Club manager
How to take visitor green fees online
By Caddyio · Updated
To take green fees online you need three things settled: what a visitor pays, who counts as a visitor, and at what moment the money is collected. The hard part is not the payment — it is the second question, because most clubs also want to charge members whose subscription has lapsed, and nobody at the counter should have to work out who that is.
- Set the rate, per player Green fees are charged per player, not per booking, so a fourball of visitors pays four times. Decide whether you vary it by day of week or season before you publish — changing a published rate mid-season causes more argument than setting it high and discounting.
- Define who a visitor is Not everyone without a membership card is a visitor, and not every member should play free. The workable rule for most clubs: a member whose subscription is up to date plays free; a member in arrears pays the visitor rate; everyone else pays the visitor rate. That last group needs to be people the club knows about, not anyone on the internet.
- Decide when the money is taken At booking is best — it removes no-shows almost entirely, because a fee already paid is a booking somebody turns up for. At the counter is simpler and keeps your existing till in the loop. Many clubs run both: paid online for unknown visitors, on account for society organisers they know.
- Handle the group booking Society and corporate bookings rarely pay per head online. Take those as a single arranged booking on account, or against a pre-paid block of rounds, rather than forcing an organiser to pay for sixteen people through a booking form.
- Publish the rate where visitors look The rate belongs on the page a visitor lands on from a search, not only in the booking flow. A visitor who cannot find your green fee assumes it is expensive.
- Decide your cancellation position If you take money at booking, you need an answer to "can I have it back". Write it down before the first refund request rather than during it.
Frequently asked
- Should we charge members whose subscription is in arrears?
- Many clubs do, and it is the fairest rule: a member in good standing plays free, a member who has not paid their subscription pays the visitor rate. The important part is that it is applied automatically rather than leaving the pro shop to know who is behind.
- Is it better to take green fees at booking or at the counter?
- At booking removes most no-shows, because people turn up for what they have already paid for. At the counter is simpler and keeps your existing till in the loop. Society and corporate groups usually belong on account either way.
- Do visitors need an account to book a tee time?
- They need to be somebody the club knows about — a registered visitor rather than any anonymous web user — otherwise your sheet is open to the internet and to no-shows you cannot chase.
Caddyio applies the green fee automatically to visitors and to members in arrears, per player, so nobody at the counter has to work out who owes what. Note that the card step at booking is a demonstration rather than a live card rail — the settled routes today are pre-paid corporate rounds and payment at the counter.