'Some Clubs Charge £100 Plus And I Don't Understand Where They Get That From. Golf's Gone Completely Daft Since Covid. I Want People To Walk Off And Feel They've Had A Good Deal And A Good Experience'

It’s not hard to pinpoint your mind to something that’s really niggled you when playing a new course.

Mine would be around 15 years ago when, having paid £75 for the privilege of playing somewhere new on a Tuesday evening when there probably wouldn’t have been enough light to get round, I was then told my black ankle socks needed to be white.

So I then handed over another £5 for a pair of socks that I would wear for the next four hours and never again.

We didn’t see any other golfers in our time there, the assistant pro couldn’t have been more embarrassed to stick his head beneath the counter to produce the socks – something he obviously had to do several times a day – and my nose was put out of joint by something that was utterly ridiculous.

You’d like to think these types of experience happen less and less these days. Dress codes are certainly becoming more relaxed and the visitor experience has never been more key for golf clubs. But it can still be hit and miss and, given some clubs’ green fees are beyond a lot of us, we’re all looking for value.

When I arrive at a new club, I'd like to see some signs that tell me where things stand. I'm 55 years of age I don't want to feel like I'm treading on egg shells when I've paid a decent amount of money to play 18 holes of golf. I already pay for a club membership and so visiting a golf club is a bit of a treat – it's maybe something I’ll do 10 times a year.

In a perfect world, the club will have sent me some information – holes to look out for, a bit of history, whether I can eat before playing, is there a practice ground and so on. This happens at some club, but often I've had to scroll through a website beforehand that isn't overly user-friendly.

The ideal would be a visitors’ guide on all you need to know when visiting X golf club, which could be displayed on the website or distributed via email or text. The likelihood is many of us will play a course just the once and for some clubs it's a case of take the money, show them half a good time and see you later.

Dunstanburgh Castle

The most refreshing round of golf I’ve played in the past five years was at Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland. It cost us £28 each to play a James Braid links course that absolutely takes off from the 6th tee and where I paid £1 for a trolley. The trolley prices have now gone up, but the green fee is still as good a value as anywhere.

At the heart of Dunstanburgh is Stuart Imeson, who has played at the club since he was 10, became the head greenkeeper at 18 and is now the general manager and co-owner. His philosophy on green fees and the visiting experience knocks spots off other clubs.

"There are a lot of times, certainly in modern life, where you buy something because you have to buy it and you think my goodness, a pint of milk is two quid or whatever and it used to be 80p. I've got multiple documents about what constitutes a £50 round of golf and that's how we look at our pricing," he explains

"I'm biased, but our greens and tees are as good as anywhere in the north-east. A lot of clubs will be charging £100 plus and I don't quite understand where they get that from. Golf's just blown up and it's gone completely daft since Covid. I want people to walk off here and to feel feel they've had a good deal and a good experience.

"At a lot of courses people are going to play there once and the chances are you'll never see them again. They might buy a bit of merchandise, but at Dunstanburgh it's way more important that they've had a good day and they come back and that's all about building reputations."

If you were to play Dunstanburgh this week it would cost you £35.

'Member for the day'

Personally, the prospect of someone taking my clubs away the moment I step foot on the property when visiting somewhere particularly 'customer friendly' terrifies me. I'm far too disorganised to just say goodbye to my clubs in this manner.

That said, without being too needy, I would like to be made a bit welcome. I love chatting to the club pro behind the counter. There's no better person to pick the brains of about what's to come and when he or she speaks, most of us switch on.

We all know what a good pro sounds like, so when they tell you it's all 'pretty much there in front of you' when there's a chasm you can't see at the 5th and the 13th tee is pretty much impossible to locate unless you're Ray Mears, that doesn't add much to your enjoyment.

I've sat at golf clubs where the manager makes it his business to welcome a visiting party and tells them about the flow of the course and what they'll love about it and you then watch 24 happy souls all head to the 1st tee with a spring in their step.

The bottom line, for me, is that any visitor should be a member of that club for the day. And that takes the pro, staff and members of that particular club to buy into that.

This is a silly example given the green fee, but Royal Dornoch do it all very well. They've got a new clubhouse there now, but previously the locker room was tiny and not fit for purpose... but it didn't matter at all. As soon as you step foot in the clubhouse, they make it as easy as possible to have a great time.

The 1st tee is a bit of an occasion, the starter's both funny and informative, and you're already buzzing about playing one of the greatest courses on the planet. But it's the bits around it that make it even better.