[William Zeoli]

After several years of attendance, my group of 10-12 has decided not to play this year. There are two main reasons, one of which is the tee time aspect instead of 9aam starts. With 9 am starts we could assign three guys to a car , all going in approx the same direction. With tee times all over the place, we had to rent 5 cars last year to ensure we would all make tee times and not have someone sitting at a course for two hours waiting for their tee time or waiting two hours after the round for their ride to pick them up.
The days last year were 8-9 hours, door to door. Add to that the cost of car rentals at MB Airport. Speaking of airports, we only have one option form Boston to MB non stop and that is Spirit. Yuk ! And even that “cheap” air line is close to $500 RT this year considering baggage and clubs We have been flying to Charleston on Jet Blue, non stop, but that flight is now almost double what it was.

Sorry, we loved it but just cannot justify everything and tee times are a part of everything.

[William Zeoli]

I understand there are different reasons to want either of these two scenarios, but as for myself, shotgun is the way to go. I happen to be one of those guys who is the “leader” of a group. In the past three years I’ve gotten 10 new players into the tournament. We are all of different ages and handicap levels. With shotgun, I could map out a spread sheet so that we could share cars with two or even three players going in the same direction. This year with 12 guys we had to rent 7 cars. 7 cars !!. In addition, our getting together after the rounds was virtually non existent. Some guys had 7:45 tee times up North nd others had 9:30 down south. Lok, I realize many of the guys are hell bent to win , good for them. We play all year, most of us several times a week. So you only got to hit 3 putts or two drives before tee time? . Jesus, how many of us get out of our cars at home, put on our shoes with the trunk open and go to the first tee with 3 minutes to spare. We actually had three guys move up in flights just because of the tee times and car rentals. We’ve discussed this at length and some of us are questioning playing next year.
For us, much of the fun disappeared.

[William Zeoli]

3500 golfers 50 courses I million questions….and the issue is no driving range on one course? You’re kidding, right?

[William Zeoli]

Great job , Mike. I’m pretty thorough, but this is more than helpful.

[William Zeoli]

Hi David- It’s good to know that you are only going with your brother, because this is a good deal for those who are a bit adventurous. Each and every year I go to the World Am I discover how many vacancies there are all along the beach in Myrtle. I’m quite serious here. Two years ago I arrived day early, found a wonderful unit at a big time beach hotel and paid under $100. Two other guys I met there paid about 50% of the listed price for a four day trip. I realize it is a bit scary to go with no reservations, but understand the date. It is the quietest week of the season in MB. Last week in August with the upcoming Labor Day weekend crowd not yet in place. I am coming with 11 other guys and we have condos, but if I were with just one other guy you can be sure that is the way I would go. No, the beachfront hotels do not advertise cheap rates that week, but sign after sign says “Vacancies” and the pricing reflects it. Just a suggestion.

[William Zeoli]

Hi MIke Cheeseman- Please direct me to the site where you found $300-$ 400 cars for rent. I went on the Costcotravel site and all I find is $800-$1000 cars. I appreciate your help.

[William Zeoli]

I know I am in the minority. I know many of you will think I’m whining. I know I’ve posted this before, but I need to get it out again. Although my group of twelve players, including 4 brand new guys will all be participating this year, the expenses is really hurting. Since we are flying out of Boston (airfares between $400-$500) we need rental cars. In the past, I’ve made spreadsheets up so that we can share vehicles to make the shotgun starts even if not in the same flights. Example, three guys go north, playing three different courses but only needing one car. Even with some guys dropping shots to get in paired flights, the best I can come up with is likely 7 cars at least, and that is using Uber/Lyft as well. Car rentals companies have increase by about 50% from 2019 due to selling off fleets because of pandemic. I just rented two Camrys at $826 EACH for the week. A few others have rented dinky economy cars at $600 per week. I’m guessing about $5000 for our group plus Uber/Lyft costs of maybe $1000 for close by courses. Shotgun start cost for transportation in 2019? About $2500. Tee time costs for transportation in 2021 ? About $6000. Ouch. Anyone have any better, cheaper suggestions ?

[William Zeoli]

I guess I am in the minority when it comes to tee times.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 12 months ago by William Zeoli.

[William Zeoli]

My 3 cents. My group is 8-10 players each year coming from Boston. We are all handicaps and all ages from single digits to high teens, from 40 years old to 70 plus. We need to rent cars and usually have 4. Once we get our course assignments I make a spread sheet and we divvy up the cars so that one car can take 2 or 3 golfers to certain areas, say North or South, dropping off golfers and then picking them up. We did not go last year, for obvious reasons, but are “all in” for this year. Right now airline pricing is high, but we’re still in. However, if the tee time scenario is in effect, we would need likely 6-7 cars, at least. To be honest, that may be the straw that breaks the back. With entry fees, airline costs, car rental and lodging, plus one practice round or skins game, we are near or above $2000 per player.

[William Zeoli]

We all want to play, of course. We have 11 people in our group. Some of us have already paid and some of us are waiting to see what the World Am folks have for a decision. Please, fellow golfers, do not suggest that the monies be held over until next year. That is very short sighted. People get sick, people get injured, people get divorced, people go broke, and, sadly, people die. I’m positive the committee doesn’t want the hassle of returning funds.

[William Zeoli]

I happen to believe the Max 9 rule helped. I don’t think it was coincidental that my foursome in the 70 yr/18 hcp flight finished in less than 5 hours each day, with 4:52 being the longest. I remain strongly in favor of the inclusion of this rule.

[William Zeoli]

May I add my thanks to the staff and to the volunteers. In my four days in the over 70/18 hcp flight, I only saw the 9 rule used 4 times (although my very first hole of the tournament was a tap in 9). All other 9’s I saw were legit and I don’t think the four :pick up 9’s) affected the flight in any meaningful way. Year five for me and my biggest Mother Hen job yet, with 11 guys under my wings. Again, the best golf experience of my 50 Plus years of playing. Much appreciated.

[William Zeoli]

Dale Craig- You could not have said it any better. For 40 years now I’ve run some game every week and multiple tournaments every year at the clubs I’ve belonged to. 95% of the golfers thank me in one way or another and 5% continue to complain or ask me to make things more amenable to what they are thinking. Hang in there, brother.

[William Zeoli]

I have been running tournaments for many, many years. About 10 years ago I put in a tournament rule of 4 over par max on any one hole. Very little negative feedback. Hey, it can happen to any of us and usually it is the higher handicapper who will do it. Believe me, I’m all about protecting the field, but over the years I cannot remember the last time someone came up to me and said the winner only won because he picked up after 4 over. It virtually never happens. Now ,the next time I’m playing for thousands of dollars I might rethink it, but for God’s sake, chill out men.

[William Zeoli]

My thanks to all the guys who run the skins games, especially the non skimmers. Each year I get tempted to do it, but I’m usually sharing rides with guys in other flights playing close by. Beyond that, I run so much stuff at home that a few days of just playing golf are a real relief. Of course, I say that, but there are 12 of us playing this time and I’m running stuff for our group alone. Just can’t quite give it up. Meanwhile, in my four previous years, I’ve won the grand total of one skin, but it was a HOLE IN ONE, so good enough. That skins pool was run by a fellow named Larry Snider, from West Virginia, a really nice man.

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