The benefits of good Golf Course Reviews or Golf Club Reviews

When leaving a golf club review for your fellow golfing nomads, there is a number of criteria you should look to include in any feedback. Firstly, ensure your review is not based on the quality of golf you played on the day. In addition, take into account the weather conditions and the price of the round – just because it was expensive, does not mean it was not good value for money.

 Ten Top Tips to consider when writing your golf course review…

1. Was the club located close to major roads?
2. Were you given a friendly welcome on arrival?
3. Were the Pro shop and bar staff professional?
4. Was there a good selection of food available?
5. Was the course well maintained?
6. What was the condition of the tee boxes and greens?
7. Was there good signage on your entrance to the course?
8. Was there a history to the club?
9. Was the green fee reflective of the quality of the course?
10. Would you return?

It goes without saying, that every golfer will have a different experience to the next but in today’s modern world, it is paramount that clubs take heed of the reviews that travelling and visiting golfer give their club, as this could, and in time will, affect the ability for clubs to survive.

Sadly, gone are the days when clubs can just rely on their local constituents as a steady trade. In fact, with golf club membership continuing to fall – it is paramount that golf club owners start listening more to the views of visitors. A good golf club reviewer will also take pictures and share these in their reviews – this is particularly useful for readers, as they can provide images of how the course looks throughout the seasons.

Finally, be generous, its easy to give negative feedback than positive but above all, be honest!

How to manage your Golf Society or Golf Group online

Ideally, when looking for a golf group or golf society management system, look for one that provides the following:

1. Score Tracking – This prevents any unnecessary argument over group members handicaps
2. A leaderboard table – Meaning you can keep you member informed of their rankings
3. Email or Messaging – A system that you can update your results in one stroke (no pun intended)
4. Photos/Images - A place where you can store images of your golf days & golf events
5. Handicap Certificate – No more arguments over who’s playing off what!
6. Grow your Society – Increase the awareness of Golf Group Online
7. Special Rates - Take advantage of Golf Society Website Partner Green Fees
8. Increase Participation - Promote your games and events to other golfers
9. Total Control – Organisers can add or delete members at their discretion
10. Everything in One Place – No more searching for email address and contact numbers

Of course, having a stand alone golf group or society website yourself, arguably gives you a certain amount of control but can you create the sophisticated functions available on the bigger websites? In today’s world, a website or social media page will get you so far but using this route will have its limitations.

With so many golf society platforms now growing fast, it’s only a matter of time before traditional golf club membership as we knew it, will be a thing of the past.

Alas, there is no reason why anyone should be forced into joining a club to find golfers to play with.

So, if are you looking to meet playing partners online and join a group or golf society near you … Try out one of the many golf group online platforms and start playing more golf today!

How to write Golf Course Reviews or Golf Club Reviews

Having written many reviews of hotels and restaurants (think trip advisor) writing a good golf course review is just as easy but there are some fundamentals that you should include in any description. It should not be an account of your day but an independent and balanced view of your overall golf experience when you visited the club.

Her is our Top Ten Tips to consider when writing your golf course review.

1. Is the club easy to find?
2. Was there ample signage?
3. Were you welcomed on arrival and treated well?
4. Were the Bar and Catering Facilities to your satisfaction?
5. Did the Pro shop offer you any advice on playing the course?
6. Were the tee boxes and fairways well maintained?
7. Were the Greens in good condition?
8. Was their wide history to the club?
9. Was the course good value for money?
10. Would you return?

Obviously, every golf club reviewer will have their own personal style of writing, but try to avoid giving a review of your round. Sadly, the way you scored on the day can have a big effect on how you rate and judge the course – so be objective. In addition, as well as giving your feedback, try to always find at least one positive thing to say. No one wants to read a wholly negative review and rather than encourage the club to improve its service – it will probably just annoy them (short sighted, I know!)

Finally, if you are in a position to take photographs, add them to your golf course review. Over time this will allow your fellow ‘nomadic golfer’ to gauge what the course may look and play like at various, and huge differentiating times of the year.

Of course, if the website you are using offers you to rank your experience ‘by ratings’ – use these to full effect…. Happy Reviewing!

How to find Golf Groups Online in your area

Whether you are looking for new golfing friends, a local golf group or society of golfers to play with regularly, there are now many options to find Golf Group online with a plethora of websites, apps and social media platform on which to try….

When looking for a good golf group online, there are many options:

• Join an online golf club (e.g. the Social Golfer)
• Join a Facebook Group
• Join A Meet Up Group
• Join a WhatsApp Group
• Join a Twitter Group
• Join a Traditional golf club

Which is best for you?

Much of this will depend on whether you want to play with the same group of golfers, in the same areas or whether you wish to keep meeting new golfers and like to play different courses?

As such, if it’s the first option, then we recommended that you local a club near you, book an appointment with the Director of Golf or The PGA golf Pro and discuss the membership options on offer but if you like playing new courses and meeting new people, the latter will probably appeal to you most.

This is where a good online golf club comes into its own. Joining this type of new golf club (appealing to the nomadic golfer) will mean you will have plenty golfers available to play and keep your interest over time.

In addition, while the Facebook, WhatsApp and Meet Up groups can help you find golfers, they will not offer you a handicapping certificate service or allow you to run and grow your own golf society efficiently.

Furthermore, it may be the online golf community you decide to join will also have deals and green fees offer with traditional clubs, so check what the website platform offers, outside of email, forums, handicap tracking, as you can probably receive discounts and offers too.

Choosing to play a Golf using a Golf Course Directory service

You're excited about your trip, you’ve booked your accommodation, you’ve picked your Restaraunt for the evening and you know you want to play golf while you're away but what the best course to play, what are the green fees? Are they any offers available at the time you wish to play? Using a Golf Course Directory that is up to date, full of information, maps and other detailed content regarding the club is the best way to decide. Furthermore,  there are numerous website platforms on which to source this info.

Look for a Golf course directory that offers you all of the above but most importantly one that provides golf club reviews. Not only with these give you an insight into what your fellow nomadic golfers think of the course but it will also supply you with an objective view of the course, its green fees and its overall value for money. The best course directories will offer a star-rating system making it quick and easy to decide whether it's worth reading on or if to avoid.

By the mid-noughties, many websites like Amazon and eBay were offering customers the opportunity to leave a ‘review’ for the next person and this system is now being widely adopted by all markets and sectors.

A few tips to improve your reviews

1 - Write truthfully and be fair
2 - Talk about the club as well as the course
3 - Be sympathetic to the time of year
4 - Don’t write a review based on what you scored (!!)

However, a word of warning…. what one man (or woman) may think is a luxury, may, in fact, be another person nightmare, so try to take into account the contact in which the ‘review’ has been written and read more than one golf course directory before making up your mind to visit!

Golf venue recommendations your next golf day?

Over the years I have had the opportunity to run a number of corporate and society golf events and have worked hard to develop good and long lasting relationships with golf clubs in and around the south of England area. As such, we have experienced both the good and bad when it comes to customer service and staff support. Some of these events include The TSG Masters, The TSG Par 3 Championship, The TSG OPEN and The TSG MatchPlay Competition that run from April – Sept every year.

Two clubs that have been particularly good a building relationships with me are Woldingham Golf Club in Surrey and Farleigh Golf Club, also based in the south of England county. During this period, the above clubs have hosted two TSG Major events ….

Woldingham Golf Club is part of the Altonwood Group of golf courses and held its first TSG Championship event in September of 2016, whereby our finalists of our summer-long MatchPlay competition enjoyed a day out at this superb course, located in the Halliloo Valley. The overall FA cup style competition was won by 10 handicapper Wayne Fitzgerald. Wayne beat fellow member Tuan Nguyen in a thrilling final which saw many TSGers attend to see our new champion crowned.

Farleigh Golf Club (Part of the Foxhills Collection of golf courses) was chosen to host The TSG OPEN in 2017. This was the first time at this golf venue and by far the largest competitive day we had held to date, with over 70 golfers travelling from all over the UK and as far away as Botswana in Southern Africa. The format of the day included all the usual competitions Individual Stableford, Yellow Ball Team Event, Putting competitions and the inaugural indoor Nearest Pin competition at the 7th Hole at Pebble Beach - sponsored by leading Golf Tour Operator – Golf Escapes. Farleigh GC was the perfect set up for our event with good food and superb facilities.

We can look back at both the events listed above fondly and as great successes.

For more information on both these clubs visit their websites.

Choosing for a new venue for your golf day?

Finding the right venue for your golf day can be a long and detailed process and can make a huge difference to whether your day is a success or failure. Two clubs that have proved to be popular with Golf Day organisers and golf societies and I have had the pleasure of working both Bletchingley Golf Club Surrey and Pedham Place Golf Centre Kent in recent years.

During this period, both these clubs have provided a great venue for corporate and private golf events that include multiple formats including individual competitions, Yellow Ball team games, Nearest Pins, Straightest Drives and six player shoot-outs. Their golf day packages also incorporated post-match meals, raffles and auctions, all good fun. On each occasion, we were provided with excellent food and function rooms to hold our events.

Having first worked with Bletchingley Golf Club in 2012 when they hosted only the 2nd TSG OPEN Championship, I have since used their golf club for numerous events. We were very well looked after by General Manager and PGA Golf Pro Steve Cookson and his staff. Following the success of this golf day, Bletchingley went on to host the event for the next three years. Winners at this venue included TSG members Paul Smith, Brigitte Lockwood, Judy Lilley, David Holmes. Arguably one of the best draining course in the south of England, this course is a great choice for golf day organisers and the like, due to its playability in all weathers.

Meanwhile, Pedham Place Golf Centre was the chosen venue for the first TSG Par 3 Championships in 2016. The superb Academy Course has gone on to host the event every year since. The Club has always been good supporters of my events and the course is always in great condition. Winners at this venue included TSG members Brian Scott, Noel Loughrey and Pete Mayo. Located just a few minutes’ drive from Junction 30 on the M25, this pretty and well maintained short-ish Par 3 course is great fun to play and a test for golfers of all levels.

For more information on both these clubs visit their websites.