Local Course conditions

[big mac]

I have only played two games this year Busy with doctors and house repairs. I am not complaining either. The weather has not really cooperated and the conditions are questionable. What I can't understand---especially in this economic turmoil why courses still want to charge full pop when conditions do not warrant it Renfrew is in good shape--it's an hours drive but they have priced it in such a way that they are busy---therefore they can pay their bills. Other courses want to charge full price--have less golfers and complain they are having a tough time. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Equinelle --a great course--having a tough go. They did have the smarts to offer a great deal with Underpar Golf. A round for 55.00 anytime with cart---there is no way you can beat that marketing---and I bet they raised a pile of cash. The course conditions for the most part are "mother nature related" They will come around. In the meantime I wish more owners would follow these leads and I think everyone would be happy

[manotick]

Played Presscott today. Course in very good condition and no complaints at all. Greens were probably the best I have played this year and quite fast. Take the drive and enjoy some good golf and listening to the trains.

[Bouboude]

big mac Poplar Grove tried this for a few years really cheap golf with power cart. Today the course is bankrupt and closed. My neighbor would play a few times a week and said it was never busy. Every year we have less and less golfers so give it a few more years and more courses will close. I play most of my golf afternoons on the weekends and most times coming of the course very few cars left in parking lot at 5-6pm. This when you can play until 8-9 and good deals are available at this time.

[Ehmcee]

I think it is important to note that a course's costs do not decrease due to poor conditions. If anything they increase. More labor is needed, buying sand and seed is an added cost, equipment might need to be rented, etc. In this current market MOST courses are suffering from a brutal winter and a terrible spring. Why heavily discount when the paying field is somewhat equal?

It is also a fallacy to think that "full" price at a golf course is reserved for pristine conditions. A lot of things go into factoring the price of a round and conditions are only 1 small part of that equation. "Full" price is more reflective of average conditions in a high demand time slot. Anyone can find something to complain about in any given round of golf. If full price meant 100% perfect conditions every round would have to be discounted. The price is always going to be an average of what the market will bear. Would anyone here pay a premium above the posted rate if the course felt that they were in perfect shape? Highly unlikely.

As for courses outside the city offering "great" deals. Is saving $10-$20 worth driving an hour each way? Gas is over $1.20 / liter, not to mention your time. Would you work for $3 or $4 an hour? No! Why do people feel it is then a "deal" to drive a significant distance to save a couple of dollars?

Play the courses you like to play. Conditions will vary. Focus on what the courses are trying to do to improve and not just the result.

[Gobble_It]

Condition 100% dictates whether I would come out and play on a specific courses. Yes, the discounts will sweeten the deal but I would not come out to a course when it's in terrible shape whether it's discounted or not. However I might pay more or drive longer to play a better conditioned course. Given the terrible winter we had and most city courses are suffering, giving discount might not entice more customers but it will keep the regulars to reconsider. It's a business decision and if the courses choose to do so, it' their business to run.

I played one of the west end courses a few weeks ago and it was our regular course. We love playing there when it's in form; However our group has not gone back and will not be back until the condition has improved. The course was full when we played there but I doubt that those players will come back anytime soon aslo.

[big mac]

For me condition is the over riding factor. For 100.00 you expect the best. For 50.00 you know what you are going to get. Yes this year has been terrible for the course owner. I am not advocating DEEP DISCOUNTS but a little incentive to the paying public keeps the cash flow going. Needless to say the business practices today are not what they were 20 years ago. The $$$ is now the leading factor, and that is what counts--- Period. I have always believed that fair customer service wins everyone over-----not gouging. Anyway; the sun is shinning and hopefully summer is here; drive on McDuff

[Johnyc]

I think it is important to note that a course's costs do not decrease due to poor conditions. If anything they increase. More labor is needed, buying sand and seed is an added cost, equipment might need to be rented, etc. In this current market MOST courses are suffering from a brutal winter and a terrible spring. Why heavily discount when the paying field is somewhat equal?

It is also a fallacy to think that "full" price at a golf course is reserved for pristine conditions. A lot of things go into factoring the price of a round and conditions are only 1 small part of that equation. "Full" price is more reflective of average conditions in a high demand time slot. Anyone can find something to complain about in any given round of golf. If full price meant 100% perfect conditions every round would have to be discounted. The price is always going to be an average of what the market will bear. Would anyone here pay a premium above the posted rate if the course felt that they were in perfect shape? Highly unlikely.

As for courses outside the city offering "great" deals. Is saving $10-$20 worth driving an hour each way? Gas is over $1.20 / liter, not to mention your time. Would you work for $3 or $4 an hour? No! Why do people feel it is then a "deal" to drive a significant distance to save a couple of dollars?

Play the courses you like to play. Conditions will vary. Focus on what the courses are trying to do to improve and not just the result.

Full price at a golf course isn’t 100% course conditions but it is darn close. Conditions are a huge part of it for me. As mentioned earlier this spring I wouldn’t play a course with temp greens. I respect those that would and this isn’t about what’s right or wrong I just simply wouldn’t. I consider pace of a play a part of the consideration too. But a very large part for me is condition.

[Tullamore]

Ehmcee u r totally right
bouboude u r also totally right
big mac - 20 years ago business practices were terrible - the high tech boom was running wild in our city - there was money all over ottawa
customer service was not to be found - many businesses were making a lot of money - including golf courses - there was so much disposable income in this city -
- 2008 or so came the crash/recession - for u business owners u know what i'm talking about - since then the golf courses in our area have slowly been on the decline
- with various factors, younger generation not playing, many courses in the area, aging population, etc...
but plse these owners as well as other business owners - as i am 25 years .... - need to make money - that's why we are business owners - and if u think dropping prices is a good idea then i would love to see all the negatives nancy's on this forum to pool your money together and buy a golf course - run it - to actually see what overhead there actually is - this i guarantee will change your perspective on these owners who are not lowering their prices cause u think conditions are not up to par
i just hate hearing the owners should drop their prices - play the game u love - if not play tiger woods x box - those conditions are fantastic
and plse don't say to drop prices cause of the conditions - there are many and i say many of u on this forum that are not business owners - and if u are a business owner posting to drop prices - i wish u luck in your business

[goochy]

And if you are a business owner who is not listening to the demands/wants of the customer then I wish you good luck with your business also

[Bouboude]

These days golf is like the newspaper business or tennis. The demand for the sport keeps dropping and some courses are trying different ways to attract golfers. AS for the comment on temporary greens I like everybody else does not like it but many of the courses I have played this year should of had temps but let us play on them instead. Other thing in the last few years that as hurt the golf courses is the minimum wage going up by such a high percentage but revenues actually declining.

[Billythe3rd]

plse don't say to drop prices cause of the conditions - there are many and i say many of u on this forum that are not business owners - and if u are a business owner posting to drop prices - i wish u luck in your business

I think you are missing the point here. What people are saying is they are not going to go to a course at full pop if the conditions are below average. It's easy to say that the course can't charge less because they make no money but with golf, every paying customer through the door is cash in hand if you have an empty course.

I feel like their are three kinds of golfer - members, those chasing a cheap round and those chasing a nice course. If the winter wrecked your chance at nice conditions then you need to shift and target the budget crowd or the market is going to move to a course that did.

We don't exactly have a shortage of courses in the area which makes it pretty competitive out there. You can stick to your guns if you want but in my opinion the better strategy is to take the hit of the 20-30% discount for the first half of the year and try to get it back on track for the second. This is going to be a rough year for some courses but that is part of owning a golf course in a area with a 5 month season.

[leftylucas]

You guys should start another thread about price vs value vs conditions as it is an interesting debate but this thread is about local spring conditions

[Bouboude]

Billy I agree with much of what you just posted. Problem is that all the courses in Ottawa I have played this year have not had good greens compared to years past. So if everybody discounts 20-30% it is still an equal playing field. If anyone is interested better conditions can be found along the 401. Upper Canada in good shape, Summerheights also, Trillium Woods good and best of all Black Bear is amazing and worth the drive. Last thing played Marshes on the weekend and greens are still in rough shape but rest of course is good. Lefty I just saw your post and you are right and I think I started the thread going sideways and I will stop. I will only post spring- summer conditions in this thread.

[Morgan585]

Very decent conditions at GATINEAU, as their new ad says today, "no temporary greens", though their fairways will never be great and their tee boxes need some work.

GREENSMERE PREMIERE has improved slightly, mostly the back 9 over the last 3 weeks but the front 9 greens have not improved during the month of June, and their fairways have continued to improve at a good pace.

FALCON RIDGE is in bad shape, all greens and little grass in the fairways.

More later...

[justdoit]

Very decent conditions at GATINEAU, as their new ad says today, "no temporary greens", though their fairways will never be great and their tee boxes need some work.

GREENSMERE PREMIERE has improved slightly, mostly the back 9 over the last 3 weeks but the front 9 greens have not improved during the month of June, and their fairways have continued to improve at a good pace.

FALCON RIDGE is in bad shape, all greens and little grass in the fairways.

More later...

True about Gatineau,no temp greens but they are hard as concrete,fairways are on a scale of 1 to 10....7

[scrollerpete]

Played Casselview on Monday lot’s of “Blinko on the greens so if you want to play for score, forget it, put going right in middle of up and hit a Blinko and goes left or right. Overall for $46. We enjoy ourself.

[S2H2Lover]

Anybody been up to Montebello yet? Worth the drive? If not, how about Heritage?

[sparsons]

Any updates on Anderson Links conditions? Playing there tomorrow morning. South/West nines.

[eez]

Played eQuinelle today. Stinking hot and we LOVED IT !!! A couple of holes had bad areas just in front of the greens, but they were working hard to fix them up. A few greens had some small bad spots, and if I recall, #9 was the only one that was terrible ... mostly sand and unputtable. Overall the greens were good, and on the fast side.

The rest of the course was TOP-NOTCH. Full price, but worth it (maybe because I finished with a birdie ;-) )

[jeffc]

Played Stonebridge today and it is on great shape. Pace was awesome as well, 3.5 hours for 3 of us

[Wilster]

Meadows has recovered well over the last week , greens were a bit bumpy but not much winterkill left on them.

[KOKO72]

played Canadian West today...greens are still on the bumpy side with spotty growth causing the bumpiness. Better than it was 3 weeks ago but still a ways to go to get to the shape it was in last year.

$32 walking at 4:00....not a bad price at all.

[manotick]

Played Manderley yesterday (North/South); course is dry and getting into better shape; good sand in the traps (only a couple had water from the previous day's rain); greens were good but generally on the slower side; fairways were fine; what is clear is that if you don't have a good score here it is because of you (me), not the course.

[big mac]

It looks like summer is here

[Kak]

Anybody been up to Montebello yet? Worth the drive? If not, how about Heritage?

Played Montebello 3 times already, quite acceptable, greens are at 8 out of 10, fairways same improving every week.

As far as Heritage I heard some greens have some patches of winter kill but quite playable as well.

[KOKO72]

Greensmere Legacy

The greens are in absolutely fantastic shape. Putts rolled true and very fast. Fairways were a bit wet with the rain last couple of days. All in all pretty much back to perfect summer shape.

[eez]

Anyone been to Metcalfe lately ?

[justsomeguy]

Metcalfe is getting better but progress is slow. Still damage on many of the greens, with 2, 4, 9 and especially 14 offering a bumpy surface. The other greens are mostly good with a few bad spots. The fairways on 3, 6 and 18 are improving but still have some bare patches. Cart path only on 1-6 and 16-18 today, but only 1, 3 and 16 had water on the fairway. The greens on the 9-hole course are still in rough shape.

[spackler]

Played Equinelle today and it has some rough spots on quite a few greens. Still a fun course in decent shape, better than most I've played this year. Played Greensmere Premier on Friday and again, not mid-summer shape, but decent enough. I definitely had some putts go offline but I like excuses. Enjoyed playing both.

[eez]

Metcalfe is getting better but progress is slow. Still damage on many of the greens, with 2, 4, 9 and especially 14 offering a bumpy surface. The other greens are mostly good with a few bad spots. The fairways on 3, 6 and 18 are improving but still have some bare patches. Cart path only on 1-6 and 16-18 today, but only 1, 3 and 16 had water on the fairway. The greens on the 9-hole course are still in rough shape.

Thanks for the update. Sounds playable to me !!