The Bane of Poorly Run Clubs

With all of the recent talk of banning or keeping belly/long-putters, (I say ban them, nerves are part of the game) I began wondering...why can’t we get more people playing our great game?

Access?  Nope.  The last two decades have produced more new golf courses than at any time in the games history.

Cost?  Are you kidding me?  Clubs no longer charge initiation fees.  Public golf courses are subsidized by taxpayers and golfnow.com is single-handedly “Wal-marting” privately owned, public access courses.  

Pace?  Ding-ding-ding!  Nothing is worse than showing up on a Saturday or Sunday and finding your 9:00 a.m. tee time is now 9:22 a.m., and everyone within an R11 is moving at a snails pace.  Worse?  When the course allows groups of five ahead of you, “because if we didn’t, they’d play somewhere else and we need the revenue”.  At least that was the explanation a public golf course told my wife and I a few weeks ago when we complained about all of the fivesomes playing on a Saturday morning?

“But we play at a Private club, that never happens”.

Ha!  Think again...as I was told recently (on a busy Friday), “I don’t know why they are playing as fivesomes?  I guess they just teed off how they wanted?”  

Wow.

When I pressed further about the two fivesomes ahead of me and spoke to the General Manager he said, “who is it” (?) and then said, “Oh, he spends a lot of money at the club”?

Oh.  Got it!  

Me:  “So...should we be allowing fivesomes at all?  Is it o.k. if it is course is less than full or the players are low handicappers, or if they spend enough money, it sounds like they can do whatever they want”?  

G.M.:  “Why don’t you try the back nine”?

What is your clubs policy on fivesomes?

How do you think they would have handled the situation?

Do you think fivesomes under certain circumstances are fine or do you think they make your club look like “Chop Hills”?

I would love to hear your opinions on the topic.