Three 6-hole loops?

[Golfingdad]

A course near me had a deal awhile back where they offered a 5-hole rate.  (I can't find it on their website anymore, so it seems to have only been an experiment.)  I think, though, that it was just how they marketed their "super super twilight" rate because it just so happens that the drive from 5 green to 6 tee passes right near the clubhouse.  Their reasoning, I'm sure, being to try and get people to pay something to play a little golf as late in the day as they can get them to.  They didn't offer it in the mornings.

I don't know how courses would police that during the day, short of having a starter at hole 7 and 13 along with the starter on 1.  Perhaps make everybody fly a flag on their carts?  You buy a green one if you pay to play 18 holes, a yellow one if you're playing 12, and a red one if you're only playing 6? I dunno.

I do like experiments, forward thinking, and options, though. 

[iacas]

12 hours ago, Ernest Jones said:

Love this idea. Great way to provide more options without losing any. Pay to play 6, 12 or 18 holes. Make one of the loops bend in towards the clubhouse at the halfway point so folks can easily play 9 if desired. Not sure how to keep those scores for habicap purposes but I believe the system already has a means to account for partial and unfinished rounds, so that shouldn't be an issue at all. 

If you can design the course easily to loop back after every six holes, I agree, too. Good stuff.

Rounds count if you play 7 or 13 holes… so really, it's just the 12-holers who would get to count a nine-hole round.

6 hours ago, David in FL said:

I also wonder what course owners would think about the possible loss in revenue from people opting to play fewer holes during peak times.  If I owned a course, it's not something I'd encourage.

It's pretty simple: if you think you could get enough extra people to play a six-hole round or a 12-hole round to offset those who currently opt not to play a 9- or 18-hole round, it works out just fine. Many people will simply not go to the course if they don't have time for 18 or 9.

[Club Rat]

9 hours ago, David in FL said:

Why would 18 holes split into 3 6's have reduced operating costs over the same 18 holes split traditionally?

None. But if new courses being built (a six hole or nine course in communities with limited land available) were feasible, it could be beneficial in retirement communities development. Or inner cities where larger plots of vacant or abandon properties which would not thrive with renovations.
If the concept is to break up 18 hole courses, then the course would most likely lose revenue hand over foot.

[Joey G]

There is one course here in Plano, TX (Waters Creek) that has an 18-hole coursr, a 9-hole course, a 9-hole "foot golf" course. and a 6-hole "Futures Course" Par-3 for families and juniors. It's the first 6-hole course that I'd ever heard of before stumbling into the article in my original post just thought I'd see if this is common.

I like the idea..especially this time of year when the days are shorter. This 6-hole course has lights too, I just wish it wasn't a par-3. I end up playing a lot of par-3 courses because of my schedule, seems like I could play a loop of 6-holes in about the time that it takes to play 9 on the par-3 courses. Once the time changes back, I could probably play 12-18 holes a week, 45 minutes a day.

[David in FL]

10 hours ago, iacas said:

If you can design the course easily to loop back after every six holes, I agree, too. Good stuff.

Rounds count if you play 7 or 13 holes… so really, it's just the 12-holers who would get to count a nine-hole round.

It's pretty simple: if you think you could get enough extra people to play a six-hole round or a 12-hole round to offset those who currently opt not to play a 9- or 18-hole round, it works out just fine. Many people will simply not go to the course if they don't have time for 18 or 9.

I wouldn't want a bunch of 6 or 12 hole players jamming up the course during peak times when I could be putting 18 hole players on the course.  Of course, that could be solved simply by limiting the times that partial play is available, but that would seem to defeat the purpose of the design.

I'm still not seeing anything that can't be accomplished with incremental pay on a regular course.

 

[iacas]

3 hours ago, David in FL said:

I wouldn't want a bunch of 6 or 12 hole players jamming up the course during peak times when I could be putting 18 hole players on the course.

I didn't say players would be "jamming up the course during peak times." Nobody's said anything about taking six-hole customers over 18-hole customers, but because you've decided to be "against" this you've got to make up these straw men and beat them down?

If a golfer decides to play six holes when he doesn't have time for nine, or 12 when he doesn't have time for 18… that's a win. It's a time when the tee time would otherwise be unnoticed. That's all I was pointing out.

3 hours ago, David in FL said:

Of course, that could be solved simply by limiting the times that partial play is available, but that would seem to defeat the purpose of the design.

How does that defeat the purpose of the design, just because that one aspect isn't used for every tee time?

3 hours ago, David in FL said:

I'm still not seeing anything that can't be accomplished with incremental pay on a regular course.

I can think of several. With six-hole loops:

• It's easier to manage the flow and see if you can send players out on #7 or #13.
• You could create separate names and course ratings for the six-hole loops.
• You could have six-hole leagues.
• You can route people past a "halfway house" (thirdway house? ) and they won't need a beverage cart.
• It becomes more socially or mentally "acceptable" to play six or 12 holes.
• I'm sure there are others.

The last one is important. Why is playing nine holes acceptable? Because after nine holes, the course returns to the clubhouse in many golf courses. If golf courses originally returned to the clubhouse every six holes, I feel like you'd be arguing about how stupid a course with two nine-hole loops would be.

At the end of the day, David, this simply provides more flexibility to the course to serve the needs of their customers.

[Hacker James]

On 11/15/2016 at 7:25 AM, David in FL said:

 

I really see this as a solution in search of a problem.  If you only have time to play 6 holes, or 12, then simply stop at that point.  

I agree, not for me.

[Joey G]

On Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at 8:35 AM, iacas said:

You can route people past a "halfway house" (thirdway house? ) and they won't need a beverage cart.

Blasphemy...

[Vinny Cap]

I think I might try it as an after work thing or with my son.  For the weekend, I want 18 holes!  Sometimes I want more but have other things to do later in the day so I only play 18.

If you wanted something like this on an 18 hole course and are worried about the money put ATM card swipers at the Tee boxes and then you can pay for all the holes you play.  Give a discount for 18 holes payed up front and always have a beer girl ready!  Don't matter if it is 6,9,12 or 18!

On Friday, November 18, 2016 at 0:16 AM, Joey G said:

Blasphemy...

Dam straight brutha!!!!

[Wally Fairway]

There is a group here in Mid-Michigan that owns a series of courses which allow you to choose based on how challenging you want to play or how long you want to be there:

- 18 hole championship course (it has hosted US Open qualifiers and the Michigan Am)
- 27 hole course (this is their original) it started as an 18 hole course and the 3rd nine was added
- 12 hole course, purchased from a local farmer who built the first 9 holes
- 9 hole par 31 course; 1,2,5 &9 are par 4's, the rest are par 3's

I'll play any of them, depending on who I'm playing with; I have friends & family who like to play at golf and it is a social/drinking outing that is usually the 9 or 12 holer, and unless someone wants to see how hard golf can be then we'll play 2/3 of the 27 holer. People coming up for a destination want to go to the flagship course . . . all they have to do to score well is hit it in the fairway and make a couple of putts (easier said than done)

[natureboy]

Just a historical note in case anyone else didn't know this, but the original Open Championship was 12 holes of golf each day.

[dennyjones]

I believe people would adhere to what was available.    If the 6, 12 and 18 came back to the club house, you'd see more people grab that concept.   I played a course two weeks ago where the course didn't come back to the club house until the 13 green.   It was pretty weird but you didn't see anybody play just 9 holes.