By mid-February, courses like ours in Grosse Pointe, MI, start to prep for the uptick in players that spring brings. Even on cooler days, golfers return to check their gear, walk a few holes, or simply stretch out for the season ahead. That’s when things on the tee sheet can get tricky. More people means more chance for things to pile up, and fast.
With returning members, early walk-ins, and an unpredictable late-winter forecast, one small delay can ripple through the rest of the day. Without a clear plan in place, staff may end up juggling double bookings or trying to squeeze walk-ins where there’s no room. A good golf reservation system helps spot problems before they happen. Club Caddie’s tee time management system is built as a 100 percent contactless, prepayment-ready tee sheet that can handle daily fee players, members, pass holders, and discounted groups in one place. The fewer surprises we have to fix mid-shift, the better we can focus on giving guests a smooth visit.
Tee Time Overlaps That Slow Down the Flow
We’ve all seen how one slow group can throw off an entire morning. Bad weather, lost gear, or late arrivals can push scheduled tee times behind. When times are booked too close together, there’s little room to stretch.
Here’s what tends to cause backups on the tee sheet:
- Bookings slotted too tightly with no buffer
- Guests arriving late and wanting to keep their original slot
- No-show groups causing confusion for staff and backups for others
To avoid this, we like to build in short gaps between high-demand times. Tracking exact check-in for each group helps us see what’s really happening and adjust. If three morning groups check in ten minutes late, that adds up fast. Being able to monitor those delays through a system avoids guesswork and helps staff shuffle the schedule with less stress.
Double Bookings and Data Entry Slip-Ups
When tee times get entered by hand, on the phone or from a clipboard, it introduces more chances for things to go wrong. A simple slip like mixing up a 9 a.m. with a 9 p.m. can cause two groups to show up expecting the same time. That’s not a conversation any staff member wants to have during a rush.
Most of these slip-ups come from:
- Writing or typing the wrong time, especially if slots are full
- Booking by phone and forgetting to update it in the system
- Taking multiple bookings at once and accidentally overlapping
Using a centralized golf reservation system helps cut down on those mistakes. When all bookings happen in one place, with the same process, same real-time updates, there’s no need to type the same thing twice or track down a missing scrap of paper. Using Club Caddie, staff can book tee times over the phone, in person, online, or through select third-party distributors, and every reservation lands on the same live tee sheet. It’s easier for staff to trust what’s on screen and make quick changes with confidence.
Handling Walk-Ins Without Hurting Pace of Play
We want to welcome walk-ins when we can, especially early in the season when regulars swing by to see if the weather holds. But letting too many same-day guests play without a plan can bite us later. It’s easy to throw off a whole block of bookings if a group sneaks in without checking how full the board already is.
To manage this better, we look at a few things:
- How many slots are still open and how far out they are
- Whether an expected group has officially checked in
- If there’s enough daylight or warm weather left to fit extra players in
Using booking software helps us review the current tee sheet at a glance and find any hidden gaps from cancellations or no-shows. This means we can fit walk-ins without crowding the flow or making promises we can’t keep. On busy weekends or first warm days, staying flexible but measured makes a huge difference.
No-Shows and Late Cancellations
No-shows hurt more than just the pace of play. They block out slots that could’ve gone to someone else and shift the energy at check-in. A group that cancels at the last minute leaves staff having to fill space fast or explain the gap to waiting players.
Some things that cause last-minute drops:
- Guests overbooking themselves across several days and never confirming
- Weather updates causing plans to change suddenly
- Players getting sick or having family plans shift
To stay ahead of these moments, we keep alerts in place to flag no-shows and make it easy to reassign their times to others waiting. If someone hasn’t checked in ten minutes before their slot, and a walk-in is right there, it’s helpful to slide things around. But without an easy view of what’s empty, those chances get missed.
Coordinating Between Staff to Keep the Day On Track
When one side of the clubhouse doesn’t know what the other is doing, details get lost. That’s why clear coordination, especially between the starter, pro shop, and anyone routing food service, is key to keeping things moving.
Common breakdowns happen when:
- Course marshals aren’t updated on late arrivals
- Starters don’t see new changes from the shop
- Staff ask guests the same questions twice
The smoother the flow of info, the better the guest experience. If a pair walks in and says they booked online, the shop should already see that and call it out without delay. Everyone working the day should be able to view the same live sheet. Club Caddie’s cloud-based starter sheet lets rangers and starters record actual start, turn, and finish times, see who has paid, and communicate directly with the golf shop tee sheet from a tablet on the course. This keeps things running quietly in the background and helps staff respond instead of scramble.
Stay On Schedule Without Turning Away Walk-Ins
Spring can bring surprises, but a good schedule should not be one of them. When we take the time to prep our tee sheet, tighten communication, and keep our booking tools current, we can handle walk-ins without missing a beat.
Early spring in places like Grosse Pointe, MI, brings a rush of players happy to be golfing again after winter. If we can line up our systems right before the rush, we can keep the pace smooth, reduce errors, and say yes when it counts, without making the day harder than it needs to be.
If your course in Grosse Pointe, MI, is already seeing increased spring traffic, now’s a smart time to rethink how you manage bookings. Keeping tee times clear, organized, and flexible starts with the right tools and habits. A reliable system that tracks every player movement helps avoid double-bookings, while still leaving room for last-minute golfers. Our golf reservation system is built for that kind of day-to-day pressure. Reach out to Club Caddie Holdings, Inc. to see how we help make those spring rounds easier to manage.
