keeps pace and finishes under a specified time, each player receives a $20 voucher off the full price to be applied to their next round.

When a group holds up play, that group will receive a $20 penalty to be applied when/if they were to play again. Groups behind a slow group can be offered a free lunch voucher and a buy 3 get 1 free round for the group next time out; cascading offers for smaller groups.

Time could eventually serve to weed out the bad actors and encourage an accepted new culture at that particular course.

Of course that's convoluted but we're not talking things here that will be realistically considered anyway.
 
These are some great points. The slow play from groups ahead of faster players is certainly a major hurdle and I don't see away around it without ticking off one group or the other. Does seem like a recipe for disaster.
 
I don't get it, if you only have an hour or two then just play 9 holes.

Seems like a solution for a problem that doesn't exist.
 
i can see where this could potentially cause some anger issues on the course.
 
If the pay by the hour is used during certain slower times I think it could be successful, but if it's offered during all operating hours I could see things getting complicated with groups who paid for a full 18 getting mixed among groups of by the hour players. Plus the type of by the hour player will vary as well, from those looking to kill some time and have fun doing it to those who are challenging themselves to see how many holes they can get in during their allotted time.

One course near me has introduced an option to play a 4 or 5 hole loop. The configuration of this particular course lends itself to such a setup but it would likely bring its own pitfalls with folks trying to sneak in a couple more holes by cutting over to different parts of the course. Either way has pitfalls but I think more and more courses are going to try to offer options like these to increase play. I have already seen two tracks near me close in the past few years and I can't help but think more will follow unless creative new ways of offering play are considered.
 
c.a.eleric said:
this would be so awesome, and it's something i've thought about a lot. have a range with certain hitting areas that have perfectly manicured grass. obviously you would pay a premium for time in that area. then you have other areas with "normal" grass for less, and then mats for the lowest price. you could have tiers of quality balls to practice with, all with different price points. you could have portable launch monitors for rent. you could have a big box store with certified fitters share the property so you can test outdoors. then you have a premium short game area with rented time (maybe even "tee" times), and then normal free-for-all short game area. bring in some instructors. maybe put a 6-hole course on property, 2 par 5s, 4 par 4s, 2 par 3s. i would be all over something like that.
Click to expand...

Plus a bar/restaurant out front. Now we're set. I remember a friend of mine wanted to open something like this years ago (sadly he lacked the funds).
 
WMac19 said:
I think it's awful. It breeds a sense of entitlement where some will feel that they paid for the time so it's theirs to use as they see fit. While others will understandably feel as if slow players are literally costing them money.

I think a better approach would be along a different psychological tact. A course can advertise the cost of a round as say $50 with a cart. However if a group keeps pace and finishes under a specified time, each player receives a $20 voucher off the full price to be applied to their next round.

When a group holds up play, that group will receive a $20 penalty to be applied when/if they were to play again. Groups behind a slow group can be offered a free lunch voucher and a buy 3 get 1 free round for the group next time out; cascading offers for smaller groups.

Time could eventually serve to weed out the bad actors and encourage an accepted new culture at that particular course.

Of course that's convoluted but we're not talking things here that will be realistically considered anyway.
Click to expand...


My thoughts exactly! When I saw the thread title, my first thought was this might be a way to speed up pace of play. If you knew ahead of time that there was a time penalty involved, slow players would (hopefully) have an incentive to pick up at double par, not spend 5 minutes looking for 50 cent found balls, play ready golf, etc.

Throw in a positive incentive, & I think most golfers would be willing to keep the pace moving.
 
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