{"id":868174,"date":"2026-08-25T19:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T19:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/868174\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T19:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T19:06:10","slug":"what-golf-clubs-can-do-to-make-competitions-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/868174\/","title":{"rendered":"What golf clubs can do to make competitions better"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\tWhile there are issues to be addressed surrounding Open competitions, it is clear from the survey responses we received that there remains an appetite for them<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\tIt is equally obvious that the clubs who host these events have a part to play.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tThe overwhelming message from more than 700 golfers is that Open competitions remain one of the most enjoyable parts of amateur golf. The conclusions to be drawn from this are that they are willing to travel, they are actively seeking new courses and new experiences, and they are willing to spend money.<\/p>\n

\tHost courses have a golden opportunity to refine their Open events and make them a special experience for everybody involved by presenting their courses at their best, running the competitions effectively and finding a way to keep play moving quickly<\/a>. If they can build confidence in the integrity of their event and deliver a memorable experience, then people will come back. They will also spread the word.<\/p>\n

\tConfidence in Competitions Matters<\/p>\n

\t\"Golf<\/p>\n

\t(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\tThe survey highlighted a significant gap between how golfers perceive handicap competitions and how confident they feel entering them.<\/p>\n

\tMore than half of respondents questioned whether the current handicap system creates a level playing field, while 51% admitted concerns over handicap manipulation have discouraged them from entering competitions.<\/p>\n

\tWhether those perceptions are accurate or not, they matter.<\/p>\n

\tIf golfers lose confidence in the integrity of competitions, participation inevitably suffers.<\/p>\n

\tInterestingly, the comments weren’t dominated by calls to abandon handicaps altogether.<\/p>\n

\tInstead, golfers suggested practical improvements<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\t\t\tMore handicap divisions.\t\t\tGreater use of gross and scratch prizes.\t\t\tStronger handicap monitoring.\t\t\tHandicap limits for some competitions.\t\t\tGreater transparency around competition administration.<\/p>\n

\tThat should encourage clubs.<\/p>\n

\tThe conversation is not centred on dismantling handicap golf – it’s about strengthening confidence in it.<\/p>\n

\tGolfers Are Buying Experiences<\/p>\n

\tOne of the most positive findings from the survey is that golfers increasingly view Open competitions as experiences.<\/p>\n

\tOnly 17% believe they genuinely have a realistic chance of winning.<\/p>\n

\tYet participation remains remarkably high because golfers value far more than the final leaderboard. The inference to be drawn from this is that many of you view Open events as a chance to play other courses at a fraction of the normal cost – and that in itself is enough.<\/p>\n

\tMany of the written comments reflected this mindset.<\/p>\n

\t“It’s all about the day.”<\/p>\n

\t“If I’m lucky enough to pick up a prize then happy days.”<\/p>\n

\t“Always very enjoyable, a chance to play new quality courses at a reasonable price.”<\/p>\n

\tGolfers clearly enjoy visiting new clubs, playing different layouts and experiencing competitive golf with friends, often at a fraction of what it would normally cost.<\/p>\n

\tFor clubs, that’s an opportunity. An Open competition isn’t simply a competition. It’s often the first impression a visiting golfer has of your venue.<\/p>\n

\tDeliver a memorable experience and today’s visitor could become tomorrow’s returning green fee customer, society organiser or even future member.<\/p>\n

\tSpeaking from personal experience, one area where host courses could and should do better is by offering tea\/coffee and a bacon roll on arrival. None of us would begrudge paying a few pounds more to fund this.<\/p>\n

\tDon’t Ignore Your Better Golfers<\/p>\n

\tPerhaps the most unexpected finding in the survey was who expressed the greatest concerns about handicap competitions.<\/p>\n

\tAcross every major question relating to fairness, confidence and participation, it was single-figure golfers who emerged as the least positive group.<\/p>\n

\tThey were the most likely to question the fairness of the handicap system<\/a>, the most likely to suspect handicap manipulation<\/a>, the least likely to believe they could win and the most likely to say those concerns had discouraged them from entering competitions.<\/p>\n

\tThat doesn’t necessarily mean the system is failing.<\/p>\n

\tIt does suggest that one important group of golfers is losing confidence in handicap competition<\/a>. Speaking as somebody who has a relatively low handicap, I have to say that I have never entered an Open with any expectation of winning. For me it is about the opportunity to play a new\/different golf course with friends.<\/p>\n

\tSeveral respondents now actively seek scratch competitions or events with handicap limits because they believe those formats provide greater confidence in the outcome.<\/p>\n

\tFor clubs planning future Opens, offering a broader programme – including scratch events alongside traditional handicap competitions – could help attract and retain these golfers without changing the appeal of existing events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While there are issues to be addressed surrounding Open competitions, it is clear from the survey responses we…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-868174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}