Wycombe Heights offers rewards for speedy play, including free beer and prize draw entries
An English golf club is taking a stance against slow play by offering rewards for members and visitors who play their rounds in less than four hours.
The 18-hole Wycombe Heights Golf Centre in Buckinghamshire started its ‘Pace of Play Club’ this summer whereby those who finished their rounds in less than three-and-a-half hours were offered a free pint of beer - or a non-alcoholic equivalent - on completion.
DRAW
Thanks to the overwhelming success of that initial campaign, the centre has now developed a new scheme, entering every golfer that finishes under four hours on weekends into a monthly prize draw to win their very own exclusive golf day package, worth more than £400, to be enjoyed with three friends. The prize package includes breakfast and coffee on arrival, use of the driving range for warming-up, a 30-minute professional lesson, 18 holes of golf, buggies and lunch after your round.
“Slow play is golf’s primary issue,” said Wycombe Heights’ general manager Graham Rolland. “People simply don’t want to take five or six hours out of their weekends, so we’ve taken the lead and tackled the problem head on.”
The scheme is very straightforward. All groups playing between the peak hours of 7am and 12pm are tracked and logged on the starter’s tee sheet.
Every individual in a weekend three or fourball that completes a round in less than four hours then goes into the prize draw, with the winner chosen at random at the end of each month.
The winner is then invited to bring whoever they choose to play in the golf day, at any time on any day.
“The feedback from members and visitors alike has been hugely positive,” added Rolland. “We’ve noticed a real difference in average speed of play since we began the rewards scheme, which is very pleasing indeed.”
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