Bargain Golf

Golf. A great game of man versus nature. The ultimate challenge of a man's absolute control over his body. A game that can never be mastered nor beaten. Golf is what I do for a living.

I don't play golf for a living, I wish I did, but I don't have the mental or financial means to play golf competitively. Golf is what I do for a living because I run a golf course. This is my trade.

You don't run a golf course. You don't understand what it takes to run a golf course and you don't have a clue what costs are involved in keeping 185 acres or grass mowed to less than an inch 365 days a year. This is our difference. You pay me to play golf, and I get paid for creating the environment for you to play.

Bargain Golf.

As of this year everyone has started to think that golf is this free thing that we get money for and that everyone working at a golf course is rich. It is far from the truth. Most employees of any golf course across the nation make between $12,000-$40,000 a year. We are poor on the scale of qualified managers.

Golf is free.... for people who steal it. Our employees aren't even allowed to play golf for free. Our management team must pay $5 to play golf as well as our hourly staff.

This week I have been asked by customers to let them play free golf. Discount the golf 50% since we aren't busy, or just let them play for a small cash fee. I scratch my head in confusion at these questions. Here is the best hypothetical conversation I can produce to explain why golf is not free.

Mr. L :Welcome. How may I help you?

John: Can you get a single out?
Mr. L: Sure. What is your last name?
John: Doe.
Mr. L: First Name?
John: John.
Mr. L: I can get you out at 10:37. will that be okay
John: Sure... Any chance you can let me go out for free since it isn't busy today?
Mr. L: The best I can do is $27.07
John: What about charging me for only the front 9? That would be half price, right?
Mr. L: Sorry, we don't have a 9 hole rate. It will be $27.07
John: Can I just to walk a few holes since no one is on them and not pay?
Mr. L: No Sir. The rate is the rate.
John: Is there anything we can work out here?
Mr. L: John, What do you do for a living?
John: I sell airline tickets.
Mr. L: Can I get some free tickets to Hawaii?
John: Of course not.
Mr. L: Why not? The plane has 4 empty seats still. No one is sitting in them. Can't I just sit in one of them for free?
John: No. You can't just fly to Hawaii because there is one open seat on the plane. You have to pay for a ticket.
Mr. L: Just like you have to pay to play golf. We wouldn't come to your work and ask you for a bargain on your product so please don't ask us for a bargain on ours. ... It's going to be $27.07 today for your round of golf.
John: Ok. Can I have a bag of tees for free then?

And this is how 1 out of every 10 customers goes. Everyone thinks that golf should be free or should have a friend/family/NFL/neighborhood resident/fireman/waitress/brother-in-laws-uncle discount and that just isn't the case. Golf courses costs millions of dollars a year to maintain, so golf isn't cheap unless you sink a coffee can in the lot next door.