I tried to book a tee time Highland Pines for 12 guys that was driving thru Houston headed to Lake Charles for a golf weekend. The guys heard about the new course in Houston and wanted to play it after I gave good reviews based on my past play although overpriced compared to the market in Houston. I called the Pro Shop 2 weeks in advance and was told that I had to book online 5 days in advance.
I waited 5 days prior, woke up at 5 in the morning and booked the tee time online with a $2000 deposit. Little did I know, I made a mistake and booked the round for the "Same Day" instead of 5 days in advance. I received the confirmation and still did not recognize the mistake. So, I never called the course because I did not realize that I had done anything wrong. I did not realize anything was wrong until an Employee that knew we were playing that day called and said he did not see our names on the daily tee sheet.
For the record, I have been golfing for 30 + years. I am fully aware that there are rules for missing a tee time without notification. But who secures a $2000 tee time and doesn't show up to donate to a golf course. That would be a clear indicator to the average person that either something tragic has happen to the players or a mistake was made in the booking process. The fact that nobody showed up would have been red flags to at least inquire with the person that book the tee times considering the amount of money. I fully understand that this a business but there is a such being practical. Plus, I did not ask for the money back.
Needless to say.....I called the course immediately to apologize and to explain the situation to the Upper Manager. I also asked if there were tee times available that aligned with our desired time, because we still wanted to play at 3pm. The answer from the Manager was, yes, those times are available! Since I booked the tee times on the wrong day, the cost was $160 a man (weekend rate). The cost for the time we wanted to play was $125 a man. So, I offered to pay the $160 a man for the mistake that I made in the booking process and still come out to the course and play later that day.
The Manager stated, "the only thing I can do is charge you another $90 a man to play today! There is nothing I can do because we are trying to run a business and those slots kept other players from playing." And refused to give me a credit! (3 guys from our group wanted to test that Manager's theory and went out and played at the available time. Needless to say there was no one in front or behind them for the entire round.)
Fortunately, I am a part of large network of over 500 golfers from Louisiana, Austin, Beaumont, Port Author and Dallas that all come to Houston to play under our recommendation. I have quickly spread the word in our chats and all of them have vowed never play this course out of principal. There are a lot of excellent courses in Houston to play within that price point or lower. And far more customer service. If you miss a flight, even the airlines give you a credit for missing a flight to rebook, but golf course can't......
I have spent a couple of hundreds dollars on golf, food, drinks and in the pro shop in their short existence. All while trying to bring more business to the course and they treat my fellow golfers and myself like this....is sad. All of our local Houston Groups talked and have decided to never play a Tour 18 Inc. owned property. Not one golfer of the many on the call have seen something so egregious. read more