On your honor?

Last week I read a great story by Carol Wallace from the New York Times about Strathtay Golf Club in Scotland, which hews to one of a few fairly quaint traditions -- greens fees paid by the honor system. A sign outside the clubhouse that says "Pay Your Green Fees Here" is not attended to by anyone at the club, a nine-hole course in the village of Strathtay, about 70 miles northwest of Edinburgh.

The club also just launched a Web site and added a vending machine. One member interviewed in the article remembers a time not so long ago when the key to the clubhouse resided under a rock; only the members knew which rock.

So how well does this honor system work? A tax accountant who's also the club's secretary says between 2 and 5 percent of the 1,400 golfers who play the course each year do not pay, costing up to $1,500 in lost revenue. However, he notes that that amount is still much less than adding an attendant to payroll.

The one full-employee at the club? The greenskeeper, who receives a financial reward if he catches any patrons playing without paying.

The article also notes that of Scotland's 550 courses, 100 operate on the honesty box system at least part of the time. "The system works well because it reflects the traditions within golf of honesty and integrity," Ewan Colville, chief executive of the Scottish Golf Union, was quoted as saying.

I know there must be plenty of courses in the U.S. that employ this system. If you know of one of them, let me know. I'd like to contact a few to ask how successful that system is. Make a comment if you know of any such courses, or e-mail me at ddevictor@gcsaa.org.

Comments

[Seth Jones]

Beautiful Garnett CC in Garnett, Kan. utilizes this system at least part of the time. Also, Baldwin City GC uses it. It's prefect for small town golf courses and really, who wouldn't pay a couple bucks to walk a course? I guarantee you if a person ever didn't pay at an "on your honor" course, the Golf Gods would make them pay with numerous shanks and slices...

[Neuty]

I think there's also a course in Eudora, KS, that has this system - at least they did 10 years ago. Might be more prevalent in the pasture golf (i.e. low maintenance) sect.