Originally Posted by
7Out
Sorry but you are way off base. You are right, there's no economic argument because there is no lost revenue. It is just about this not being normal times. In normal times, the private clubs not only provide tee times, but they provide post round food and beverages as well. I know because I have been on the committees and we set aside a decent budget for these events when we are hosting as we try to be gracious with our hospitality.
This is not about competitive advantage, clubs aren't that petty or trying to be that clever. When very active membership results in no reciprocals, limited guest play and long wait lists, things are different.
We go from last summer where there was no events at all including Intersectionals to at least getting the events back on the calendar albeit slightly scaled back at some clubs (no practice rounds) and some people are still complaining and coming up with conspiracy theories over an event the overwhelming majority of members quite frankly don't care about. Members care about getting access to the tee sheet with their friends and family. The management and Board need to prioritize that and you are seeing the results with no practice rounds.
To give you another example, there's a fairly decent share of members at the Hunt who don't want to host the LPGA Canadian Open because of the loss of access to the tee for 2 weeks. They don't care about the money or reputational prestige it provides the club, they just want to play golf. That's a completely fair statement and many clubs who host big events go through the same internal debate.