Structuring tee times on a 9 hole course

[rodge]

Any ideas??

Hello!

My "secondary" course is a 9 hole facility. Nice course, and due to massive flooding in our area, is actually one of the only area courses that will be in operation this season. The course is going to have a ton of traffic this season due to this.

In the past they haven't had tee times, they just got people on when they showed up. That won't work this year. There will be a lot of people traveling to play, and you want to make sure they get on. And being a 9 hole course you'll have people who only play 9, and of course people who play 18.

What would be the best way to structure tee times to make it work for people who play 18? So far the ideas range from leaving 1 open tee time for every 3 scheduled. Or simply scheduling two times for the groups who play 18, the 2nd tee time about 2 or 2 1/2 hours after the first.

Any ideas? Thank you!!

[KPHayes]

[quote name='rodge' timestamp='1332257325' post='4542818']
Hello!

My "secondary" course is a 9 hole facility. Nice course, and due to massive flooding in our area, is actually one of the only area courses that will be in operation this season. The course is going to have a ton of traffic this season due to this.

In the past they haven't had tee times, they just got people on when they showed up. That won't work this year. There will be a lot of people traveling to play, and you want to make sure they get on. And being a 9 hole course you'll have people who only play 9, and of course people who play 18.

What would be the best way to structure tee times to make it work for people who play 18? So far the ideas range from leaving 1 open tee time for every 3 scheduled. Or simply scheduling two times for the groups who play 18, the 2nd tee time about 2 or 2 1/2 hours after the first.

Any ideas? Thank you!!
[/quote]


Not sure where in ND you are, but when I lived in Minot I was a member of the AFB course which was only 9 holes. The way they did it was to space the tee times by 15 minutes to account for groups "making the turn". Groups at the turn had priority on # 1/10 so if your group is just going out you might have to let them through but it seemed to work out pretty well for the most part.

[darkhelmet]

How about just asking people at booking time whether they want a tee time for 9 or 18. If 18, then you pencil the group in for a later tee time (say, 2 hours or 2.5 hours later) as well.

That way you can keep your tee times at a normal spacing and you don't have to leave "open" slots that may or may not get filled.

If the place is as busy as you say, you probably don't have to worry about late cancellations or no-shows -- there will probably be enough of a waiting list to fill up vacated times (even if someone shows up and decides to play 9 instead of the 18 they booked).

You can also try calling other 9-hole courses, especially ones in metropolitan areas that get a lot of play, and ask to talk to someone there about how they do it. That's probably your best bet since they can tell you what has worked or not in a real-world setting.

[JohnnyB Hips]

[quote name='darkhelmet' timestamp='1332259721' post='4543132']
How about just asking people at booking time whether they want a tee time for 9 or 18. If 18, then you pencil the group in for a later tee time (say, 2 hours or 2.5 hours later) as well.

That way you can keep your tee times at a normal spacing and you don't have to leave "open" slots that may or may not get filled.

If the place is as busy as you say, you probably don't have to worry about late cancellations or no-shows -- there will probably be enough of a waiting list to fill up vacated times (even if someone shows up and decides to play 9 instead of the 18 they booked).

You can also try calling other 9-hole courses, especially ones in metropolitan areas that get a lot of play, and ask to talk to someone there about how they do it. That's probably your best bet since they can tell you what has worked or not in a real-world setting.
[/quote]

+1. If possible, it would be nice to have them check in again when they start they're 2nd 9-hole so you can officially cross them out.

[DaSportsGuy]

[quote name='darkhelmet' timestamp='1332259721' post='4543132']
How about just asking people at booking time whether they want a tee time for 9 or 18. If 18, then you pencil the group in for a later tee time (say, 2 hours or 2.5 hours later) as well.

That way you can keep your tee times at a normal spacing and you don't have to leave "open" slots that may or may not get filled.

If the place is as busy as you say, you probably don't have to worry about late cancellations or no-shows -- there will probably be enough of a waiting list to fill up vacated times (even if someone shows up and decides to play 9 instead of the 18 they booked).

You can also try calling other 9-hole courses, especially ones in metropolitan areas that get a lot of play, and ask to talk to someone there about how they do it. That's probably your best bet since they can tell you what has worked or not in a real-world setting.
[/quote]
Their is a nice 9 hole facility near my house with a top notch driving range and they have the same problem. They schedule tee times that way, but it's not as easy as it sounds. Some groups go faster and some go slower so if your tee times are booked, they are still going to run into traffic issues on the 1st tee. It's a tough situation.

[Pweb44]

A local course I play use to be a 9 hole course but has expanded to a full 18 about 3 or 4 years ago. When they were strictly a 9 hole course, they would only book tee times from opening until about 11am and then after that is was a 1st come 1st serve basis until closing for tee times. Then they also had a starter working the 1st tee during peak times so anyone finishing up their 1st 9 holes and heading back out for their back 9 were given the tee box before a person starting their round. They found that stopping reserved tee times around the time most of the early groups out should be finished a full 18 allowed them to better control the 1st tee box and keep it flowing. Also for the group heading out for their 2nd 9 had to give the starter at the tee box their name so they could see if as group they are playing at a fast, slow or a good pace. If a group was going too slow they were warned and if the pace did not improve then a marshal would either force them to skip holes or force them to wait at a tee until some of the back log was cleared.

They also had a rule that any group stopping at the club house for more than 10 mins would loose their spot in the rotation and you have to be reseated by the course when going back out at the turn.

[scomac2002]

[quote name='darkhelmet' timestamp='1332259721' post='4543132']
How about just asking people at booking time whether they want a tee time for 9 or 18. If 18, then you pencil the group in for a later tee time (say, 2 hours or 2.5 hours later) as well.

That way you can keep your tee times at a normal spacing and you don't have to leave "open" slots that may or may not get filled.[/quote]

I work one day a week at one of our three heritage 9 hole courses in my region. Each tee booking is asked whether or not they intend to play 9 or 18. If 18, a second tee time is booked 2 1/2 to 3 hours after the initial to account for a rest stop for food and beverages at the turn. No wasted tee times; no waiting to get a group out for the second nine. Works like a charm; everyone is happy.

[Imp]

The 9 hole course I play is also 1st come 1st serve, with tee times accepted only for the 1st hour of the day.

The starter has a whiteboard in a gazebo that has about 20 squares. Each square is split in half. Top = Front 9, bottom = back 9.

As you come around for the back 9, you go into the club house and pay for the back 9, (which is a discounted rate upon showing your front 9 starter slip that was punched at the beginning 9). Then you go to the starter and they will put your group in the 1st available 'bottom' space that has someone waiting to go off the front. Those on the 'back 9' will then be sent out between the next 2 groups on the 'front'. I beleive this is how most 9 hole courses handle it. (Or put a ball in the "Back" rack).

Yes, this means front 9s will have to wait a bit more once someone comes around for 18. However, it assures a constant flow of golfers going off every 8 minutes, and the course is not guessing if those on the front 9 will be coming around for 18 or not. Since you only pay for 9 at a time, if you want to do 18, you can see if it will be worth it. (And I can tell already that if it's going to be the only game in town, there's going to be waiting on the course, and waiting to play. Once the course understands no matter what, there's going to be waiting... they can get on with business).

I think it would be a logistical nightmare if everyone had tee times based on 9 or 18. If they only schedule 9 every 15 minutes, that means they could have empty slots waiting to be filled constantly (and not everyone plays at the same pace, so if they 'scheduled' someone for 18, and the round takes longer, are they going to miss their tee time for the back 9? It would be impossible to schedule for). That's not a sound business descision. You want the course filled at any given point in time, and you want people to be happy.

Yes, some golf is better than no golf, and if it's the only place around that's going to be able to play at, I would think they want people going off every 8 or so min.

It is what it is. In a nutshell, trying to schedule in advance those coming around for the back 9 (putting them on a clock) will be hellish and I bet they may hit their target 25% of the time. Then, if they miss their scheduled time, they still will have to make another 9 going off the front wait anyways. However, I do like the 2.5-3 hour scheduled start for back 9, in advance... but that has its own set of challenges/logistics.


--kC