Is summer '21 as crowded as summer '20 ?

[elwhippy]

Definitely not. But clubs are holding onto the inflated fees they introduced in last year's boom. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

9 hours ago, tatertot said:

Full tee sheets all day, everyday, 7 days a week.

 

Yep. I took the day off Thurday to play with my wife's stepdad who was in town. Played one of the nicer public courses in the area, so even on a weekday it's triple-digit greens fees. I don't normally play courses that expensive, but I'm not going to take him out to my usual dog tracks, and I liked the chance to have an excuse to play that course on the weekday "discount" lol... You'd think at that price, on a weekday, they wouldn't be 100% full.

 

So he calls me the night before the round. Says that my brother in law who was also visiting is trying to get out of going to Disneyland with the rest of the family (as my wife's stepdad was doing--but thought much farther in advance). Can I call the course and see if I can get him on? 

 

I tell him there's no chance--the other two of our foursome was booked a week ago, and the course is full, but I'll call. The guy at the pro shop was very nice, but the obvious answer was still no. Couldn't go as a fivesome, couldn't break us into two groups, course is full. Okay, no big deal. He should have asked sooner.

 

I checked the booking website the next morning. Every tee time from the time they opened until 6:40 PM super twilight was fully booked. Not even room for a single to sneak in anywhere. On a Thursday, non-holiday, in 90 degree weather, for >$100 greens fees (although lower after noon). 

 

Everything is full here, every day, all day. It doesn't even matter what it costs. It's Orange County--there's always someone who can afford to play it. 

[ChristopherMcDonald]

Most courses in So Cal are adjusting how early you can book tee ties. 10-14 days out in a lot of cases and they still fill up absurdly fast. Better than being up at 12:01AM to snag a tee time 7 days in advance I guess

EDIT: I'm in the same general area of betarhoalphadelta, definitely rough around here trying to get a time right now.

Edited August 16, 2021 by ChristopherMcDonald

[Bonneville85308]

I've noticed within the last month that weekday play at the courses I frequent is suddenly back to pre-2020 levels. It's mostly back to the retiree crowd and very few of the younger WFH people that helped fill the tee sheet on weekdays in 2020.  Weekends are still busier than pre-2020 but not as crazy as 2020 and the first half of 2021 were.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Bonneville85308

[diddy2]

I think it’s cooled down a little around me, no lockdowns for over a years so things have gone back to normal basically 

[MPAndreassi]

On 8/1/2021 at 8:02 AM, kftgolfer said:

More crowded than ever. Almost every course has every tee time booked 7am-4pm. Looked at private clubs and all have waiting lists and high initiations where as 2 years ago could have got right in without any initiation. 

Same story as where I’m at. Luckily I got into my club last fall, before the waiting list and initiation started back up. 

[nikeblades00]

On 8/16/2021 at 12:21 AM, Tax77 said:

Only get out after 4pm in Detroit burbs, courses are empty. Played 36 in 4 hours today solo.

Where are you playing? Not empty in Ann Arbor area.

[GolfDancer]

Here in SE Michigan, if you don't make a tee time by Wed., you probably won't be playing on the weekend unless it's twilight.  

[Mcfly]

Owensboro (western KY).

At least as busy as last summer.  

[phizzy30]

Not quite as crowded but still tough to get a decent tee time here in the LA, OC and Inland Empire area on the weekends.  Weekdays different story.  I can get something late am and on Monday thru Thursday nowadays 2 days ahead, whereas before last year, it was 90% no way Jose.  You had to book a tee time a solid week before.  Since things have opened up, I think people realize that golf isn't as easy as it seems and have moved on to whatever hobbies they were immersed in before the pandemic.   

[Augster]

Way less play in 2021 than 2020 in the greater Minneapolis area. 
 

It’s not so dead that you can “just show up” on a weekend with a foursome and expect to get out. Weekends are still full. But they were nearly full pre-2020. 
 

What has changed is needing tee times for weekday rounds. You can usually book a tee time day of, or day before, for around any time you want to play on a weekday at all the courses I’ve tried to play. It wasn’t the case, at all, in 2020. 
 

2020 was miserable if you found an extra 2 hours and just wanted to “jump out” and play some golf. In 2020, Almost no chance unless it’s really early or really late. 2021, if I get a spare 2 hours, most of the time I can hop out as a single, or sometimes get paired up, and play during the week. No chance that would happen in 2020. 
 

It was insanity in 2020. I’m glad we are trending toward the previous “normal”. 

[Ferguson]

On 8/1/2021 at 11:42 AM, miamistomp said:

 Getting a little better but still way busier than a normal summer

  South Florida is seeing a lot of tourists this summer - way more than usual slow season ( covid is on the rise too again because of this )

  Rates have really not gone to off season level and course maintenance is not great

 

Maybe it will get better when school reopens and NFL resumes to get the covid clowns off the course

 

Missing a golf cart? 

 

 

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/naked-woman-golf-cart-florida-standoff-armed-suspect

 

[Ferguson]

Our club is above 2019 levels but has backed off from the peak of 2020.   

Goldilocks. 

 

 

[MountainKing]

Early in the year it didn't feel that way, but it seems to have picked up steam.  The last few weeks seems almost impossible to find any reasonably priced times during the weekdays between 2pm and 4pm.   Weekends seem a little easier, especially since we try to hit the first twilight or discounted time available.  

[Abh159]

In the southeast I've already noticed a decline in people playing especially on the weekends. Now that fans can attend football games again a lot of people are travelling to games and back to college towns.

 

Granted I'm at a private club so getting a tee time never became too big of an issue, but there has been a decrease in the number of names on the tee sheet recently.

[jholz]

6 hours ago, Ferguson said:

 

Missing a golf cart? 

 

 

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/naked-woman-golf-cart-florida-standoff-armed-suspect

 

 

Yeah man, I saw this earlier today. Frickin' crazy Florida crap. I'm thinking the story begin with something along the lines of "I was smoking a lot of crack and it was just so hot..."

[jholz]

As far as the actual thread topic is concerned, I would say that things have remained pretty much the same at the munis I play most regularly. They were busy before COVID. Busy last year. Busy today.

 

But, if you are willing to play as a single, you can pretty much just walk up, pay your money, and head to the first tee. The longest I've waited to get out this summer is about 30 minutes.

 

Tee times are for hacks! 😁

[Darth_Blader]

Iowa courses are jammed...Everyday is a weekend round. 5 to 6 hours with the "just took up the game" or "getting back into it" crowd. I think I am going to go back to fishing...oh wait! People need to go back to work...and stop watching the news. 

[phizzy30]

Delete

Edited September 10, 2021 by phizzy30