Play All Day

[Carl Rogers]

Schoolhouse Nine, Sperryville,VA, has an all day rate.

[Thomas Dai]

They also, mercifully, still follow the old right-of-way rules which used to be codified in the RoG.
I miss those. It becomes clear if you understand them WHY single golfers have no place on the golf course and that there is a difference between a four-ball, a foursome, and a group of 4 singles.

As a slight but related aside, didn’t the RoG’s used to say (maybe still do? apologies as haven’t doubled-checked?) that when a match is over the players ought to leave the course (ie not carry on playing)?
Atb

[Ben Hollerbach]

I believe Sweetens limits their weekends to 40 players a day. So 4.5 players a hole. I'm sure some days that can be very crowded, but I've also been out there on a weekend and played 54 holes in about 6 hours.


I know early on Sweetens had a hard time with their pricing, as people had a hard time comprehending the cost of a nine hole round / 2-nine hole rounds compared to their traditional 18 hole course rates. The all-day pass seems to do a good job of encouraging better utilization, 27-36 hole days. For those who get there early, it can present a great value.


I would wonder if they have some afternoon openings on weekends if they may want to offer twilight play, but of course, if the pace is slow it may not be in their best interest.

[Peter Flory]

A bit of topic but an experience I had as a single was one of the worst experiences I have had in golf.  I was a member of TPC Avenel around 1993 and I was paired up with an unaccompanied threesome which had paid some exorbitant guest fee and they inquired with the starter if they could play as a threesome so the starter contacted the golf shop and was told that if they paid an additional unaccompanied guest fee they could play as a threesome which they did and I as a member was prevented from going out to play.  BTW: the PGA Tour owned TPC Avenel.

It sounds like they did you a favor.

[PCCraig]

As mentioned above, Lawsonia offers an all day rate of something like $150 with a cart for all day in high season. Pretty great rate and I think it's used a bunch more nowadays.


Ten+ years ago they used to offer an all day rate after October for $65 all day with a cart. Course would be deserted on a beautiful Columbus Day and you could play until you drop on a day trip from Chicago.


Oh well...now it's a "cult" course and it's much busier...can't do that anymore!

[Ronald Montesano]

What is the benefit of an all-day rate?


Most places will get you out for 36 holes, should you set up a pair of times. If they won't, they're not worth your effort.


If I want to play a golf course more than twice in a day, I'm probably looking to play a 100-Hole charity event.


If you really want to study a course, should you be playing golf at the same time?


If you really want to photograph a course, see above.


I think that great golf courses and more than 45 holes in a day are mutually exclusive, unless it is shoulder season, and then the lack of daylight precludes your succeeding.


Away with your thoughts, lubbards!

[Rob Collins]

I suppose I should chime in here. As Sweetens increased in popularity over the years, we began to lose some of the charm of the early days when it wasn't crowded and our customers were able to explore the golf course at their leisure. Sold out weekends saw long rounds that were clearly detracting from the experience and the golf course, which was designed to be immersive and exploratory.


Therefore, we came up with the concept of the All Day Rate on the weekends where we limit the traffic to forty paying customers.  Last year was the first year that we tried this new concept, and it was immensely popular.  Gone were the long waits over shots and the slow rounds. This year, we sold all of our weekend tee times (Thursday - Sunday) from April 1 - October 31 in thirty-one minutes. 


Most people who come to play all day manage to get at least 50 holes in, oftentimes far more than that...a reality which would've been impossible a few years ago when the course was overcrowded on the weekends.

[David Restrepo]

Cape Wickham and Barnbougle Dunes/Lost Farm both have play all day rates that I have utilized.


Given the lack of play at the former (and to an extent the latter), it was quite easy to play from sun up to sun down without having to wait.

[Tim Martin]

I suppose I should chime in here. As Sweetens increased in popularity over the years, we began to lose some of the charm of the early days when it wasn't crowded and our customers were able to explore the golf course at their leisure. Sold out weekends saw long rounds that were clearly detracting from the experience and the golf course, which was designed to be immersive and exploratory.


Therefore, we came up with the concept of the All Day Rate on the weekends where we limit the traffic to forty paying customers.  Last year was the first year that we tried this new concept, and it was immensely popular.  Gone were the long waits over shots and the slow rounds. This year, we sold all of our weekend tee times (Thursday - Sunday) from April 1 - October 31 in thirty-one minutes. 


Most people who come to play all day manage to get at least 50 holes in, oftentimes far more than that...a reality which would've been impossible a few years ago when the course was overcrowded on the weekends.

Rob-Your last paragraph reveals an astounding statistic in my opinion in that “most people who come to play all day manage to get at least 50 holes in, oftentimes far more than that”. Personally I don’t think I would want or need to play that many holes regardless of the venue in a day but it’s an option that few if any other courses can offer up.

[jeffwarne]

I suppose I should chime in here. As Sweetens increased in popularity over the years, we began to lose some of the charm of the early days when it wasn't crowded and our customers were able to explore the golf course at their leisure. Sold out weekends saw long rounds that were clearly detracting from the experience and the golf course, which was designed to be immersive and exploratory.


Therefore, we came up with the concept of the All Day Rate on the weekends where we limit the traffic to forty paying customers.  Last year was the first year that we tried this new concept, and it was immensely popular.  Gone were the long waits over shots and the slow rounds. This year, we sold all of our weekend tee times (Thursday - Sunday) from April 1 - October 31 in thirty-one minutes. 


Most people who come to play all day manage to get at least 50 holes in, oftentimes far more than that...a reality which would've been impossible a few years ago when the course was overcrowded on the weekends.

yep, as i said, sounds like it's working-but wow.
Sold out($ of 7 days) for the season in 31 minutes!
Like the old saying..
"Nobody goes there anymore-it's too crowded"
Congrats-a unique solution creating value for those who want an all day experience and good business plan as well.
To some degree, it also stokes current and future demand by limiting supply, while also creating revenue and predictable cash flow.

[Edward Glidewell]

Is there any limit to how often the same person can get a weekend tee time at Sweetens? I don't know how easy that would be to track, and probably wouldn't be worth the effort since it's revenue all the same for the course, but a friend and I have talked about heading up there from Atlanta to play for two or three years now (were going to do both Sewanee and Sweetens) but we've never been able to because the tee times are all gone so quickly.


I've wondered if there are multiple big groups that are going out there a couple of times every month and making it difficult for anyone else to get out there.

[JHoulihan]

I played at Prairie Club in NE in 2017. Here they had a play all-day rate. The Dunes and Pines courses were both great but could not be played on the same day, so guests must stay and play the following day to see all the property had to offer. I did make a quick walk around the Horse course one evening, but I wish I had spent more time before leaving.

[Michael Whitaker]

I remember "back in the day" (70s?) that in South Carolina we paid a "greens fee" to play golf. The Greens Fee covered you for the entire day. Cart fees were a separate extra (nobody walked!). If you wanted to play more than 18 holes you just paid an extra cart fee... nothing extra for the golf. This was THE common practice at every course I knew anything about.


Then sometime during the 80s (?) courses started asking for an additional "green fee" if you wanted to play extra holes. Not sure when or why that happened, but I remember my friends complaining about the new practice as we had always been told the Green Fee was a daily rate.


Anyone have similar memories?

[Paul Jones]

The clubs I visit often, you only pay 1 green fee for the day.  I thought most private clubs operated in that manner.  Some offer twilight rate, usually half price.


Edited... - Disregard, we are talking about public golf. 

[Scott Weersing]

Some of the courses run by Kemper Sports have a play all day rate, but it is not really known. Full rate for first 18, half rate for second 18 and third round is free.


https://kempersports.com/properties/


This is already known at Bandon Dunes. (perhaps a cult set of courses) It also works (or did work) at Chambers Bay. I played there in April of 2018 and paid the out of state rate for the first round, then half price. I asked, is the third round free? They said yep, sure is. It rained for all of 30 minutes in the morning and I had the course to myself. I played the third round with some employees of the the grill up on the hill who got to play. I did see the UW golf team out playing that day also. So would an all day rate work at Chambers Bay? Perhaps but it all depends on how many golfers are out on the course. I was able to walk and play each 18 in three hours. Why did I play three rounds? I did not have a car and I was meeting a friend for dinner who was also going to pick me up. So it was all about, how many holes can I play before 6 pm.


So perhaps in the summer you could play three rounds at 7 am, 12 pm and 4 pm. But you need to find some other walkers who want to play that much.

[John McCarthy]

Many decades ago the club I played at in law school had "daily rate" as their standard greens fee.  So as long as I was walking I could play all day.  I was in better shape then.  They would charge for carts for each 18. 


There is a semi-private that is a muni for the City of Elgin (it's complicated) called Bowe's Creek that has a daily rate of $120 or so.  I like the course but between work and family duties I can't play all day anymore. 

[Tom_Doak]

There is a semi-private that is a muni for the City of Elgin (it's complicated) called Bowe's Creek that has a daily rate of $120 or so.  I like the course but between work and family duties I can't play all day anymore.

So, by the logic of the market, Bowe's Creek is better than Sweetens Cove?      After all they charge a higher daily rate.

[JohnVDB]

They also, mercifully, still follow the old right-of-way rules which used to be codified in the RoG.
I miss those. It becomes clear if you understand them WHY single golfers have no place on the golf course and that there is a difference between a four-ball, a foursome, and a group of 4 singles.

As a slight but related aside, didn’t the RoG’s used to say (maybe still do? apologies as haven’t doubled-checked?) that when a match is over the players ought to leave the course (ie not carry on playing)?
Atb

Thomas,


I went back through a few of my old Rules books all the way to 1900 and there was never a requirement that a match that had concluded must leave the course. 


Some organizations might require that to keep play moving.  At the USGA, we typically did tell players to do so, especially if they had a second match that day so as not to slow play.  But there were times where a player asked to play the last couple of holes as they hadn’t gotten to play then for a few matches and we’d allow it at the discretion of the Championship Director.

[John Mayhugh]

Ten+ years ago they used to offer an all day rate after October for $65 all day with a cart. Course would be deserted on a beautiful Columbus Day and you could play until you drop on a day trip from Chicago.

There used to be a similar sort of bargain at French Lick Ross in the winter. All day with a cart for, I think, $40 in Nov/Dec. But that was before the Dye course opened, so maybe 15 years ago. Was loads of fun.

[Michael Goldstein]

I've played 5 nine hole courses the last couple of days and a 12 hole course (Cheviot). All country courses in NZ, some classier than others.
 
Quite a few of them have all day rates. I can't remember which were daily rates but the greens fees were are all between NZD$10 and NZD$25.


Whilst none of them are the next Waverley, Charteris Bay (just out of Christchurch) was definitely laid out by someone who knew what they were doing.

[Jeff Schley]

I recall being at Bandon Dunes in 2009 and after playing PD and BD, the shop told us your 3rd round is free if you want to go out. It was maybe 5:30 or so in early August. Old Mac had 9 holes open so I wanted to play it, turned to the group of 5 other guys and to my disappointment not 1 wanted to join me as they were wiped out for walking 36. Here I am 12 years later still regretting this.