![\"Golf](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DSCN0020_navlya.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\tGolf has a reputation among those who don\u2019t play the game for being an expensive and aloof sport. That certainly used to be the case but have things changed?<\/p>\n
\tI am pretty certain that most of you will have visited golf clubs where you are not made to feel welcome. I know that I have.<\/p>\n
\tAnd in this day and age, there is simply no excuse for it.<\/p>\n
\tWhat Makes a Golf Club Unwelcoming to Visitors?<\/p>\n
\tSo what are the characteristics of an unfriendly golf club?<\/p>\n
\tLet me tell you about a course in Suffolk that better remain nameless.<\/p>\n
\tAs a visitor, you arrive and follow the signs to the visitors\u2019 car park. It is full of pot holes. That means that when it has been raining it is also full of huge puddles. You then walk towards the pro\u2019s shop and have to walk across the members\u2019 car park. And guess what? The members\u2019 car park is perfect. No pot holes, no puddles, no mud.<\/p>\n
\tYou head into the shop to pay your fee. At this point you are still wearing your normal shoes. The pro looks down his nose at you and says: “Before you go out on the course I want to see you back in here wearing your golf shoes.”<\/p>\n
\tYou complete your 18 holes and head for the bar, only to discover that you need a code to gain entry. So you head back to the shop, only to be informed that you can\u2019t use the main bar and that if you want a drink and\/or food then you need to use the spike bar.<\/p>\n
\tSo you make your excuses and leave, NEVER to return!<\/p>\n
\tYou Should Do Your Research Beforehand<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\tBefore you visit any golf club you should check out their website. If they want you then there will be a section specifically for visitors. If there isn\u2019t then you should probably avoid it.<\/p>\n
\tA dull-as-dishwater website will probably also indicate a club that is stuck in the dark ages and should be avoided.<\/p>\n
\tAnd please do some research. Check out course reviews. I can guarantee that golfers who have been made to feel unwelcome will most definitely have gone online to make their feelings known. And if you have a bad experience, you should so the same thing.<\/p>\n
\tVisitors Are Paying So Much Money<\/p>\n
\tI have never been able to understand why clubhouse bars have one rate for members and another for visitors. Guests have already had to pay a green fee for the privilege of playing the course and then find they have to pay 10% more in the bar than the member standing next to them. This applies to both food and drink.<\/p>\n
\tAnd then there is the thorny subject of green fees. I cannot quite believe how many utterly ordinary golf clubs charge visitors in excess of \u00a3100 for 18 holes<\/a>. It\u2019s like telling people they are not really welcome.<\/p>\n