Captain Dings First Pricing Moan
Lets get on thing straight, Captain Dings pricing strategy has been working wonderfully well until now. But now EVERYONE reckons that visitors who come and play in our $10 tournaments are getting a good deal and that they should pay full price, whatever the hell that is!! Full price is a green fee, plus tournament fee?? Remember that these mini tournaments, started as upgraded scramble for the locals. They are open to visitors, and I have used these to help advertise the club.

These are visitors who have never played in our tournaments EVER before.

So Captain Ding is suppose to implement this differential pricing F-off policy to antagonize visitors, and to pander to the local miserable old bastards that don't like anyone else to get something for nothing. Forget that every visitor that enters brings additional Bar & Kitchen turnover, and when they leave happy with the course and the day, are THE BEST form of advertising we can ever buy!!

Word of mouth is very powerful, and at the moment we are getting glowing feedback.

The problem is that if you create an apartheid price plan, then we create a lose lose scenario. We lose because they just wont come to play, and we lose because then the tournament day isn't profitable.

No one will win with this stupidity, but the grotesque thing is that the boffin's will feel they have done the right thing, because the visitors who are no longer coming will no longer get a free round of golf.

You know the interesting thing is that nobody wants to be club captain, but every one has an opinion on how to do the job best ... well my dear wee things, I am Club Captain, I was put in to chair the Match committee, and between the match committee and my self, we will do the job right. If you don't like it, put your hand up and do the the job yourself, otherwise STFU!

This has worked for the last 2 years, the bar is humming, and while we may "give away" a cheap round of golf ... what does this actually cost?

... it costs nothing for a golfer to play on the course - nothing. Think about it, all the costs have been paid, so for one more person to play he course COSTS NOTHING!

But what do we gain, an extra player to the tournament and the course, word of mouth advertising to our big tournaments where we charge $20, increased bar & kitchen turnover for the day and the potential for the same on big tournament days.

Jekyll & Hyde Course
It is now official ... we have a summer course and a winter course.  With greens that are putting true, heaps of run, the course at the moment is absurdly easy ... or is it?  Most players have struggled over the winter and as a result are sitting on bloated winter handicaps.  Now that we have a dry course, and superb playing conditions, those that are playing well are dropping their handicaps accordingly.  This is nice to see, but wait until next winter ... will these players struggle over the winter again, when they are sitting on lean and mean summer handicaps, playing on a course that does play significantly longer when wet??  And then we end up full circle ? ... I think soooooo!!!

Course Rating - 20 Dec 2004
We all say Putaruru is a hard course, and that the course rating needs to be reviewed.  But our scoring doesn't seem to reflect this difficulty. If we get a higher slope rating, then the scoring would be better still as people get more handicap shots.  That would be bizarre.

One of the issues is that you need a nett 68 or 40 points just to play to your handicap.  We need to get use to this based on our current course rating.  And we seem to get several players scoring well each week.

How ever, how do we account for winter and summer golf.

Everyone struggles over the winter as our course plays a lot longer than it is rated.  We don't get much run over the winter.  Our handicaps creep out (is this winter fat?), and scoring well is difficult.  And then we hit summer (this is summer isn’t it?)  Scoring becomes significantly easier because the ball goes further.  Would it help if we had a summer and a winter rating system??  There is no easy answer.   Do we throw out the slope system and replace it with what?  The problem is not the system, it may have flaws but they are minor.

The problem is that Putaruru plays longer than it measures.  At 5641 metres for the men we are always going to get 67.9 as a standard scratch rating.  We have a short course.  The problem is that we don’t get a lot of run year round.  Yes Summer does produced extra run,  but the gullies and lie of the land means that we are not significant better off.

The 7th is a good example,  most vets cannot make the top of the hill in winter,  and when they make it to the top in summer, the ball runs into a very difficult position to play from (side & down hill!!).  The 2nd, 5th, 6th, 8th (because it is all carry), 11th, 16th and 18th all present similar shot making difficulties regardless of the time of year.

But this is good for the locals.  We have higher handicaps.  And it does feel good to score 40 points or more when you play really well.

We could increase the course playing difficulty by bringing in the rough, narrowing the fairways, lengthening the rough etc.  but that would detract from the enjoyment the majority of our golfers get from just playing at Putaruru.  That would get us a higher slope,  but it would NOT change the standard scratch rating.

And there is one more factor because this does affect visitors to the course.  Familiarity is the one thing that Putaruru demands.  Probably more so than any other course in the Waikato.  Why?  Because to score well, you have to know where you are going, how to play our holes, how to attack them and from where, where to miss if you play a poor shot.  Putaruru presents a significant variety of lies, side hill, down hill, uphill.  You don’t get this as much else where.

I don't think visitors avoid the course for the slope rating, they may avoid it because it is a challenge.  But in my books that is good.  That is the whole essence of this sport, the challenge between the golfer and himself, trying to take on the many different aspects of self control, course management, and just trying to hit the ball.

We have a unique course that is different.  We should be proud, and continue to take up the many challenge’s it presents.

Captain Ding

What about non golfer's??!! (From 6 Nov 2004)
We  need to encourage them, but what do we do in Open Tournaments where some clearly expect to take part with the full prize tables, privileges and rights as the affiliated golfers.  "Open" means open to affiliated golfers from any club, not just Putaruru,  it is really common sense.  But we are not obligated to take non golfers,  this right is at the discretion of the club members.  And some members object to paying a full sub, and then seeing non financial players enjoy the same privileges without paying a dime towards the upkeep of the club.  The entry fee is solely to do with the day's tournament,  the sub's and upkeep of the club is necessary so that we have a golf club in the first place.  And if we have a golf club, then we can offer these tournaments to members as a right for the fact that they have made a financial commitment to the club full stop.

A nasty altercation took place after Saturday's prize giving, where the perpetrator clearly did not want to listen to the Club Captain or the Vice President explain their rights or otherwise.  The club house fell silent as the conversation got quite heated,  and then the belligerent non golfer was left in no doubt that they were about as welcome as a pork chop at a Jewish BBQ.  That person wont return, but then we certainly don't want that sort of narrow minded tight fisted stirrer around the club either. And if we'd had a chance to explain, then it may have helped all parties.  But there are some people that just don't want anything but to act as the aggrieved innocent party and just stir the shit.

And, you know, it probably did no good to either the golf club, or the non golfer, but then we don't need shit stirrer's who are not prepared to listen, or understand the express wishes, desires and decision's of the whole Golf Club membership.  It is OUR club,  we have paid OUR money, and are entitled to run these tournaments as WE see fit, without reference to any non member.  If YOU want to enjoy the flash tournaments, become a member of the club, get a handicap and support the local club.

Many people want to play in the flash tournaments,  but these tournaments are expressly there for affiliated golfing members ... people that pay a full playing sub ...  to any NZGA club ... People that support the sport of golf, and the infrastructure to develop and maintain the course and the sport throughout the country.  And if anyone wants to play in a flash tournament for the same privileges then they are more than welcome ... but please support the club and become a member.  If you want privilege, then you have to pay.  And yes it is that simple, we are members of a club, and these tournaments are for us as members.

BUT, we had a great day, any one who has ideas as to how we can deal with this situation knows who to talk to.

Cheers ... Captain Ding.

Coming Soon

Pin Placements ... Aha

Course Rating ... OOOh