The more I think about this, the more annoyed I get. So I thought I’d issue a general warning: GolfNow is not to be trusted.
Last week, I was bandying about late in the evening, trying to decide what course to try to play the next day. I checked the websites of a couple of my regular favorites and found their early morning tee times already booked. As an alternative, I thought I’d see what GolfNow.Com had to say.
I entered a time and it pulled up several courses with tee times at around 7 am. One that I’d heard good things about was Huntmore, so I booked a deal there at $35, supposedly 10% off the regular rate. There also was a buck and a half surcharge. Not a particularly good deal, but it was late and I didn’t want to do any more comparison shopping.
When I arrived at the course, my tee time was correctly scheduled, but the desk clerk just shook his head at the price.
“You got ripped off,” he said. “Our regular rate in the morning is $19. You used GolfNow, though, so I have to charge you $35.”
I argued, but he was adamant that he had to charge the GolfNow rate or get in trouble with the boss. I didn’t want to cause a big stir, so chalked it up to experience and paid the GolfNow rate. But I vowed then and there: I’ll never use that site again.
And neither should you. Call the course directly and see what they can do for you.
GolfNow is a rip off.
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Thanks for the heads-up on GolfNow. I like to do research prior to booking a tee time. As the Golf Blogger discovered, sometimes the “deal” really isn’t. I typically check the course website for their rates. Then I purchase a tee time from a website only if the savings are sufficient.
For example, GroupGolfer is selling tee times for Calderone Farm at $22 each (18 holes, cart plus a bucket of balls. I am over 55 so I can play anytime during the week for $22 at Calderone. Now if I were inclined to take a younger friend on the weekend, then the deal makes sense (as long as we play after 10am).
It is hard to navigate through the pricing haze and eventually we all get fooled.
Thanks for the heads up, both on Golfnow, and the reminder about the generally shady business dealings on on the internet. Buyer beware!
I had gotten screwed in the past with Golfnow and will never use them again as well. I have used Groupgolfer over the summer and have not had any problems and I did look up all the rates and “savings” and they checked out. Enjoy!