Improve your golf experience

[leftylucas]

There have been many threads of courses in our area which just do not provide the type of really enjoyable golf experience we want as avid golfers. I do not want to start course bashing but without naming courses give me some suggestions as to what you would consider the best golf experience. Is it great customer service, ongoing specials, on course time management for slow play, after course entertainment, or make it your own.

I for one have a couple of favorite courses that I really like but I tolerate the service and the marshalls. This is meant to be a positive and informative thread so that we can get details on what we expect and pay for in our green fees.

[cleek]

some things that I look for, aside from a course that is in good condition and well grommed .....
- a warm welcome ( you don't have to hug me but be happy I am spending $ at your course )
- 10 minute tee time intervals ( I avoid courses where I know I am going to have a +4hr 30min round because the course crams players in )
- a small but effective warm up area ( range with a couple of hitting stations preferred , practice green w/chipping area )
- a pleasant starter ( sense of humor helps )
- good food & beverage service on the course ( with service that does not come barreling up the fairway or to a green when people are putting ) and in the clubhouse
- marshalls who have good people skills but know when to straighten non-conformers out.

Give me all the above , some nice weather and good character playing companions and I am all smiles ( even if I have a bad scoring day )

[jeffc]

friendly service (from all employees - too many places the people working there just seem they could care less)
trained staff (as posted, don't just send the cart girl out there, train her to wait if someone is hitting a shot to wait before driving up to the tee, etc.)
decent food (nothing like paying $5 for a turkey sandwich on white bread that is pretty ordinary)
good selection of beer on tap (minor, but have something other than Coors Light, Canadian and Blue on tap)
reasonable pricing for food/beverages
good pace of play (not so much an issue for most courses I play as its pretty good)
marshalls who actually do something (and when they do they are polite about it)

[Marcos]

Foremost for me its customer service. Like others have posted, a smilling person on the other side of the counter goes a long way. Starter and marshalls with good sense of humour and people skills. Not much on food and drink but its nice when when you dont get goudged for a beverage and a sandwich. Other than that,good playing conditions.

[mjf]

What's important to me... pretty much in order of importance:

- Excellent course conditions (At least, good value for money spent)
- Good course design (fair holes that reward good shots but also provide an opportunity for recovery... no 'wonky' holes)
- Good pace of play (Effective marshaling)
- Proper and accurate yardage markers
- Knowledgeable staff (ie. "Hey maintenance guy... Don't drive in front of me while I'm teeing off!")
- Reasonable prices (ie. Don't charge me $2.50 for a bottle of water you paid 10 cents for)

Things that I don't really care much about:

- A luxurious clubhouse. I like Equinelle's 'shack' just fine.
- Quality of food because I almost never eat at the course
- Friendly staff - Of course I don't want them to be rude... but during my ideal round of golf, I won't see or talk to any of them.

[nokids]

-More women playing golf
-Drinking water after every 3 holes
-Reasonable food/drink rates
-Practice balls at reasonable rates, $5? no way
-Free coffee if playing at the course
-Yoga mats so I can awake my inner Chi
-Course maps that say what's OB and Hazard on each hole
-A lost and found for all the equipment I lose

[Kiwi]

I can think of a couple of courses (no names) I played recently that I never, or rarely play. BIG problem for me, and others who asked me, are directions to the next tee/hole. It is NOT enough to assume the cart path will take you there. It all goes to "service" if you get lost between holes it, for me, destroys the atmosphere that I enjoy. Other than that I concur with most everyone else's take on this.

[Wilster]

- A "heads up" of the course conditions before you pay (punched greens etc)
- Reasonably priced snacks and drinks
- Knowledgeable and polite marshalls , for pace of play etc.
- Better score cards with hole layouts ,yardages for hazards etc.

[leftylucas]

-More women playing golf
-Drinking water after every 3 holes
-Reasonable food/drink rates
-Practice balls at reasonable rates, $5? no way
-Free coffee if playing at the course
-Yoga mats so I can awake my inner Chi
-Course maps that say what's OB and Hazard on each hole
-A lost and found for all the equipment I lose

Awake your inner Chi, I heard that a lot of times but it had "t" at the end.

[CaptainHook]

I love any course that doesn't discriminate against appearance and treats me like my banker buddies. (I'm fairly heavily tattooed, but play in pressed pants, golf shirt, cally hat and clean shaven).

A warm up area. It doesn't even have to be a full range, a small Stittsville area golf course has driving nets and that is fine by me.

Any course that doesn't rape you for drinks/snacks.

[leftylucas]

have had some wonderful experiences in the USA with customer service. Greeted at the bag drop with a smile, gets my tee time, tells me where the clubhouse is etc. I get in the clubhouse and I am greeted again, asked my tee time and if I have played there before (very important). Gave me the rundown on the course... offered me a free yardage book (the black and white version) but still,WOW. Explained the intricacies of the course. Got to the range and balls were nicely piled, hitting areas clearly defined, water cooler right there.

Moved to the practice green for some chipping and putting and was approached by the starter who asked me my time and offered to move me up if I wanted, if not that was fine. I agreed and he took the time to drive with me to the tee and introduced me to the twosome there. That was nice. I had a great round and everytime a staff member or ground crew drove by we were greeted with a hello and a smile. Each tee box had a clear diagram of the hole and distances to possible hazards etc. The course had clearly defined stakes and yardage markers were a plenty with sprinkler heads and markers for the usual 250, 200... The flagsticks had the reflectors for laser range finders which was awesome. There was water at very strategic places and they were easy to see. After the round my clubs were cleaned and they offered to clean my shoes as well (WTF?) The bar staff continued on with courteous conversation and I left the course with the mindset of : "Why can't we have this type of service here" None of it cost much extra but made me feel like a million bucks.

[BogeyGolf]

Enjoying my golf experience, I need the following things:

- Tee times that are not crammed together(10 min would be great)
- Good friends that like to have fun while playing the game (don't take the game too seriously)
- Course conditions (or at least a heads up that greens are punched, top dressed,holes are closed, happened at a course last week, first 3 holes closed.) This way I can decide if I want to play there or not, lets just call it being considerate.

Thats it...

[jeffc]

have had some wonderful experiences in the USA with customer service. Greeted at the bag drop with a smile, gets my tee time, tells me where the clubhouse is etc. I get in the clubhouse and I am greeted again, asked my tee time and if I have played there before (very important). Gave me the rundown on the course... offered me a free yardage book (the black and white version) but still,WOW. Explained the intricacies of the course. Got to the range and balls were nicely piled, hitting areas clearly defined, water cooler right there.

Moved to the practice green for some chipping and putting and was approached by the starter who asked me my time and offered to move me up if I wanted, if not that was fine. I agreed and he took the time to drive with me to the tee and introduced me to the twosome there. That was nice. I had a great round and everytime a staff member or ground crew drove by we were greeted with a hello and a smile. Each tee box had a clear diagram of the hole and distances to possible hazards etc. The course had clearly defined stakes and yardage markers were a plenty with sprinkler heads and markers for the usual 250, 200... The flagsticks had the reflectors for laser range finders which was awesome. There was water at very strategic places and they were easy to see. After the round my clubs were cleaned and they offered to clean my shoes as well (WTF?) The bar staff continued on with courteous conversation and I left the course with the mindset of : "Why can't we have this type of service here" None of it cost much extra but made me feel like a million bucks.

well, some of that is free and some of it costs. I play in Myrtle every year and there are a ton more people working at the courses there than up here. They pay a lot of them very little so they rely on tips which drives me a bit nuts. A lot of their golf is tourist golf so the expectation is higher to offer a better product.

We have a much shorter season here so it's got to be tough to make a lot of $ running a course. While it costs nothing to be friendly and customer oriented, it costs real $ to offer free range balls, clean your clubs, your shoes, have a staffed bag drop, yardage books, etc.

All i needs is friendly people and good service (the other stuff is nice but I sure don't want to pay for it on a regular basis).

I played a course earlier this year, ordered a sausage at the turn, and they said it would take 5 min and that they would drive it out to me on the course so I didn't have to wait. Now that is service. It's all about hiring the right people, training them and having them treat people properly.

[Kilroy]

Let's keep this general and not name courses please.

[jeffc]

Let's keep this general and not name courses please.

what's the issue Dan? I was complimenting those courses for having excellent service.

[BogeyGolf]

We have a much shorter season here so it's got to be tough to make a lot of $ running a course. While it costs nothing to be friendly and customer oriented, it costs real $ to offer free range balls, clean your clubs, your shoes, have a staffed bag drop, yardage books, etc.

For the staffed golf bag drop, clean clubs, etc...Could you not have Marshalls do this type of service in return for the free golf they are looking for, besides driving around in golf carts looking golf balls in the bush...sorry I am thinking of a specific course in mind when I said that...lol?

[BogeyGolf]

I think it may have been directed at me Jeff, my post above was edited with the course name removed.

[Kiwi]

have had some wonderful experiences in the USA with customer service. Greeted at the bag drop with a smile, gets my tee time, tells me where the clubhouse is etc. I get in the clubhouse and I am greeted again, asked my tee time and if I have played there before (very important). Gave me the rundown on the course... offered me a free yardage book (the black and white version) but still,WOW. Explained the intricacies of the course. Got to the range and balls were nicely piled, hitting areas clearly defined, water cooler right there.

Moved to the practice green for some chipping and putting and was approached by the starter who asked me my time and offered to move me up if I wanted, if not that was fine. I agreed and he took the time to drive with me to the tee and introduced me to the twosome there. That was nice. I had a great round and everytime a staff member or ground crew drove by we were greeted with a hello and a smile. Each tee box had a clear diagram of the hole and distances to possible hazards etc. The course had clearly defined stakes and yardage markers were a plenty with sprinkler heads and markers for the usual 250, 200... The flagsticks had the reflectors for laser range finders which was awesome. There was water at very strategic places and they were easy to see. After the round my clubs were cleaned and they offered to clean my shoes as well (WTF?) The bar staff continued on with courteous conversation and I left the course with the mindset of : "Why can't we have this type of service here" None of it cost much extra but made me feel like a million bucks.

Just one question: Is this what heaven is like?

[jeffc]

I think it may have been directed at me Jeff, my post above was edited with the course name removed.

maybe, mine was edited too.

[Sunny D]

1. A course that is well maintained. That shows the owners care. I would rather play an average layout that is really well cared for than a great layout that is poorly maintained.
2. Pace of play - 10 minute tee times or polite but effective marshalls
3. A well signed course for navigating between holes and good markings on the course
4. Carts with GPS carts or well marked scorecards
5. Good practice facility that keeps the practice greens as the same speed as the course.

[Kilroy]

what's the issue Dan? I was complimenting those courses for having excellent service.

The purpose of this thread isn't to praise or critisize any particular course, but rather for golfers to express what they want in a the way of service. Let's keep the names out of this one entirely please.

[Weazl]

1) Marshalls who marshall and not look for balls in the woods
2) 8-10 minute tee-time intervals
3) Well maintained courses. Use green fee money tp upkeep course. I.e bunlers & irrigation
4) Beverage cart ( good looking cart girl a + )
5 When a tournament is booked better notification

[leftylucas]

From what I can see, most of these posts have suggestions that would cost a golf course absolutely nothing. So what is the problem???? It is obvious that most courses have no clue how easy it would be to enhance their clientele's visits to their course and thereby improving their bottom line. Improving the bottom line means more capital to make the course better.

Hey, the local courses should take a good look at this thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jeffc]

From what I can see, most of these posts have suggestions that would cost a golf course absolutely nothing. So what is the problem???? It is obvious that most courses have no clue how easy it would be to enhance their clientele's visits to their course and thereby improving their bottom line. Improving the bottom line means more capital to make the course better.

Hey, the local courses should take a good look at this thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good service costs very little, other than some time and effort. It really comes from the top down. It's like any business really and some are good at customer service and some aren't. Sometimes its an individual you deal with that just makes you feel like nothing is ever a problem. But there has to be a directive that customer service matters. Some places just don't care, or just don't care enough.

I travel a lot for work and have seen the increase in service levels the past number of years as the economies have faultered and businesses try to differentiate themselves, from restaurants to hotels to rental cars. It's kinda funny seeing them fall all over themselves trying to help and accomodate you. As mentioned there are a few courses in town that pride themselves on outstanding service and these are the ones that generally get my $.

[leftylucas]

Agreed, I guess I am blown away at the great customer service you get in the USA vs here. Even smaller out of the way courses in FLA made me walk away with a great experience and wanting similar experiences for golf outings here.

[jeffc]

overall its like that for alot of business Luc - service in the US is generally a lot better than here - at least when I travel. There are some exceptions- I think flying in the US is worse than here in terms of service, but for the most part, malls, restaurants, rental cars and hotels, they have us beat.

[leftylucas]

I think as golfers we do not demand enough of the local golf market and it is high time we step up and let them know they need to compete for our golfing dollars

[leftylucas]

Maybe we can form some kind of group that reviews the local courses and provides the pluses and minuses and of coures recommendaitons. Over time courses would take notice, kind of like a restaurant review. Maybe I should suggest it to the local paper, like they would do it!! NOT

[jeffc]

well, in a lot of ways we are lucky around here. Lots of golf, at varying levels at affordable prices and some very good courses at very reasonalbe prices, especially when compared to other locations. There's one public course in the entire region that you pay $100+ for, after that it drops off to $75-$80 max for a sat/sun am round. Try that in Toronto. With seasonal pricing, programs like EG, CG, RM, etc., twilight rates, fall rates, you can get most of these courses for a lot cheaper than that. I guess what I am saying is that there is a lot of supply and not as much demand, therefore the $ may not be there, though the other side is how do you differentiate yourself from the pack. The course is the course but conditioning and service are two ways of doing that - it has to be done with minimal additional cost. Like I said before, it costs little to hire good people, treat them well and offer great service.

[jeffc]

i think the Toronto Star has someone that does this - calls himself the Bogey Man - or at least they used to...