So, my buddy Frank was coming into town, planned a whole New York trip, you know? And he’s big into golf, always has been. Naturally, he says, ‘Hey, let’s hit the links while I’m there!’ Sounds easy, right?
Well, finding golf tee times new york wasn’t as simple as I remembered. Back in the day, you’d just call the local course. Now? It’s a whole different game.
First thing I did, jumped online. Just typed it in, you know, ‘golf tee times new york’. Tons of stuff popped up. Too much, really. Felt like wading through mud. Websites for courses, booking platforms, articles about golf in NY… just a whole mess.
My First Attempts
I figured, okay, let’s look at the public courses first. Heard they might be easier, maybe cheaper too. Some had their own websites, which was okay, but others funneled you through these big third-party booking sites. It was all over the place, inconsistent.
- Checked a few city courses – seemed booked solid weeks out, especially for weekends. Crazy.
- Looked upstate a bit, maybe an hour’s drive. Found more options there, better availability, but then you add the travel time. Frank wasn’t keen on spending half his day in the car.
- Tried calling a couple of the courses directly. One guy I spoke to was pretty helpful, checked his computer while I was on the phone. Another just told me flat out, ‘You gotta book online, sir’. Felt a bit like hitting a brick wall sometimes.
The really tricky part was trying to match up a time with Frank’s schedule. He only had a couple specific weekdays free during his visit. And finding a decent time slot, you know, not ridiculously early, not baking in the peak afternoon sun, on those specific days? That was the tough gig.
Some of those booking websites wanted you to sign up, create a whole account with username and password, just to see if they had any times available. Felt like way too much effort just for browsing. I just wanted to see the times, man! Is that too much to ask?
What Finally Worked
After getting a bit fed up clicking around, I took a breather. Then I remembered this older course Frank and I had actually played years ago, way back. It’s a bit outside the main city bustle, not one of the super famous ones. On a whim, I decided to just call them directly, old school style. Found their number easily enough.
Got through to a real person in the pro shop, sounded like she knew what she was doing. Explained the situation – friend in town, limited days, looking for a specific window. She actually put me on hold for a minute, said she was checking their paper book and the computer system. Came back and said, ‘You know what, we just had a cancellation for Wednesday morning, 9:30 AM. Would that work?’ Perfect! Exactly what we needed.
So, we got our tee time booked right then and there over the phone. It definitely took more digging and poking around than I first thought it would. Seems like sometimes, especially when you’re dealing with specific needs or just getting lost in the online maze, the direct approach still works best. Just picking up the phone and talking to a human.
It’s a good reminder, I guess. All this tech is great, makes lots of things easier, but sometimes you just gotta talk to someone to get things sorted properly. We ended up having a great round, by the way. Weather was nice, course was in good shape. Frank really enjoyed it. Made all that earlier hassle totally worthwhile in the end.
