What is wrong with Golf Courses?

[bobgeorge]

Agreed. I also think that while it's great that more and more people are taking up the game of golf, too many have unrealistic expectations and don't realize the commitment needed to play to a decent score. There is also a considereble investment required to play golf. You have to spend at least a couple of hunderd dollars as a start-up for clubs, balls, etc... but also you have to continue to pay green fees and potentially buy additional equipment, (balls, tees...),each time you play. For this investment I think many new players expect to be rewarded with good scores. Also I think it is percieved by the average person that because the courses they are playing look similar to the courses the pros are playing on TV, they can imagine themselves peforming similary. Also because golf is an individual sport you can more easily visualize yourself in the pro's shoes and therefore performing similary.

For a moment compare golf to many other popular sports. Basketball; you can buy a $15 ball at your local variety store, go to your local park or school, and play for free. Because the court you're playing on looks nothing like the mega venues that the NBA plays in you don't have the same expectations of similar performance. Since you're also out out there with 9 other people, referrees, coaches, etc... so you can further distance yourself and your expectations from your game and the game the pros play.

I think similar differences can be taken from other popular sports suc as baseball, football, etc...

Sorry for the long rant, just wanted to get my thoughts out....

I would argue that the avg golfer does not play on a pga level course similar to what the pros play on.

I have played on a course that has hosted a LPGA event, but never a PGA.

Sent from HTC EVO using Tapatalk.

 

[BigK29]

This is what more courses need to do - maybe they do do this and I just don't know. One of my local muni's just sent this e-mail out:

Because the days are now so short we have created a new discounted price!


"SUNDOWN RATE"


The rate is available approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes before dark
(4:30 pm in November)


Monday through Thursday
Green fee $8.00 and cart fee $5.00


Friday through Sunday (& holidays)
Green fee $12.00 and cart fee $5.00


This new price makes playing a few holes just before dark affordable!


Don't sit in traffic after work come and play golf instead.


All fees are plus tax.

Now I will definitely try and get in a few holes as much as possible!

​

 

[Jank]

I did not read the whole thread, but hopefully this hasn't been said. I feel that the decline of par 3 courses is hurting the new golfer. I learned to play golf on a rinky-dink par 3 course where the longest hole is 140 yds. The green fees are more than reasonable on these courses, and the pace of play is not a huge factor on shorter par 3 courses. I did have the luxury of the par 3 course I learned to play on not having much business, but that resulted in worse course conditions. After several rounds working on irons, short game, and putting, the driver and long iron game could be introduced on the driving range. I realize that this opportunity is not available everywhere, but it is just a thought.

 

[c0ncept]

I am playing a course now that is 30$ for 18 in an area that the lowest price is 50$ and some courses are 120$+

When it is a weekend the place is overcrowded and things move really really slow. I think that a lot of places are rushing groups off too quickly so that it creates the logjams.

 

[roswellj]

I don't think it has anything to do with golf courses. I think it has to do with the perception of the sport. The people who are playing golf currently are getting older and are leaving the sport at a higher rate than people are joining it (that is something I got off the secretary of a local club). I think this has a lot to do with how golf is perceived. Most think it is a bunch of old men walking around for an afternoon smacking a little white ball around, this does nothing to bring young people into the sport. In the past it has been seen as a glamorous sport but ask the average non-golfing citizen to name more than one current famous golfer and it's likely that Tiger is the only one they can come up with instantly. For the most part golf is seen as uninteresting and exclusive and I think that is something that golf has done to itself.
I try to get people to come and have a hit with me but noone ever seems interested. When I manage to get them to come they actually enjoy it and say they'd like to do it again.
Yes cost is a big factor in it but ultimately if people WANT to go and do something like golf then they will fork out the money. Back when I played cricket we would get 14-18 year olds coming to play every year, probably 10 new players each year in a town of about 5000 people. We had enough players to field 5 teams even though we could only have 2. But they would keep coming back each year and each year they would have a new $600 bat, new $150 pads, a few sets of brand new clothes at $50 a pop. My point is that they think cricket is exciting and fun. If they thought the same of golf then they wouldn't hesitate to fork out the money for the equipment... and some of those kids could make extremely good golfers.

 

[kook]

I think there should be a push to get new (or convert existing) courses built that are 14 holes, reasonably wide open and kept in decent shape. I'd imagine that they would be played for around $35 with a cart in about 3-3.5 hrs. This is close to the same duration and cost as other sports. The hope would be to get enough people intersted in the game to then want to upgrade to the 18 hole courses.

 

[DANNY.P]

Very interesting, some good ideas. Lack of golf corse management seems to be a reoccuring theme on this thread. Spreading out tee times, great idea. Having the golf community educate the public, tuff

 

[ddec]

Not sure if this is where I should throw this or not. But I played a course by me yesterday that I don't normally play. I think it usually costs more than it should and it's about a 40 minute drive. However yesterday I called them up to see if I could get out and they told me they were running a promotion. 20 bucks for 18 w/cart, as long as you brought in 2 things of non perishable food for a food drive. I thought it was an awesome idea. They had a whole lot of cans stacked up on a table in the pro shop.