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kobbsno10
6th January 2009, 11:30 AM
What in your opinion would be the best course to pay a visit to on the Gold Coast? I'm talking about the play and stay packages that they do also. Who would have the best deals on at the moment? I'm thinking about heading up there in a month or so with my wife (she doesn't play golf:roll:).

Sasquatch
7th January 2009, 02:17 PM
It’s a bit hard to recommend where to play not knowing how much you want to spend. Unlimited budget - Hope Island or The Glades. Sensible budget - after 2pm at Robina Woods, The Colonial, Palm Meadows or Royal Pines. Cheap budget – Parkwood, Helensvale, Tamborine Mountain, etc, etc.

Onsite (or very close) accommodation & golf.
Radisson Resort with golf at Palm Meadows & across the road at Lakelands. I've seen their shuttle bus in the carpark of a few courses but I don't know what's involved for using that service. Groups only, ??? http://www.radisson.com/hotels/auspalm

RACV Royal Pines with 27 holes onsite. But in a month or so the Ladies Masters is on so it mightn't be an option. http://www.royalpinesresort.com.au/packages

Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove. Hotel guests can play the Pines or the Palms courses. A few km’s away is Hope Island. http://sanctuarycove.regency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/offers/offers.jsp


Offsite accommodation & golf.
Stay close by & play at Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club. http://www.cooltweedgolf.com.au/page/Stay-and-Play-Packages/26/

Or stay somewhere cheaper & use a hire car (or a local :wink: ) to play a variety of courses. My friends recently stayed here http://www.freshwaterpointresort.com.au/specials.htm
in Broadbeach in a brand new one bedroom apartment with canal views for $95 a night.

These people list the golf courses & accommodation they use to organise holidays. http://www.goldcoast-golf-holidays.com/courses.htm

Hope you have a great holiday!

markTHEblake
7th January 2009, 08:29 PM
Dont play at Royal Pines or Hope Island, they are scumbags, I wouldnt piss on em if they were on fire.

Sanctuary Cove are top blokes, and so are the Glades

kobbsno10
8th January 2009, 06:07 AM
Thanks Sasquatch, you've given me a few options there which is great:smt023

Hux
15th January 2009, 09:58 AM
Dont play at Royal Pines or Hope Island, they are scumbags, I wouldnt piss on em if they were on fire.

Sanctuary Cove are top blokes, and so are the Glades


Tell it like it is Mark!!!

Only played Hope once (last year) and was treated very well on that occassion. No different to the Glades in my experience....actually no different to any of the resort courses I have played on recently...Club Pelican, North Lakes.

markTHEblake
15th January 2009, 10:41 AM
Only played Hope once (last year) and was treated very well on that occassion.

Yes they do lay it on for the tourists, that is the only thing they are interested in, but they are terrible when it comes to the support local golf, so I will never support them unless they change their attitudes.

Sanctuary Cove in particular, Lakelands, Glades are the complete opposite and they get a big thumbs up from me.

Moe Norman
15th January 2009, 10:55 AM
If you have the cash, stay at the Hyatt and play Sanctuary Cove - Pines.

Your mrs will find plenty to do while you're out too.

Hux
15th January 2009, 07:29 PM
Yes they do lay it on for the tourists, that is the only thing they are interested in, but they are terrible when it comes to the support local golf, so I will never support them unless they change their attitudes.

Sanctuary Cove in particular, Lakelands, Glades are the complete opposite and they get a big thumbs up from me.

Fair enough Mark I see where you are getting at. shavey seems to get a good deal, but most social clubs do struggle to get any sort of deal with them.

I do wonder why they wouldn't encourage social clubs playing particularly mid week or during the quiet off peak periods. Bums in carts would be better than mowing for no one.

shavey
15th January 2009, 07:48 PM
Nearly all GC resort courses have group rates for 12 or more people; albeit a few bucks here and there. The misconception then is that if you have 30 players or so that it should be drastically reduced which is not the case.

It's all about knowing when to play if you are a social group. Most courses will have specials on Tuesday (ladies comp) and Wednesday (mens comp) but depending on the course, these events might be targetting the better golfer and therefore the social group is not welcomed with open arms.

Best option for everybody is to utilise the buying power of the golf resellers (like ISG) who will always get the best rates due to their high turnover.

markTHEblake
15th January 2009, 08:17 PM
but most social clubs do struggle to get any sort of deal with them.

Wasnt thinking about social golf either :-) Tournament golf, pennants etc

Hope Island in particular are a disgrace. They used to play Pennants, had quite a strong team, but gave the district an ultimatum that they will only play if there are no rounds at there course. They havent played since and for what, their paper loss of 7 tee time slots per annum, offset by the loss of those members who will have left to join elsewhere, and they will never attract those golfers again.

Royal Pines wasnt much better, they looked upon the visiting players with contempt. (they have since pulled out cos they couldnt make up a team)

Now consider Sanctuary Cove, the 2nd most expensive membership on the coast and an exclusively private course (the Pines). They welcome the visiting players, great lunch, free driving range balls on a pyramid, free practice game the week before, and are openly grateful to host a round. Despite the fact that the some of the courses they are reciprocating with are way below their standard, and I mean way below.

Arundel is a funny one, last year the District wanted to host an event there and the usual fee was agreed upon, i think something like $5000. a short time later they ring the district and demanded $10000, so no event.

Sure, the courses have commercial interests, but they also have the interests of their members to look after. Sanctuary Cove can, so why cant the others!

Hux
15th January 2009, 09:06 PM
Nearly all GC resort courses have group rates for 12 or more people; albeit a few bucks here and there. The misconception then is that if you have 30 players or so that it should be drastically reduced which is not the case.

It's all about knowing when to play if you are a social group. Most courses will have specials on Tuesday (ladies comp) and Wednesday (mens comp) but depending on the course, these events might be targetting the better golfer and therefore the social group is not welcomed with open arms.

Best option for everybody is to utilise the buying power of the golf resellers (like ISG) who will always get the best rates due to their high turnover.

True but say today at Oxley we had 77. They always do a good deal. $1600+ plus bar and pro shop takings. Not a bad little earner for nix...the course was always going to be there.

shavey
16th January 2009, 09:52 AM
This is where resort courses and public courses differ. Resort courses need to have all the additional service staff on even though most of it is back of house. And you would be very :shock: surprised to hear how much it costs to run a large clubhouse each day, not to mention the team of greenskeepers, F&B staff, finance, sales and golf operations teams.

And once you drop a rate, it's very hard to get people paying full rate as highlighted by the plight of Palm Meadows. They used to have a stand-by rate advertised on a billboard and even though it was taken down years ago, they still have people asking for the same rate which is half their current 'rack' rate.

Fair enough, ask for a cheap rate on the morning of or the afternoon before and you'll have a much better chance of getting a better rate as

the course was always going to be there.
But when you book a group in advance, you are displacing what could be higher paying guests which is why they can't offer a heavily discounted rate. And also keep in mind for those social groups that turn up on the day with 4 less from a group of 24, who pays for that! That is 4 less spots they could have sold which they just have to absorb. Mulitply that by two times per day, three times a week (very conservative) and that is 24 green fees (in just one week) that have effectively lost.

And when you are charging a premium rate, that adds up very quickly over a year. And trust me, it's very hard to get deposits from some groups! :roll: It's all a numbers game and works the same as the airlines and hotels, specials obviously exempt. Book in advance and pay the premium to secure your seat, tee time, room... but book last minute and you get the discounted rate. It probably goes against what human nature would dictate but has proven the most effective way when managing dynamic inventory.

Please keep in mind that this is only from my experience working golf courses and hotels for quite a few years but after discussions with industry colleagues, it's usually the way things work.

Hux
16th January 2009, 10:08 AM
I wouldn't be that surprised. The cost would be massive. On any given day at say Hope Is (used as an example due to not being a resort per se with a hotel attached) there must be 10++ staff employed in the main building area as a minimum. even paying SFA the cost of wages must be @ $500k p.a without cleaners etc, then ground staff... number of which would be also higher than most clubs, given the reason people play is for condition etc.
What doesn't work for me is that most private clubs want to attract large social clubs, corporate events etc as it means extra $$ through the door to reduce cost of membership. You would think that would be similar for resort courses. Someone will get the business, why not us would seem to make better sense.
It would be a tough business to stay profitable in.

Through work we have been offered $59 anytime at a northside Bris resort course, they are at least trying to fill the course. Deal extends to relatives as well....anyone want to be my cousin sometime :mrgreen::mrgreen:

Moe Norman
16th January 2009, 10:21 AM
you would have to give me $59 to play North Lakes.

Hux
16th January 2009, 10:24 AM
you would have to give me $59 to play North Lakes.


Warm

BrisVegas
16th January 2009, 10:56 AM
Pac Harbour for $59 is good going. I'd be your nephew, uncle Hux, but I get on for free through Troon.

Moe Norman
16th January 2009, 11:10 AM
i'd pay $59 to play Pac Harbour, its quite a fun course in the right conditions.

just
16th January 2009, 11:19 AM
you would have to give me $59 to play North Lakes.

How bad/average is North Lakes? Even though its only 15 minutes up the road I've never played it.

I have enjoyed Pac Harbour everytime I've played it, wouldn't mind getting back there soon.

Moe Norman
16th January 2009, 11:51 AM
Just,

North Lakes is junk personified. I honestly reckon some kid in Marsh's office designed it on computer without ever even visiting the site, probably using a playstation 2 'design your own course' feature in Tiger Woods 99!

I'd rather play Nudgee

just
16th January 2009, 12:18 PM
Thanks Moe. I won't be in any rush to play it then.

AndyP
16th January 2009, 12:37 PM
You're just going to take Moe's opinion?
Plenty of people like it. (I'm not a fan either)

Hux
16th January 2009, 12:50 PM
I didn't enjoy NorthLakes myself. I won't rush back, but I had a shocker there which makes a difference. Hitting it straight off the tee is crucial. I just don't remember any hole that lept out and said...look at me.

Hux
16th January 2009, 12:53 PM
Pac Harbour for $59 is good going. I'd be your nephew, uncle Hux, but I get on for free through Troon.

Hot. :smt038
Might be a game in that if I can book a couple of cousins in. I doubt there enough gorilla's in Oznet to actually find someone who resembles enough to be a brother.:mrgreen:

just
16th January 2009, 02:36 PM
You're just going to take Moe's opinion?
Plenty of people like it. (I'm not a fan either)

Andy
I wasn't in a rush to play in the first place due to cost, especially when I can play plenty at Nudgee. I would happily play there if someone organised a game but I'm not going out my way to play it. Since it is close I will play it eventually.

BrisVegas
16th January 2009, 02:51 PM
North Lakes is worth a look just, if for no other reason than to have an opinion on the place. I enjoyed my first game there, as it was in first class condition and was a real 'day out' experience. These days, I would drive the bit further up to play Pacific Harbour all things being equal.

Moe Norman
16th January 2009, 03:16 PM
Just,

To be fair, it is in excellent condition.

Would make a world class turf farm.