[Dr_Colossus]

Originally Posted by AldilaMan

Roganstown charge €25 for opens which I think is a bit steep. It would be better to fill the timesheet at €20 a pop than one third full at €25

Agreed and their prizes for such an entry fee are poor, I won first prize in an open day there late last year and the prize was only a €40 Roganstown voucher, not even enough to cover a two ball. Given there was nothing of interest to purchase in the proshop I used the voucher to enter another open day in mid April where it turned out they were playing the competition from very far forward yellow tees in order to protect the normal tees for an Irish under 18s competition that weekend. Will not be in a hurry to return even though I like the course and it's somewhat convenient in terms of travel time. In future I'll play Headfort New which is the same price and on the same day.

Without an established reputation and superb course and facilities price is the deciding factor when selecting an open day. As such an increase in price without major redevelopment or improvements to the course will not to down well with the traveling golfer - especially with the increase in fuel costs which are an ever increasing factor.
However another important factor is selecting a suitable day of the week where there isn't too much competition from nearby courses. You mention Headfort and The Slieve Russell as good courses nearby offering open days. The Slieve Russell have their open days on Mon for €30 and Headfort New on Tues for €25, another quality course in the vicinity is Concra Wood which has an open day on Tues for €35.
I see on the Farnham Estate website that the open days are held on Wed so at least there's no immediate clash there. However Thur and Fri are generally quite days on the open day front so perhaps a change of day could also increase interest? With standard green fees listed at €40 I think it's important to keep the open day price at a half price €20 since a busy time sheet also results in more footfall through the proshop and bar/restaurant where golfers are equally likely to spend much needed funds.

[TheDoc]

I think 25 euro is a fair price.

Your playing the course without a member competing for prizes.

That sounds a fair deal for me.

I think i memory serves its 10 or 15 euro for me to bring a visitor with me to Hollywood lakes

An extra tenner to have someone play on their own without a member doesnt sound that outragous.

Yes there is a recession but there is still plenty of disposible income and if your prviding a good service then you shouldnt need to take the hit.

[FANTAPANTS]

Originally Posted by Jul3s

What did the new manager say when you voiced your concerns to him?

he was told about raisning prices at meeting with members and still went ahead with them

[TheDoc]

Just read this thread in more detail and a few websites to see pricing

OK clearly golf is getting alot cheaper then it was a few years ago for obvious reasons.

25 quid for Roganstown through sounds a pretty decent offer aswel. Its all wel and good that we are charging 15 , but isnt Roganstown registered as a championship course?

Surely it would warrant an extra 10 quid.
While I think the lakes is great and tbe fair I havnt played a course Ive liked better or found more challenging , we still arnt graded as championship and need to keep our pricing competitive

In reality we coul probably be the most expensive in North Dublin and have good arguement for it if pricing was solely based on course quality and challenge coupled with player enjoyment

[Mister Sifter]

Originally Posted by AldilaMan

Hollywood lakes charge €15 which is good value.

Hollywood Lakes wouldn't be good value if it was free.

[TheDoc]

When I saw on the main screen your name as the latest post......I expected great things......

[TheDoc]

Originally Posted by Mister Sifter

Hollywood Lakes wouldn't be good value if it was free.

Controversial....

[Rekop dog]

Too

[blue note]

I think courses are probably underselling themselves quite regularly now. A lot of it is probably to compete with nearby Nama courses offering very cheap rates.

But I hear the Farnham Estate is a very nice course. €25 for a competition there seems very fair to me.

[Kid Charlemagne]

Bit harsh to suggest 25e is too much for roganstown, especially when some of that money will go towards prizes. Presumably the course is getting 20 quid a man to allow you in to play. What more do you want in fairness like??? Its a championship track thats always in excellent conditions.

Some of the prizes in the members comps are a bit low but thats more to do with funding of the "mens club" as opposed to the course/owners.

[charlieIRL]

I noticed recently that for an open day in Moate it was only €10.

[tang1]

Originally Posted by charlieIRL

I noticed recently that for an open day in Moate it was only €10.

Great value for money, underated little course.

[Dr_Colossus]

Originally Posted by Kid Charlemagne

Bit harsh to suggest 25e is too much for roganstown, especially when some of that money will go towards prizes. Presumably the course is getting 20 quid a man to allow you in to play. What more do you want in fairness like??? Its a championship track thats always in excellent conditions.

Yes can't fault the course or conditions but a €40 first prize that's restricted to use within the club is pretty crap given the entry fee of €25. Restricting the prize to a Roganstown voucher is also pretty bad for an open day as visitors might only be in the area for that one day and unlikely to return anytime soon. I think there was prizes for the top 3 so what would you get for 2nd or 3rd, €20 and €10 perhaps? For a €25 entry fee I think you should be looking at a first prize in the order of €75 provided the day isn't a wash out and only a handful of people playing.

To put things in perspective I won an open day earlier in 2011 in a course down the country and the €20 entry fee resulted in a hefty first prize of a €90 GUI voucher.

[scout353]

Tramore Golf Club which has recently been upgraded (old course has all new greens and tees, while new nine holes added) have an Open every Friday which is €25 for visitors but includes a mixed grill as well.

Great value and the course is now one serious track! Used to be very flat and easy greens but now there are plenty of borrows. I think some of the original holes have been redesigned too.

Down around here most of the opens are €25. Bunclody was €35 on a Wednesday last summer!

[Seves Three Iron]

Due to the late cancellation of some or other golf classic, Concra Wood have an open off the back tees this Friday. Dunno what cost is, probably around the 30 euro mark, but a great test off those markers. 36 pts would have a good chance of a prize.

On an aside, played with a lad in the last black tees event who landed around 30 yards short of the 10th green. That's not far off 400 yards of a drive. Wind was behind and he was coming down 'that' slope which probably gave him another 100 yards odd of roll but still...easily the longest drive I ever seen.