MESSAGE FROM THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF
Good Afternoon,
Earlier today the Provincial Government announced a new 28 day “emergency break” to help stop the spread of Covid-19. Fortunately for us, Golf is currently allowed on the list of activities under the “Emergency Break” protocols. We will be sharing even more info with you over the next few days and the week leading up to opening day as it becomes available (Saturday, April 10th). Some of this upcoming info will include: teaching & lessons, club storage & cleaning, f&b, on course washrooms, cart policies etc. Click here for today’s official provincial announcement. Complete details of the “Emergency Brake” are available here but the key elements are:
Outdoor golf courses and driving ranges able to open
All indoor and outdoor food service must be closed
Only F&B services available include Take-out, Drive-thru, and Delivery
Retail outlets (Lookout Point Golf Shop) can be open at 25% capacity
That said, we were still impacted by today’s announcement and as a result need to make ALL members aware of the following:
COURSE CLEANUP IS CANCELLED
The course cleanup scheduled for Saturday, April 3rd is now cancelled. Aldo and his team continue to work tirelessly to prepare the golf course.
THE SIM ROOM AND WINTER ACADEMY IS CLOSED
As of Saturday, April 3rd at 12:01 am the Sim Room & Winter Academy will be closed. No indoor golf and/or indoor Food & Beverage is permitted during the existing “Emergency Break” shutdown.
FOOD & BEVERAGE UPDATE
The Food & Beverage team have been busy preparing an amazing Good Friday & Easter Sunday Take-out menu. We hope you took the time to get your orders in. F&B will resume their regular take-out schedule on Tuesday, April 6th.
GOLF SHOP OPENING DATE
Our Golf Shop will open for the season on Saturday, April 10th. With today’s announcement, we will be required to restrict the number of individuals in the golf shop at any given time to 25% of our typical capacity . More information will be coming next week regarding our Retail Operation and our protocols and procedures. In the meantime, for members who are receiving notices that special orders have arrived - a member of the Golf Shop team will be available daily (9:00 am - 5:00 pm) for curbside pickup and/or appointment pickup only. We will not be open for browsing or casual shopping until our official opening date of Saturday, April 10th.
Today’s newsletter will focus on the singular topic of the upcoming “Lottery System” as mentioned in the letter that went out earlier today from our General Manager, Dan Greenwood.
Lottery request for opening weekend can NOW be made through the member central section of the website. Requests for opening day (Saturday, April 10th) must be submitted by Monday, April 5th at 12:00 pm. After the lottery has been run and lottery requests filled, the tee sheet will open for regular booking based on individual member category restrictions (more information below). Please click on the below video tutorial to see the differences between booking a lottery time vs. a regular tee time.
On behalf of the Professional Staff,
Dan Roud
Golf Shop Manager
PGA of Canada
TEE TIME LOTTERY SYSTEM
You’ve spoken, we’ve listened. Covid-19 impacted our golf operations in 2020 in many different ways. One of the most visible was a increase in the number of rounds played, and the availability of those rounds through our booking system. We made changes in 2020 which included moving the tee times booking window from 7:00 am (7 days in advance) to 5:00 pm (8 days in advance). This change was well received and as a result we were able to provide a better user experience with our staff now available to assist members who had difficulty making their tee time bookings. Unfortunately, this change still did not fix the main issue of our current system - “the race to the tee sheet”. The quickest to log in at 5:00 pm was still usually the first to get the tee times. This system that rewards the fewest and fastest is not something that we can continue with in 2021.
New for 2021 we will be introducing a daily lottery for tee time bookings. The lottery system will allow members to put their requests in advance and will prioritize bookings based on previous lottery results. This system is nothing new to LPCC, as we have employed it on our weekend morning crossovers and most recently on our Thursday Men’s Day tee sheets. This does NOT mean we will keep a lottery system in place all year. Like all changes, we will solicit your feedback and measure it’s effectiveness while continuing to make any necessary changes required to provide the best booking experience we can given demand and our software capabilities.
Below you will find a short Q&A with some of our anticipated most frequently asked questions.
Further below those questions is a spot for you to send in your own question(s) which we will try and answer in our next newsletter (early next week)
How do I book a lottery request?
Booking a lottery request is as simple as booking a regular tee time with the following main exception:
When you book a request you are selecting a DESIRED TIME within a TIME RANGE vs. an actual tee time. For example, if I select 9:00 am, the next steps in the process will allow me to put in a range that is acceptable to me. (ie/ 8:00 am - 10:00 am). Reminder: If you put in a range that is narrow (ie/ 8:50 am - 9:10 am) it does NOT mean you are more likely to get your time - the opposite is true - instead of placing you in another tee time it will prioritize those requests who have provided more flexibility and you may be at risk of not getting a time at all.
How do the points work?
In the lottery system, points are awarded on a scale based on the most points given to players who receive their chosen time all the way to negative points awarded to players who receive an undesirable time or do not receive a time at all. On subsequent lotteries, players who have the fewest # of points are prioritized.
Here’s a breakdown of the point allocation table:
If player receives a tee time within the 30 mins (on either side) of their request = 4 pts
If player receives a tee time within the 60 mins (on either side) of their request = 2 pts
If player receives a tee time within the 90 mins (on either side) of their request = 0 pts
If player receives a tee time within the 120 mins (on either side) of their request = - 2 pts
If player does not receive a time = - 4 pts
Additionally it is important to note what happens in the following situations:
If a player NO Shows = they receive 6 pts
If a player cancels 4 hours before tee time = 4 pts
If a player cancels 8 hours before tee time = 3 pts
If a player cancel 12 hours before tee time = 2 pts
If a player cancels 24 hours before tee time = 1 pt
A No Show is a failure to alert the Golf Shop and/or Starter that you are unable to make your booked tee time.
In the case of weather cancellations or course closures the Golf Shop will “delete” your tee time (as opposed to cancel) which will ensure no points are awarded.
Can I book more than one request?
Group lottery requests are still available for groups up to a maximum of 6 tee times (24 players). The lottery will attempt to keep group bookings together.
While the system will allow you to enter multiple requests, please know that when the lottery is run it will only allow each member to be placed on a given tee sheet ONCE per day. This means if a member’s name is duplicated in multiple spots - any duplicate requests will NOT be filled.
Can I add/book guests?
To start, guest play will NOT be allowed in the lottery requests. In 2020 we restricted guest play and did not allow guests until the summer months. In 2021, guest play will be permitted from Day 1, but bookings must be made through the Golf Shop and will only be considered after all categories of membership have had access to a given day (for right now, that will be 3 days in advance). When making a guest booking, you will need to provide the guest’s name & contact information (email and/or phone number) so we can guarantee they will receive a copy of our covid-19 protocols and procedures.
To start 2021, guest play will also be restricted to one guest per member before noon on any given day.
When do requests need to be in?
Lotteries will be run on the following 3 days:
MONDAYS: For Saturday, Sunday & the following Monday
WEDNESDAYS: For Tuesday & the following Wednesday
FRIDAYS: For Thursday & the following Friday
Tip: Set a weekly reminder for Monday, Wednesday & Friday mornings to ensure that you don’t forget to submit a lottery request.
Once the lottery has been completed for a given day, the day will open for regular bookings based on members’ category restrictions.
Can anyone enter a lottery request?
Lottery requests can only be entered by members in eligible categories and for their eligible times (based on their current advanced booking restrictions)
Platinum (7 day booking - no restrictions)
Gold (7 day booking - Saturday, Sunday & Holidays after 12:30 pm)
Silver (7 day booking - Monday - Fridays only, after 2:00 pm on holidays that fall on a weekday)
Professional (7 day booking - Monday to Friday after 4:00pm, Saturday, Sunday & Holidays after 2:00 pm)
Categories with 4 day booking privileges (Lifestyle 25 & 12, Students, Juniors) are not currently eligible to submit lottery requests.
How will the lottery system impact Men’s & Ladies Days?
The lottery system will have NO impact to Men’s and Ladies days other than both Men & Ladies will need to have their requests for the following week of play by 12:00 pm on the respective Wednesday & Friday as noted above. The lottery will prioritize members who participate in the Men’s & Ladies days.