JB

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Albatross 2024 Club
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Will this work? Would you use it?

 
I think it’s a great idea. With a wife and twins I don’t get our nearly as much as I did, but having the chance to walk a few holes each day is great. I’m fortunate enough to live near a course that has half year memberships. This year I ended up getting a half year membership for that reason. I can go out before my wife leaves for work, or on weekends when the girls are napping and walk 3-4 holes and leave. It’s not a full round or even 9 holes, but it’s better than nothing.

As long as courses fit people in and keep the pace moving, I think it’s a great idea. Though I’d be curious what they charge each hole.


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I don't see it working. I certainly wouldn't use it. May as well just go to the range if I only have a short amount of time. I usually like to play 18 most of the time anyway. I'm normally not warmed up until midway thru the first 9.
 
I don't see it working. I certainly wouldn't use it. May as well just go to the range if I only have a short amount of time. I usually like to play 18 most of the time anyway. I'm normally not warmed up until midway thru the first 9.

This might be beneficial for courses that don’t have a range or short game area. Mine has a putting green and a 140 yd range. So I went out last night around 4 and walked 3 holes. Got to hit multiple tee balls and dropped some balls around the green and worked on shots from 100 yards and in.


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Also, what happens if you happen to play a course that is designed such that the hole you finish on is completely on the other side of the golf course. You have time for 6 holes, then you have to leave, you are coming back through groups that are still playing. So you have to wait, interrupt other players with your cart, drive all over hell's half acre to get back to the clubhouse ... that takes an extra 10 - 15 minutes. I myself wouldn't appreciate some random cart coming back down the hole I'm playing in the opposite direction.
 
I think it's great. I would definitely use it. There are times when I want to play more than 9 but less than 18. This would be perfect.
 
I think the idea is interesting, but the application could be difficult for many golf courses.

As the previous poster said about golfers returning from all over the course. How would a course judge how to align tee times?

Many times I am playing with only two or three guys. So, the course will set us up with that one or two people to make a foursome. Would that work if some or one of us was on this pay by hole concept?

Many questions would need to be worked out before I see this as a viable normal way to play and pay at most courses.



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I could see this being a scheduling nightmare for the course. IMHO, this is another app that someone dreamed up to make a buck if it catches on. I just don't see it being successful in the short or long term.
 
Pay By The Hole?

If people walked only to use this, it might work. If you are paired in a cart with a guy who wants to play 6 and you are doing 18, that won’t work. Also the cross traffic of people coming and going on a course would be a lot for the staff and golfers to deal with.


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No I wouldn't use it and I don't think it will catch on. The ONLY way I see this working if that is the only way a course operated. Couldn't have people starting on different holes and walking off in the middle of a 9, not to mention often times after 6 holes you are nowhere near the clubhouse or parking lot so you end up way out there and have to walk or drive back. How does that save you time?
 
Very interesting idea. As a member of a club I love being able to go out and hit the range and if I notice the course is fairly open I will go walk a few holes before I leave. Sounds like a good idea for those that aren't members somewhere and want to just hit a few holes while they have an hour or so. I think it would be quite difficult for a course to implement though as it's already tough enough for some courses out there to keep people from getting upset about pace of play. Now imagine groups just coming and going while others are playing 18 and others are playing 9. Good idea, but will take some effort to make it work flawlessly.
 
No I wouldn't use it and I don't think it will catch on. The ONLY way I see this working if that is the only way a course operated. Couldn't have people starting on different holes and walking off in the middle of a 9, not to mention often times after 6 holes you are nowhere near the clubhouse or parking lot so you end up way out there and have to walk or drive back. How does that save you time?

I agree with this take, even if options are great for the golfer. I only see this even potentially working on courses with largely open tee sheets. If a course is busy and someone/group wants to just pay for 5 holes, there is a lot of lost revenue added up, even if it could help with pace of play down the line. Truthfully, I'd have to see/experience it in action to have a proper judgment.
 
More options are always great, but this pay by the hole option seems like it would be a logistical nightmare. If the course is having issues with booking tee times, then I can see the need to attract some revenue, I just don't see the model as sustainable long term.
 
an hour and 20 minutes to play 6 holes would kill me. I can play at least 9-10 in that time.

I can see this working for faster golfers, but if I am pressed for time I'll just hit the range or play 9. For me when i golf it's my time and i hate being on a 'clock'
 
Great idea, but a scheduling nightmare (as others above have stated).

We don’t have any courses in Vegas (that I’ve found) that even accept 9 hole greens fees. Everyone demands full price, albeit late rounds cost far less. I’d love the option to pay by the hole if I knew I was going out say one hour before sunset.
 
At first blush I sort of mock this idea, but the cold reality is that given the right circumstances I'm sure I would use it.

If my life ever boils down to a point where the only way I can golf is 4-6 holes at a time I guess this is better than paying for 9.

The main obstacle is the courses. I'm not sure how they would integrate this into their tee sheet without losing profits if it were to become popular.
 
It's a good idea, but really flippin hard to schedule. I think a way you could handle it is maybe have pay by hole options on non peak times when the course isn't very full - like weeknights, you could let people on at 6pm or 7pm for a few bucks a hole until they run out of light.

I know I would utilize this option after work, as I rarely have time to get in a full 18 after work and often it's tough to even get 9 in, so the ability to play like 4 or 5 holes with an extra hour here and there is appealing as real practice.
 
In theory this kind of approach would work for me. I often zoom out to the course and have about an hour and half of time. I have played 4-5 holes many times. But having a season pass to the course makes that cost effective with the full rounds I get in too.
 
No I wouldn't use it and I don't think it will catch on. The ONLY way I see this working if that is the only way a course operated. Couldn't have people starting on different holes and walking off in the middle of a 9, not to mention often times after 6 holes you are nowhere near the clubhouse or parking lot so you end up way out there and have to walk or drive back. How does that save you time?

Exactly what I said
 
I have always thought an option like this should exist. I know I would certainly use it.
 
This would fail immediately in my area. The courses want the whole enchilada when it comes to tee times and greens fees.
I suppose if a course can't fill their tee sheet, then they may adopt something like this, but I'm sure it would only be on week days and after 2pm.
Even if it was adopted around here, I would never use it. I either play 9 holes after work or 18 hole rounds on days off.
 
I think for this to work, it’d have to be during non peak hours, so mid-late afternoon. I posted before that I think the concept is great, but do agree that logistically speaking, it’s going to take some work. I know many of you said you’d just go to the range to work/practice, but for those of us that don’t get to Golf on a regular basis, I’d prefer to walk 4-5 holes compared to hitting the range.


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It's something I might use. I like to occasionally hop on the course over lunch and I either have to quit part way through the round or rush like crazy to get through 9 holes. This could be handy for a situation like that.
 
This would be another option as far as the reasoning for getting a season pass.
I've toyed with the idea of a season pass so I could go and play a few holes when I have an extra hour to kill.
 
Seems like an interesting idea. There are problems with it as pointed out by many here, but the concept does have some value. Doesn’t seem like something many courses would do. Maybe courses just offer 6, 9, and 12 hole rounds if people are looking to play but don’t want to play a full round.
 
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