Well, maybe your market is different from here. Members here will be upset, if guests play during peak times and get in their way. They won't mind them playing at off times and could care less how much they pay. Second, visitors who cannot get 18 holes in will feel cheated and never come back. Especially if they were held up by members, who don't care how many holes they get in.
Also, if what you say is true that visitors only play once and never come back again, then for sure they will not be flexible enough to make that discounted time. They'll have one day available, when they're in the region, and you have to get their business right then. Over here twilight rates are taken by locals and they are repeat customers.
Finally, from my own experience as someone, who likes to play different courses, but is not very flexible: often I call clubs and they are booked solid at the time I want to play, so they lose my business. I either keep calling other clubs, until someone accommodates me, or I just go play my home course or hit the range. All it takes for those clubs to not lose my business is move some of the more flexible players to off times.
Ulrich
Ulrich - It is not a one size fits all with regard to visitors, much depends on where a course is lets say 'in the rankings' the bottom enders will feed off the novice and occasional golfers who are very price controlled. Some good players locally will want to tick that golf course off their list, many wont because of what they have heard, read or learned from the clubs website (a really important area). Courses with a bit of name (RV) will be on peoples wanted list, you will have people that will be put off by a low price (they think that its probably in crap condition) I know I would rather pay £2 for a steak beefburger than 25p for an economy burger...in truth they are probably the same, but it is thought patterns and they play a bit part in your secret marketing. People that are mad on golf often take others with them, the mad on golf brigade (most here) enthuse to others so a single sale might in reality be ten fold, a good experience and that ten fold increases.
The UK visitor patterns are that people will travel up to 60 minutes to play a good course and 90 minutes to play a very good course, exceptional courses are different and often involve travel and lodge cost. It is important to be high up in the county ratings, most travellers have incurred much cost in getting there, the principle is you would not drive to Manchester (150 miles from me) to play a cheap golf course, most from Bristol would think of somewhere like Mere if we were up that way thats how we have been educated. Reddish Vale's website looks a £20 course not a £50 course.
It is unlikely that this type of player will re-play that course or maybe again in 10 or 20 years....reason being there are more to try.
Visitors will multi play courses up to 60 minutes with a stronger bias to nearest, those closer courses are more likely to benifit from twilight zone golf. Twilight rate at 50% off should represent 9 hole golf plus a tadd more, there should be no bleating that he only managed 17 holes.
Rack rate (Standard full price) should equal between 1/20th and 1/30th (but never more) the annual subscription outside of that balance represents; lower than (a very good course) higher than (a struggling course likely to lose it's members because occasional play offers better value). At a normal golf club, best times are premium for your membership, so if you allow large volumes of visitors it will affect your membership. Visitors should be accomodated if there is space and usually a the pattern is that your members play early times say up to 10.00 or 11.00 and then that is a 'unpopular time' for members, that unpopular time for a member is a popular time for a visitor who may have travelled 60-90 minutes, that person has conceeded the whole day to golf, so an 11.00 start is fine. There is a strong member play pattern after lunch and after work.
Winter rates when a UK course is not in so good condition can be discounted, though not to such an amount that you have mass play, it is dormant and needs rest, so you could invoke a situation wherby you take £10 and do £10 worth of damage.
Juniors need encouragement and discounts are fine, I think pro's, secretarys, captains, greenstaff all get courtesy, that should not be expected peak time weekends. The best discount of all should be a member bringing a guest to play and if you EVER EVER EVER create a back door where someone can play cheaper than the cost of a member bringing a guest then you have made the mix.