How Do I Reserve Golf Tee Times?
Answer:
So you want to play golf, and you know the golf course you want to play requires golfers to reserve tee times. How do you go about getting one of those golf tee times?
First, determine how early you are allowed (or, depending on the course, required) to reserve a tee time. A day in advance? Several days? A week in advance, or longer? If you're unsure about this, call the course far in advance and ask for its tee time policy.
Once you know how far in advance a course accepts tee times, then that's how early you want to try to reserve one. The longer you wait, the more likely you'll be unable to get a reservation around the time you want.
Second, determine how the course you want to play accepts tee time requests. Does that course:
- Take tee time requests by phone only?
- Give you the option to call or to register via its Web site?
- Accept tee times online only?
- Or have special requirements - such as registering for a lottery, or making the request in-person?
Again: Know the tee time policy of the course you want to play, and know it far in advance of when you want to play.
And that's the hard part. Once you've learned the policy, you simply need to abide by it.
Does the course take tee times starting two days in advance by phone? And you want to play on Friday? Then call the course early Wednesday morning and say you'd like to make a tee time. You'll be asked what time you want - let's say 10 a.m. on Friday. The golf course employee will check to see if that specific time is available; if it's not, he'll offer you some options in that general area. (Or, if you waited too long, you might be told that no tee times in that time frame are available.)
If a course allows you to book a tee time online, you can visit the golf course Web site and see what available tee times remain, and make a decision about reserving one.
There are also online tee time reservation services that offer online booking, and often include discounted or last-minute tee time offers. See "Are online tee times available?" for more about that option.
See also:
What if I show up at a course without a tee time?
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