Should Golf Clubs Offer Discounted Green Fees When Courses Are Baked Stone Dry?

We're probably all bored of the heat by now. I think after four or five heatwaves in one summer, it's valid to say it's been a bit hot, not just for the usual one or two week period we're all complaining about.

And this isn't just happening here, golfers across Europe, the US, and beyond are watching their fairways suffer through identical scorching spells. It has definitely left golf courses in not great condition.

That affects quite a few things. Number one, it affects golfers playing when your ball bounces on a totally rock hard surface and it could end up literally anywhere.

But it's also hard for golf clubs, because they have to preserve the grass, preserve the fairways, and the playing conditions are almost like it would be on a frosty winter's day. Rock solid. So of course, there comes more considerations for golf clubs in terms of how they have to protect the golf course at this time of year.

However, as we come to the end of another relentless summer, I'm wondering: should golf clubs think about how they charge visitors in these conditions?

With climate change pointing toward hotter, drier summers becoming our new normal, this isn't just a one-off issue, it's something clubs worldwide will need to consider for the future.

I wouldn't expect to pay full price in winter, when the conditions aren't conducive to good golf. Right now I think we've tipped over from summer golfing conditions into something else.

We looked at some of the courses around where I live last weekend, and it just didn't seem worth it for the green fee. So we didn't play, but had the prices been more relative to the conditions we would have.

The question is: should golf courses consider charging a bit less for green fees when the conditions are kind of unplayable, and it's very hard to score well?

I've been a golf club member for most of my golfing life, which, honestly, has been quite short. But in the past couple of years, moving to Bristol and then back to London, I haven't actually been a member of any golf club, because we were going to move and it didn't make sense to join one.

The hardest thing about not being a member is that it puts parameters around how much you play. When you're paying each time, it makes you think much more about whether or not you want to play today.

Whereas when I was a member, I didn't think twice about going out for five holes, or nine, or walking off if I didn't fancy it, because I wasn't thinking about the money. I'd already paid it, upfront or monthly, and it puts you in a different mindset about the value of each round of golf.

As someone who isn't a golf club member, you might say that's my own fault. But when I rock up and pay a green fee, I'm paying for the golf course I'm experiencing on that day. Which means I'm probably not going to turn up in all weathers. Golf clubs understand this when it comes to winter conditions, but, what about when it's basically burnt earth out there?

Coming back to London, it's very hard to get a green fee at a decent time for anything less than sixty or seventy pounds, including on a daytime weekday. On a typical summer's day, I'll happily pay seventy quid, eighty quid, whatever. But when the conditions are like this, right now, no. It doesn't seem like value.

I know this will be controversial. I had exactly this conversation with a friend of mine who's a member. "No, no, no," he said, "you just have to pay the fee, and it is what it is." When I mentioned it to another friend, a member at another club, her reaction was different. "OMG," she said. "Guest fees are crazy given the conditions."

I understand why some disagree, but for members: you're paying across the whole year, so you're paying for the good, the bad, the indifferent, the days you can't play, the days when it's closed. But as a guest paying a green fee, you are literally just paying for the course as you find it on that day. And to pay seventy pounds to basically play on straw doesn't seem like a good deal.

What do you think? Have your say in the comments box below.