Do Private Courses Get Rated Higher?

[Stud Muffin]

That seems pretty hit or miss to me. If 99% of everyone on a course is either a jerk or unengaged with other players, then you happen upon the friendly 1% that notice you are new and make you feel super welcome.....how is that objective? You would feel strongly that you know what you know from your wonderful experience, but what is the meaning of that for the readers of your reviews/ratings?

Well, lets see how much influence it had on the reviews of flyboy.
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/reviews.php?id=3693&mode=rev

"The hospitality we received was unparalleled. Kelly was a phenomenal guide and ready and willing to be of service any way possible."

"For its experience in total, Flyboy is rated 6.0 out of 5.0! My family and I stayed at the B&B and were totally blown away by that experience! The amenities and hospitality put out by Kelly and his parents was simply amazing. Thank you for providing that experience!!"

"The staff and treatment I received from Kelly and his parents was outstanding! While the course is amazing and by far the best I have ever played, the hospitality makes the difference for me."

"The hospitality here is second to none and really makes you feel comfortable and almost like royalty like mentioned by so many of the other reviewers!!"

Doesn't seem too hit or miss to me.

 

[Dave242]

Well, lets see how much influence it had on the reviews of flyboy.
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/reviews.php?id=3693&mode=rev

"For its experience in total, Flyboy is rated 6.0 out of 5.0! My family and I stayed at the B&B and were totally blown away by that experience! The amenities and hospitality put out by Kelly and his parents was simply amazing. Thank you for providing that experience!!"

Doesn't seem too hit or miss to me.

Hey.....that looks familiar. Did you notice the rating on this and how that sentence did not affect the rating (and the thought that follow closely after what you quoted: "Unfortunately, my rating here only reflects the course and not the entire experience……because if it did, the scale topping out at 5.0 would not be high enough!")?

Also.....this is a bad example since an escort is required at Flyboy.....so of course on the hit-or-miss-o-meter it will always be a hit.

 

[Connor Jones]

Dave, just a quick question for you.

I should start by saying i'm not upset or anything over your 4 of flyboy, although the fact that you gave a 9 holer a 5 makes me wonder...

Regardless though, with your rating system of 100 being an A+ and 95 being an A and 90 being an A-, and also using .5 increments per grade(I think I read somewhere you said even though you gave flyboy a 4 it was still a 91 or something like that) would you have given it a 9/10 if it was a ten disc scale? Just based off of percentages you have given it an 80% right now so I feel like a 4.5/5 would of been a more accurate answer based off of your scale. Maybe I have it all confused, just curious.

 

[Verjaeger]

I agree. Private courses are rated higher.

 

[Stud Muffin]

Hey.....that looks familiar. Did you notice the rating on this and how that sentence did not affect the rating (and the thought that follow closely after what you quoted: "Unfortunately, my rating here only reflects the course and not the entire experience……because if it did, the scale topping out at 5.0 would not be high enough!")?

Also.....this is a bad example since an escort is required at Flyboy.....so of course on the hit-or-miss-o-meter it will always be a hit.

Yes... on one.
Point is, that 'one' is not the majority.

I guess if having wonderful service is 'required', ugh, then a person should have to put up with such nonsense, but I think by the responses, some people actually liked it.

 

[Dave242]

Dave, just a quick question for you.

I should start by saying i'm not upset or anything over your 4 of flyboy, although the fact that you gave a 9 holer a 5 makes me wonder...

Thanks for being cool with me trying to be honest/impartial about the course. Looks like 2/3's of Flyboy fans don't feel the same way.

Just to explain the weirdness of the 5.0 rated 9er: I keep one ratings list of 18-holers (and more) and a separate one for all courses with less than 18 holes. I report those ratings on DGCR. That confuses things here......but in my mind the experience of playing Campton Hills maxes out the addiction factor for me (for 9ers) and Flyboy doesn't do so for me (for 18+ holers). And, in my mind I cannot get my mind around how to combine ratings scales since the experience and the motivation of playing 9 versus 18 is so very different......that's why I keep 2 lists

Regardless though, with your rating system of 100 being an A+ and 95 being an A and 90 being an A-, and also using .5 increments per grade(I think I read somewhere you said even though you gave flyboy a 4 it was still a 91 or something like that) would you have given it a 9/10 if it was a ten disc scale? Just based off of percentages you have given it an 80% right now so I feel like a 4.5/5 would of been a more accurate answer based off of your scale. Maybe I have it all confused, just curious.

I do not follow you completely here, but my grades go from 60 (F) to 100 (A+). So if you divide that by 10, each level is 4 points. So the grade of 90 I gave to Flyboy is still the 3rd notch from the top.....so I guess that is still a 4.0.

I hope that answers your question. PM me if you want - I don't feel like taking up space in this thread explaining my goofy approach to things (goofy to most DGCR users at least).

 

[bholy08]

you're just an oddity Dave!

 

[Jay Dub]

Just from the videos I've seen of Flyboy I couldn't imagine me giving it less than 4.5.

 

[Lewis]

As a personal rule, I avoid reviewing a course until I have played multiple rounds at it, and I usually play solo. To me this reduces the odds of my review being influenced by transient factors like weather and whom I happen to meet on the course.

It's interesting to see Stud Muffin's case for the inevitable influence of the "social experience" juxtaposed with the description of Flyboy as a course you can only play with an escort. In this case, it would seem that the social aspect is an important part of the course itself -- that is, Kelly's and his family's hospitality is an important part of the course itself. I think that really does have a lot to do with its high ratings, and it's an advantage that public courses don't enjoy. I suspect you could say the same thing about Flip City. That said, the superior element of hospitality probably only appears on dearly beloved private courses where the owner dedicates a significant part of his life to the course -- and they're likely going to be 5-star courses anyway.

So yeah, private courses have innate advantages, but I'm okay with that.

And I have to come to the defense of the golf course, Augusta National. Yes, it's true that a lot of the mystique of the Masters tournament is its history and the field of competitors playing in the event, but that's not what makes the golf course special. Anyone who has ever set foot on that course to watch a tournament or (forbidden rapture!) play it, can attest to its glory. Grand Slam event aside, it's still one of the premier courses in the world.

 

[Menacewarf]

Other parts of the social aspect to consider are courses that attract a rough or dangerous crowd or courses in really bad neighborhoods. Kind of the other side of the coin.

 

[jobwilson]

If you have 2 courses, one private and one public, of almost identical quality, ammenities and reviewed by the same players, do you think the private course would be rated higher?

Seems to me that private courses have a personal touch/connection with local players and reviewers have more difficulty rating objectivly. What are your thoughts?

Not all the time.

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/reviews.php?id=3129&mode=rev#41082

 

[Stud Muffin]

So yeah, private courses have innate advantages, but I'm okay with that.

And I have to come to the defense of the golf course, Augusta National. Yes, it's true that a lot of the mystique of the Masters tournament is its history and the field of competitors playing in the event, but that's not what makes the golf course special. Anyone who has ever set foot on that course to watch a tournament or (forbidden rapture!) play it, can attest to its glory. Grand Slam event aside, it's still one of the premier courses in the world.

I am ok with it to the point I want to imitate it.
If it works, then do it.

The Masters is my favorite major. I was just using it as an example, where the best bolfers in the world always shoot it well under par, but this years U.S. Open the winning score was +1 from those same bolfers. In a cold, soulless review, US Open > Masters. But to me the tradition, the legendary magic of Augusta makes the Masters > US Open. IMHO

 

[Dave242]

I understand that some people rather go to a course, walk through 18, then type up a big review without speaking to anyone about the course, making mechanical, soulless reviews.

I was just using it as an example, where the best bolfers in the world always shoot it well under par, but this years U.S. Open the winning score was +1 from those same bolfers. In a cold, soulless review, US Open > Masters. But to me the tradition, the legendary magic of Augusta makes the Masters > US Open. IMHO

Soulless is a code word for Objective.

To include "Soul" in reviews you are admitting that you are adding Subjectivity.....and adding some subjective stuff is important. My issue with "I met nice people so this makes it a higher rated course" is that it makes as much sense as "the weather was awful so this makes it lower rated course".

The art of good rating is to come up with a rubric that has a consistent way of rating the subjective elements.

 

[prerube]

You are biased too!

*cough...flyboy...cough*

There is no way to be biased about flyboy, it is just the best

While the service was amazing, the course can hold up on it's own merits as well. you can take the 5th worst hole at flyboy and it would be a signature hole on many other courses.

 

[Stud Muffin]

There is no way to be biased about flyboy, it is just the best

While the service was amazing, the course can hold up on it's own merits as well. you can take the 5th worst hole at flyboy and it would be a signature hole on many other courses.

^That

I am not trying to say service is a sole reason to make a rating high. But I am saying, if you want to take your course to the next level, service has to be part of it.

The best course I have ever played was Deer Lakes. If I had a guide, the experience would have been that much better. <~The point.

Great service makes things better.

Judging courses while excluding service would be like judging courses and excluding the basket conditions.

 

[prerube]

^That

I am not trying to say service is a sole reason to make a rating high. But I am saying, if you want to take your course to the next level, service has to be part of it.

The best course I have ever played was Deer Lakes. If I had a guide, the experience would have been that much better. <~The point.

Great service makes things better.

Judging courses while excluding service would be like judging courses and excluding the basket conditions.

For once I agree with you. I did not like deer lakes as much, but I think I would have enjoyed it much more if I had a guide, a spotter, or just anyone to BS with.

Dave242 has rated courses AFTER the baskets were removed, so clearly basket conditions are not importnat to everyone.

 

[Dave242]

The best course I have ever played was Deer Lakes. If I had a guide, the experience would have been that much better. <~The point.

Great service makes things better.

Judging courses while excluding service would be like judging courses and excluding the basket conditions.

So what you are saying is that to get a 5.0 you need to have cool local dudes to play with and show you around? Because, a 5.0 means there is no real room for improvement.

Oh wait - I notice you gave Deer Lakes a 5.0. So if there were always cool dudes to service you you would give it a 5.5?

 

[Dave242]

Dave242 has rated courses AFTER the baskets were removed

The sleeves were still there. I guess you have never heard of object golf?

 

[Dave242]

you can take the 5th worst hole at flyboy and it would be a signature hole on many other courses.

That is not necessarily a statement how good Flyboy is, but more about how bad "many other courses" are. Flyboy is a really good course and I am not trying to diminish that, and I am not sure how to pick the worst holes at Flyboy, but none of these 10 would be a signature hole on the vast majority of courses I have rated >3.0:

 

[Dave242]

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