Tee time booking systems are a fundamental feature of members' golf clubs around the world, allowing golfers to secure a slot for their next round in just a few taps of their phone or clicks on a computer.
To my surprise, however, there isn't one standard method of ensuring golfers can reserve their preferred spot, as I recently discovered in a lengthy discussion over a few post-round beverages in the clubhouse. But there should be, right?
After digging a little deeper into this debate, and speaking to a number of members at various clubs across the UK, I unearthed a few practices that seem a bit archaic and it got me thinking... what is the fairest way to book member tee times at a golf club?
Method 1 – No Tee Times
Let's start with one method that immediately increased my anxiety levels when first hearing about it... the 'no tee times' system.
Clubs that use this process employ a number of methods to ensure members can get out onto the course, but the basic premise is you should rock up and wait your turn.
Some ask you to place your golf ball in a clear tube, which thanks to the powers of gravity releases the next off the rank in the order they were placed. Others ask you to place your marked golf ball near the tee box, in the order that you arrive, and head out when you reach the front of the line.
This almost strikes me as a more upscale version of sticking a pound coin on a pool table, but it appears to be quite a popular method. My concern would be around planning. Imagine turning up on a Sunday morning or a midweek evening to play the comp, and seeing an endless line of golf balls and their accompanying groups waiting to get out onto the first tee.
Suddenly, my four-hour trip to the golf club has become a five or even six hour trip, and that's without issues like slow play creeping in. Suddenly, my plans to cut the grass and pick up the food shopping have now been axed from the list of jobs for the weekend – highlighting an issue for the time-poor golfer juggling their participation with other aspects of essential life-admin.
Method 2 - Compulsory Attendance
Other clubs sit at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, and offer priority tee time booking opportunities for members who visit the golf club at a specific time or day of the week.
It could be a Thursday or Friday evening, where those who head up to the golf club get first pick of the tee times for the following Saturday or Sunday. My reservation with this method would be... what about those who are not able to make it, due to other commitments like family or work?
This system appears to favor the few rather than the majority, creating a monopoly on tee time slots for certain groups of members. While I can understand the appeal from a revenue perspective, with more footfall in the bar yielding higher profits, I can't say it feels totally fair.
Method 3 - Fastest Finger First
The third option is maybe the most widely used, based on conversations I've had with club members. This system releases the tee times for the day, usually one or two weeks in advance on the dedicated app. The slots are usually made available at a specific time, meaning it's down to members to be the fastest person to log on and snap up the time they would like.
There are couple of assumptions made with this method that skew its ability to create a totally level playing field. Those who do not have free access to a computer or smart phone are at a disadvantage, and those who aren't available immediately at the slot release time, perhaps due to work or other commitments, also lose out.
My Suggested Method
I must admit, despite the pitfalls outlined above, method three does appear to be the fairest system... but I would make a couple of tweaks to ensure all members get the chance to play at their desired time.
In what would be a radical combination of methods two and three, members could be split into four groups (random allocation on joining). Each group is allocated one weekend each on a four-week cycle, where they get a one-hour priority booking window on the app.
This would allow the opportunity, at least once per month, for members to get close to their preferred tee time, while accepting their chances in the fastest finger first race for the remaining weeks.
I would go one step further in saying an amalgamation of elements from all three methods could work, if the policy stated that after a certain time in the afternoon members didn't need to book their tee time and instead could turn up and play.
This might encourage some mixing between usually playing groups and the opportunity to forge relationships between members, during the quieter times on the course, but ultimately maintains a level of order through the use of traditional tee bookings during the busier peak times on the course.
