Links Trust taking over St. Andrews tee times

[Howard Riefs]

http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2015/12/9/good-news-links-trust-taking-over-st-andrews-tee-times.html

[Andrew Simpson]

Same number of times available for play and the same number of requests for a time, I can't see how that makes times more available.
OH, unless they increase the number of times to tour operators for visitors paying extra to buy a time for the wealthy!
Good for the Links Trust though.

[Mark Chaplin]

So Golf Digedt basically thought Americans were being "ripped off" because they couldn't get their asses sorted to book in good time. If that's the case who were the mugs?

[Rich Goodale]

All that is happening here is that the Links Trust's 20-year agreement to Compass Intl aka Keith Prowse aka The Old Course Experience (herinafter refered to as CIKPTOCE), which allowed CIKPTOCE exclusive rights to ~20% of the starting times on the Old Course, buying them at eh rack rate (or probbly much less) and then reselling them at ridculuously high "retail"/"bundled" rates to gullible rich people and/or tour groups and/or their own tour grop (TOCE).

The Links Trust (LT) now owns all those tee times previously wholesaled to CIKPTOCE, and the LT can do what they want with them, but as Andrew S says wisely above, what is going to stop them from just taking over the middleman role from CIKPTOCE and re-selling them to tour operators, perhaps even a higher % of starting times than that which CIKPTOCE enjoyed?

Those of you without the big bucks and/or connections to R&A members and or unlucky enough to not get an "advanced reservation" (rare as hen's teeth, IMO), be prepared for a night or two at St. Andrew's version of Hooverville if you even want to get a sniff of playing The Old Course.

Rich

[Howard Riefs]

Golfweek reports on the impact of this decision on tour organizers, local hotels, etc....


http://golfweek.com/2017/07/31/deal-makes-it-easier-cheaper-to-book-advance-tee-times-on-the-old-course/

[Jonathan Mallard]

Same number of times available for play and the same number of requests for a time, I can't see how that makes times more available.
OH, unless they increase the number of times to tour operators for visitors paying extra to buy a time for the wealthy!
Good for the Links Trust though.

More operators = more price competition from a less impacted market.


It certainly won't go to the dynamic pricing, or GolfNow levels, but I think it heads that way.


Eventually.

[Niall C]

I notice one tour operator was quoted as saying that it would now cost $1,000 less which just begs the question, what the hell were they charging before ?

Niall

[Steve Lang]

   Sept 1996, fly into Gatwick, arriving on a Saturday morning, immediately place a call to the TOC Lottery number to get a tee time for the next week, connect to Edinburgh, get downtown and check into hotel on a block with a Conan Doyle Bar next to theatre district, laugh at seeing Houston Ballet troupe advert on marquee, eat italian, nearly missing call of name for table... how tangled can one syllable get?... call back to Lottery and find we have Monday tee time, adventure to St. Andrews on Sunday to walk course, see museum and sights, and find some rental clubs... discover little golf shop down from museum and proprietor Dorothy (?) asks if a gentleman from NY could join us at out tee time, seems he had been trying to get on TOC for a week, staying at the big hotel... sure no problem.. later call if a gentleman from NJ that had also been trying to get on and met the gentleman from NY in the hotel bar, could join us too? Sure no problem..


me thinks... there is nothing new under the sun, shining or not in Scotland

[Kirk Gill]

Things have changed. A lot. I don't remember what year I played TOC, but it was in the latter half of the 80's. I wrote a letter to the R&A asking for a tee time. Received a nice letter from Michael Bonallack (signed by him at least) telling me that because I was a single I'd just have to come to the course and see if a group would let me join them. I rented the worst, oldest set of clubs I'd ever seen at a little shack near the first tee from a very old lady who was blasting country music. The first threesome that came through once it was my turn allowed me to join them.


It was cheap, too. Less than 30 quid.

[Jon Wiggett]

Things have changed. A lot. I don't remember what year I played TOC, but it was in the latter half of the 80's. I wrote a letter to the R&A asking for a tee time. Received a nice letter from Michael Bonallack (signed by him at least) telling me that because I was a single I'd just have to come to the course and see if a group would let me join them. I rented the worst, oldest set of clubs I'd ever seen at a little shack near the first tee from a very old lady who was blasting country music. The first threesome that came through once it was my turn allowed me to join them.


It was cheap, too. Less than 30 quid.

Kirk,


back in 1986/7 it was £18 and was a day ticket now it is 10 times that for just one round. At the same time Carnoustie was £14. How times have changed.

[Ronald Montesano]

You say cikptoce, I say covfefe.

[Howard Riefs]

2018 TOC advance tee times applications available from today through Sept. 6:

https://play.standrews.com/

Links Trust is offering four different categories, with applications being accepted for the Old Course in High Season, Shoulder Season, Low Season and for Single Golfers.

Good luck!