From Neil: ["Yes the "Discount Rate" for local golfers on daily fee courses is more accurately a surcharge on visitors which is and always was a flawed approach, in my opinion it's actually insulting to someone who you have most likely allured from afar to play your course. Why not restructure fees based on...Demand . If you need to give something to local residents for developing the course send them a $50 gift card with their tax return annually.
One new model might include less expensive sun-rise and sun set fees, players trade-off is to deal with on-going maintenance, higher prime-time fees. With private clubs there is also an opportunity to implement a lesser or beginning membership with play restrictions to less desirable times, those individuals will still likely spend money in the club.
Regardless of the rates if you want more players / to make more money address other deterrents like;
single parents, you don't need child care just a safe place a kid can read a book, is welcome to watch a movie, play craps (whoops ) god forbid you convince your insurance company kids should be allowed to walk or ride along with an adult. What if that kid took up golf, hell you should give a player a discount for bringing his kid.
Less time, can I please play golf for an hour at lunch, or before work for a reasonable fee? Hell there's nobody out there, are my hour worth of divots really going to cost $12 to repair?" ] [/i]
Neil - Welcome to the Discussion Group - looks like you will fit in just fine.
An excellent post you have done there, (and also the one further down about outside the square cost cutting measures) - it is a challenging environment in Australia, as it is everywhere else, in trying to set unaccompanied visitors fees and members guests by comparison with other regional courses, or similar 'quality/test/appeal' courses, makes for challenging debate.
For mine, I think members are the ones who deal with annual subscription increases, and should receive some form or appreciation spelt out well in a post above (Mark's?) - you are not embarrassed that you mate is being charged for it, or are happy to 'shout' him the guest rate, but for one time visitors, or annual or quarterly visitors, they should be paying full retail.
Neil, with your description of breaking the week down into demand based tee times, if of course and excellent one, and could perhaps in the future look like an online accomodation booking site, with possibly 8-10 different tee time prices for visitors depending on when they want to play. Makes a lot of sense.