How To Choose Your "Home Course"

Many factors go into choosing a regular golf course, or the home course, for a golfer. Among the most important things to consider for most are cost, location, the normal condition of the course, facilities, amenities and service.

Most golfers are not only looking for a course that they can enjoy time after time, but also a place that they can be proud to invite guests. The most overriding factors in course selection are normally location and cost.

Considering that a trip to even the closest the golf courses will be at least a five hour excursion, a player may want to limit his drive time so as not to take up a larger portion of his day. The cost of a round is also a major consideration, but costs can be reduced at some courses by applying for a club membership, or by purchasing multi-round packages.

As cost is such a consideration, the issue of value comes enters into the equation. That is to say, is the golfer getting out of his round of golf the money that he has applied toward it? Most golfers want to play at a course that is well kept. The fairways should be neatly mowed several times a week, greens should be manicured daily, trees should be trimmed, repairs should be ongoing and facilities should be clean and accommodating.

Putting in a fair amount of practice before a round is vital to shooting a low score, so players should also consider the practice facilities provided by the course. One would hope that a good course would have a driving range to allow the golfer to warm up his golf swing before the round. A manicured practice putting green is also a plus, to work on some putting and chipping.

Facilities are also important to a lot of golfers, and they may be looking for a pro shop, a snack bar and/ or a locker room. Most golf courses do have a fully operational pro shop that sell a wide variety of golf equipment and accessories. There is usually a large price mark-up on many items in a pro shop, and this is a good source of revenue for the golf course. Although they are not standard, many courses include some sort of restaurant or bar for the golfers to relax in after a long round of golf.

Finally, as a consumer, golfers like to be treated to a high quality of customer service at the golf course. Most of the staff at courses are trained to deliver friendly and efficient customer service to its guests.