Recommended Discount Organization

[KurtW]

My wife and I are looking to join a group/club that offers discounts to the Ottawa area courses. Any recommendations? Pros and cons?

[John]

Do a search for Corporate Golf, Executive Golf or Reservation Masters and you will find tons of info.

[Break68]

Yes do a search.

[Gropper]

The main 3 are Executive, corporate golf and Reservation Masters. They all have there advantages and disadvantges. I have been Executive for 5 years and have been very happy, Slight higher cost then Corpoarate but less members makes it easier to get the course i want. Never been with Reservation Masters but heard good thing. Less courses but cheaper starting costs from what i have read. PM if you want any details on EG

[jeffc]

I went through this last year. I joined Executive, primarily based on the course selection. That and price are the biggest consideration. Figure out where you like/want to plan and go from there. I am also an RM Last Minute member as I wanted a Plan B.

[KurtW]

I am aware of the options out there but I wanted to hear what those who are already members have to say about each organization. Reservation Masters is a bit limited with some of the courses we want to play. We were paired up with a couple last fall who are with Corporate and it sounds like a good option. I guess we would be choosing between Corporate and Executive.

[jeffc]

I am aware of the options out there but I wanted to hear what those who are already members have to say about each organization. Reservation Masters is a bit limited with some of the courses we want to play. We were paired up with a couple last fall who are with Corporate and it sounds like a good option. I guess we would be choosing between Corporate and Executive.

what do you need to know? booking the premium courses on EG is a challenge sometimes, mostly equinelle, LM, stonebridge, marshes, but the others are fairly accessible. weekday vs weekend? I think its a great service, you just have to be able to plan your golf ahead of time somewhat.

[KurtW]

Thanks, Jeff. It's mostly weekends for us and we are fine with having to plan somewhat ahead. Your 'plan b' with Reservation Masters sounds like a good idea, too.

[jeffc]

Thanks, Jeff. It's mostly weekends for us and we are fine with having to plan somewhat ahead. Your 'plan b' with Reservation Masters sounds like a good idea, too.

I can't speak for Corporate but I joined EG again this year so that should say something. also, it helps to join early, (e.g. before christmas) as you get free bonus rounds $20 / per round, and before christmas I think you get 5 so that's worth $100.

[imozzie]

You may wish to check the UsedOttawa and Kijiji ads. I have seen some EG memberships (you are permitted to transfer them to someone who was not a previous member) up for sale at discounted prices recently due to medical, work relocations etc.

[KurtW]

Thanks, imozzie. Will definitely look into that.

[Liddy]

No one mentioned golferslinks.ca is this not a good one...Seems to be the best one that I've reserched so far. and good deal until march 31 to sign up...Great courses too...

[sebber]

I have been with RM for two years now, it has the courses I like best (Nation, Ouatouais, Heritage, Royal Papineau) so for me it made sense. Any troubles I had, Dan or Nigel were quick to the rescue, never happened yet that I could not get the course I wanted. All in all, I am very satisfied, plus easy one step booking from this very website!

[jeffc]

No one mentioned golferslinks.ca is this not a good one...Seems to be the best one that I've reserched so far. and good deal until march 31 to sign up...Great courses too...

I think the courses are somewhat limited, but the advantage as far as I can tell is that there is no limit to the number of spots any one day.

[Gobble_It]

In general,with EG/CG/RM, based on the average of 20 rounds, you will save ~20-30% and for ~10% Golferslinks The trade-offs are when/where you want to play. Of course you will save more with EG/CG/RM if you play more than 20 rounds a year.

With Golferslinks, you can play anytime but can only book 2 days ahead. The course selection with Golferslinks is a bit smaller, with the bulk of it in Ottawa and some in the Valley (Whitetails, Dragonfly etc..). There are no courses available on the Quebec side and some of the premium courses (Marshes, eQuinnelle, Loch March). Also the 30% discount with GL is applied to the peak rate. With HST, you actually only get around ~10-12% off the course fee.

With the other discount golfs, there are limited of spots that you have to compete for with other members for booking. It could be a challenge for certain courses for weekend golfers like myself. However the biggest drawback for me us is the tee-time restriction (the courses impose it, not the discount clubs). We found that we can't really play most of the desired courses on weekend's morning.

If your schedule is flexible and specially if you can play weekdays, EG/RM/CG is definitely the way to go. The list of courses between them is fairly similar with a few difference therefore it's a personal choice based on the courses that you want to play more or depending on your location.

I have been with EG/RM and they are both great with no problem with booking and cancellation. CG is a bit cheaper for membership but I don't like the booking system where you have to call before 8-9am to reserve the spots before online booking is allowed after 9am. By that time, most of the spots are reserved.

I ended up this year buying some pre-paid rounds (~30-35$/round) and GL membership (discount for 119$) so that we can play weekend's morning. We will see how it works.

Hope that helps

[spackler]

No one mentioned golferslinks.ca is this not a good one...Seems to be the best one that I've reserched so far. and good deal until march 31 to sign up...Great courses too...

I've been a member of Golferslinks since they started a few years ago. With two young kids, I find it hard to book ahead very far, so with the other discount clubs I was always missing out on the good courses. With Golferslinks I just show up when I want, no worry about the spots having filled up. The other thing for me is that it's the only discount club with Greensmere as part of the course list (at least when I signed up a few years ago, not sure now). I play there a lot, so it works really well for me. It's definitely limited as far as other courses go, I think they have 20ish courses? eQuinelle is the only premium course on the list, although they have Canadian too as well as a few others of the local favourites.

[geronamo]

How does golferslinks enforce the 2 day booking rule? Can you still book your tee-time online or do you have to call and specifically mention that you are a golferslinks member?

[big mac]

Personally I don't think you can go wrong with using any of the top 3 -----except for the online booking with CG-- an hour later than phone in ????? I have been with EG for 7 years and it work extremely well. Just pick the one that best suits your needs--the savings at the end of the year are almost identical.

[ChukBoy]

Some of the courses with Golfer's links don't even apply the 2 day rule... They just book tee-times like they would regular paying members (some 7 days in advance). GL is good since there is no time restrictions and no spot limits.. All the other ones have limits and time restreints.. It's a pain a think... If you always play the same 3-4 courses and they are popular spots.. you will have issues with the big 3.. if those courses are with GL then go with them.. Like mentioned, you save 30% off the regular rate so do your homework and check for course specials pending on time of day you would play

[Tee made]

May be a fairly dumb question but I'm just trying to do some napkin math. Do the price of rounds listed through RM/CG/EG etc include taxes when they charge you? Also is there Tax on the the actual 250-300$ membership itself? Thanks.

[Break68]

May be a fairly dumb question but I'm just trying to do some napkin math. Do the price of rounds listed through RM/CG/EG etc include taxes when they charge you? No, the tax is added when you are charged.

Also is there Tax on the the actual 250-300$ membership itself? Thanks.

Yes, there is tax on the membership itslef.

[Wknd_Warrior]

Well I just started the process to join EG. Even of I only play a few rounds discounted at the higher end courses it will justify itself with the other golf rolled in.