How Important is The Hospitality You Receive at a Golf Club

Some golf clubs are notorious for failing to put out the welcome mat for visitors. Why this should be, I have absolutely no idea, but I can tell you that I have had some pretty dreadful experiences at clubs all around the country.

Head and shoulders above all the rest was a course in Suffolk that I will not name in order to spare their embarrassment - and, who knows, things may have changed, although I seriously doubt it.

As I drove into the car park I got a good indication of what was to come when I realised there was an area for members and another for visitors. The members’ car park was perfect, with parking spaces clearly marked out. Just as it should be. And the visitors’ car park? Muddy and full of pot holes.

When I walked into the pro’s shop, accompanied by the member I was playing with, I was still wearing my street shoes. After relieving me of an extortionate green fee, the pro informed me that he wanted to see back in his shop wearing my golf shoes. I thought he was joking. He was not!

When we finished our round, my friend informed me that I was not allowed in the main lounge bar. 

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because you are not wearing a shirt and tie," came the reply. This was a red-hot summer’s day.

Unbelievably, I returned to this golf club 12 months later. Again, it was a hot and sunny day so I was wearing shorts and ankle-length socks. Upon walking into the shop the same professional took one look at me and said: "You can’t play wearing those."

He meant my socks.

"We have a rule here - if you wear shorts then you have to wear knee-length socks."

I told him that I didn’t have any. "No problem, I can sell you a pair."

"Do you have anything to hold them up?"

"No."

"Well that means that by the time I get to the first tee they will be around my ankles."

"Sorry, it’s the rules."

So I duly bought a pair of knee-length socks and sure enough, by the time I got to the first tee they were indeed around my ankles.

There have been all sorts of bad experiences.

I left one golf club because they kept increasing the price of the food and drink. I left another because the greenkeeper destroyed the putting surfaces, meaning that for one full season we had to play on temporary greens - the following season the owner put the fees up by 20%. It was a decision he came to regret as almost half of his entire membership headed for other courses.

Golf clubs are part of the hospitality industry. They may not think they are but there is no doubt in my mind. So why is it that so many of them seem to employ individuals who just don’t like people?

I am absolutely certain that every single one of you reading this article have at some stage walked into a pro’s shop to pay a visitors’ green fee and been made to feel like a social pariah! 

Why do so many club professionals find it so difficult to greet people with a smile? I don’t know about you but if I am handing over upwards of £50 I expect a bit of customer service - and when it comes to the pro I expect him to welcome me and then talk me through the course without me having to ask. Time without number this process is like drawing teeth.

Then there are the members who quite clearly look down on visitors. Why can’t they accept that without this vital revenue stream their annual subscription would be far higher?

And don’t get me started on tee times. If you are going to allow visitors to enjoy your course, make some accessible tee times available - and that means letting them play in the morning. How many times have you been lumbered with a late-afternoon starting time and find that when you come off the final green the clubhouse bar is long closed?

If you don’t receive a warm welcome, if you are not made to feel wanted at a course I can guarantee that you are not going to be heading back there anytime soon - and that you are going to tell all your golfing buddies to avoid it like the plague!

Smile please - it doesn’t cost a penny!

The best welcome I have ever received from any golf club was at the magnificent Kingsbarns on the outskirts of St Andrews. We arrived at the starter’s hut and received a welcome pack and a huge, beaming smile. We were asked if we had played the course before and when we said that we hadn’t, we were talked through all 18 holes. After finishing our round we headed for the clubhouse and were greeted like old friends. I accept that this is not a cheap golf course but they do know how to treat their customers, and that is just one of the reasons why I tell anybody who asks that it is probably my favourite course ever - and I have played all the courses on the Open rota, Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach and Wentworth.

It is also worth mentioning that courses in America know exactly how to treat visitors - many clubs in the UK could learn lessons from them.

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