President Update
You will be aware that in recent times we have had to cap membership numbers so that current members get plenty of opportunity to play the course. While the queue is never that long to become a new member, there is always somebody on the list. Members resign for any number of reasons including many who just don’t play as often as they used to, and the subscription becomes poor value to them, so they drop out, and their place is taken by somebody on the waiting list.
The point of difference between new and old is that the new members have joined up to play; so, they are looking for tee times as well as existing playing members. The number of people playing golf in NZ is up a staggering 18%.
A lot of work has gone into the information we source from DotGolf, telling us who and how the course is being played. There is an impression we are over-awed with green fee players or non-members. The reality is the course is used 89.5% of the time by members. The 10.5% is a combination of green fee players, summer league on Wednesdays nights (26 teams), and corporate events or charity events like Cranford and Dementia, to name a couple. Green fee players represent 13% of the club’s total income ($260k) without cart hireage (67k or 3.3%) whereas members subscriptions represent 44% of the club’s total income. While green fee income is good for the club, it only represents 10% of its total usage. Members are looking for more tee times.
DotGolf also tells us how many are playing on a Tuesday morning for women, then late morning for men, and men again Thursday. Fridays have several playing groups which is usually the day used for charity events (currently supporting Karamu Rotary/Cranford Hospice, Malaghan Institute, Dementia HB & Falcons Foundation) but generally, the Friday players play in them anyway.
On Saturday morning, consideration is made for working women (an earlier time bracket), then another late morning, another time allocation for men, then any home members (both men and women) and then lastly visitors.
The membership sub-committee has analysed all these time allocations, numbers played and have come up with a recommendation which will fall into place as of 1st February 2023.
Home members as per below means any member, men or women who is a member of the club, playing in the category they have subscribed for.
The calendar will run as follows: (NB: all subject to winter changes – 30mins difference)
Sunday – open to all home members or visitors.
Monday – open to all home members or visitors
Tuesday – Women: 8.00am to 8.35am, off 1 & 10, a total of 48 slots available and in the past 6 months, 44 slots have never been exceeded.
Tuesday – Men: 11.00am to 11.35am, off 1 & 10, again a total of 48 slots available. (Again, never been exceeded in the last 6 months)
Tuesday – all other times, besides the above are available to all home members and visitors.
Wednesday – any home member, men or women or visitors. Also, a day that is encouraged for any corporate tournaments.
Thursday – Men 11.02am to 12.54pm off 1 & 10. Men visitors are usually placed at the back end of the men’s time allocation.
Thursday – balance of the day – available to all home members or visitors
Friday – any home member, men or women or visitors. A day that annual charity events are hosted and usually many members (Friday included) support the events. E.g., Cranford, Dementia, Malaghan Institute.
Saturday – the busy day!
8.05am: Working Women – 2 tee times reserved off 1 & 10.
11.07am: Working Women - 3 tee times reserved, 11.07am 1 & 10, 11.14 off 1.
11.14am (off 10) Men members and 11.14am to 11.56am
12.03pm to 12.30pm: Home members
12.37pm onwards – open to home members and visitors
The exception to all these set times is when the club may be hosting or staging an event; Pennants, Greenwood Cup, Shoot out, Charity events, club champs, Golf New Zealand events etc.
By tidying up these allocated tee times, it gives more members the opportunity to play, in spaces that are otherwise allocated but haven’t been filled. If any of the groups start exceeding 48, we can then reset the times but just re-iterating, this hasn’t happened in the last 6 months.
Booking Tee times
We also need to tidy up the way members make their bookings. As we already know, the start sheet opens 14 days prior to the day at 7.00am. So, members can log in from 7.00am and try and select a suitable tee time for two weeks’ time. Most members are doing this but some members in groups email the pro-shop and are relying on the staff to make their bookings for them. The problem arises in that the ProShop have many things to do upon opening and even if they checked emails first, those members that have booked at 7.00am will have already taken times. Then the pro-shop cops the flak because times are not consistent or have gone already.
To cut a long story short – the pro-shop will no longer handle group bookings on a weekly basis.
If they are to do a block booking, where do they draw the line, with whom, what day, how many etc. If some are allowed to book, where does it stop? The responsibility needs to fall onto the members and the members will work out a way to get their bookings done efficiently, just like all the other members do.
Personally, as a Thursday golf playing member, we have a regular group of numbered 36, of which about 20, 24 or 28 play every week. We prefer the earlier times (11.02am onwards); we are there every week, we are unable to group book, and nor do we ask. Four of us have membership numbers and passwords for 8 of our group (we have all changed to the same password and all our group are each other’s friends) we set alarms for 6.50am, laptop and/or iPad turned on, login and between us book 6 or 7 tees as early as is available, as quickly as we can. Other members log in too, so we don’t always get what we want, we just take the next best available. Once we know our draw, one person goes back in and changes it accordingly closer to the day. It’s a routine that works.
However, it is still part of the pro shop’s role to look after tee bookings and a summary of the recommended responsibility between the pro shop and members is as follows:
- Every member is encouraged and communicated that they are to be responsible for booking their own tee times. If they play in a group of more than one fourball, they must work out amongst themselves logins and access to distribute the responsibility of booking online. (Suggestions as to how in previous paragraph)
- The pro shop will handle member bookings over the phone for a fourball.
- The pro shop will also book a group for members if they have visitors within the group. This removes the payment online requirement DotGolf demands.
- The pro shop will take advance bookings for members for special (one off or annual) events i.e., pre-wedding, birthdays, annual celebrations etc that members need to have tees confirmed to make plans.
- The pro shop will also take bookings of more than four golfers if the club facilities are being used for special functions that include specific food arrangements with the café.
- The pro shop will obviously assist members with bookings where the member/members don’t have or are unable a operate a laptop/computer etc.
The purpose of the exercise is NOT to discourage people playing golf, it’s the opposite – it’s about making more times available for members and for members wanting regular block bookings, looking to do it themselves as opposed to relying on the pro shop. There will be some grace time for members wanting to book weekly groups to give them some time to work out how to do group bookings when required.
I trust the members will understand the need to make these subtle changes to give all the members maximum opportunity to play more golf!
Happy Golfing!
Kind Regards
Wayne Mudgway
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