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My Golf Camp Gripe


lexi
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Sorry, this got long but I need advice about an email I'm going to send......

 

We are members at a very small beach and golf club where we have access to a golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts, etc. It's a really neat family-oriented place that has a lot of programs for kids.

 

Our 3 oldest kids made the swim team and it's been great.

My 3 oldest kids are also doing a summer golf camp. My two girls (ages 10 and 7) are in the regular golf camp which is two hours on Wednesday nights. 

My son (age 8) is able to be in the advanced camp. He takes golf very seriously and is a pretty good little player for his age - most importantly he wants to play. He LIVES to play golf. So I was excited that the assistant golf pro at the course allowed him to be in the upper level camp (this assistant gave my son lessons last summer, so knows him very well). 

 

My problems are with the advanced camp. 

From the brochure it says that the camp will be from 9-12 every Tuesday from June through July. There will be 1 hour of instruction followed by 9 holes of play with on-course instruction. Every Sunday during June and July there will be a golf scramble competition for the kids who participate in the golf program. 

 

The first week we had to pick up the kids an hour early (at 11) because the golf course was hosting some type of big event. Whatever. But I was slightly annoyed that they didn't get their full time. The next week it started pouring rain so they ended it early as well. Ugh! They can't control the weather but they didn't tell me until the moment I dropped off my son the first week that the time for that week would be changed. A little heads up email would have been nice. 

 

This past week I went to pick up my 8 year old son. I was at the course at 11:45. I saw him sitting alone on one of the big stones near the parking lot. He looked upset and frustrated. As he got in the car he said he had waited for an HOUR for me. He wasn't wearing a watch so I wondered if his time perception was skewed. But I also wondered if I had the ending time of the camp wrong or something (because of the first two weeks and having to pick him up early - maybe it really ended at 11 and I was wrong). I asked my husband to call the course to confirm for me.

 

Then my son tells me they only played two holes when they are supposed to play all 9. So I realized that yes he had been sitting in the parking lot waiting for me for quite a long time. I told him to go inside the golf shop and call me if he ever doesn't see me waiting in parking lot. So he knows what to do in the future (he is my shy and soft spoken kiddo so he wouldn't naturally want to do this). Sigh But why didn't one of the employees wait with the kids until all of them were picked up by a parent? Why didn't someone (like an ADULT who is being paid to watch my child) call me? 

 

My husband got a response from the head golf pro that the camp is actually now going to end at 11 but the boys are encouraged to go on out and play 9 holes ON THEIR OWN. We're talking about boys between 10 and 14 mostly. My son is the youngest. (And for the record, I asked someone else on staff and the course has a rule that children must be 12 or older to play alone. Most of these boys are between 10 and 12 so many of them are not technically old enough to do this). This was never mentioned when we signed up and we never got an email explaining the changes. We would never have assumed that part of the golf camp that we are paying for is unsupervised and without an adult present. 

 

Also, on Sunday my husband showed up at the course with my kids for the golf scramble and was told that they weren't having it that day. He thought maybe I was just confused or something. So he took them out to play the course on his own. No, I was not confused. When he came home, I showed him the brochure with the dates of the Sunday scramble and that day was clearly listed. They gave NO reason for not having the competition that day. 

 

So, I'm super frustrated. 

I'm not getting what I signed up for - Sunday competitions that they randomly cancel with NO notice or explanation.

My son does not get to play 9 holes with the assistant pro like I thought. He is expected to play the course ALONE or with another boy from the camp with NO adult supervision. 

They changed the ending time of the advanced camp without notifying me and left my kid ALONE in the parking lot and no one checked on him or called me. 

 

When you enroll your kid in a summer camp or clinic don't you expect that they will be with an adult at all times? And not sent off by themselves?? I'm just speechless at this! And isn't the point of paying for a sports camp so that your kid gets instruction in that sport and not just time to randomly play the sport on their own with no guidance? How does that improve their game?

 

My husband is going to draft an email with our complaints to the club. I don't want to come off super harsh because I don't want to be THAT parent and we are still members. However, my kids will NEVER be enrolled in a junior golf program again if this is how they are run. They can do private lessons with the assistant pro from now on. But because we are still members I don't want to blacklist myself and be treated badly because we complained. However, I feel my complaints are valid and important and should be voiced. Truly, I'm mad about how this is turning out. 

 

What does the hive think? How should I phrase things in an email to them? 

And even if my son were older, I didn't pay for him to play the golf course alone. It's a quiet little course but on the edge of a large reservoir. I'm not comfortable with him being out by himself. And if I DID want him to play alone, I'm a member there - he can play for free (so why would I pay for the camp thing?).

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We have been negotiating similarly choppy waters.  I would simply state in your letter the specific data points that you gave us--the specific discrepancies between the brochure and reality and also the safety concern about young children who are not old enough to be left unattended on the course being left unattended on the course. Pull all of the emotion out of it.  I would emphasize the challenges in communication rather than in directly calling it a bait and switch.

 

 

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Not acceptable to me either. I would think as members, they would be trying harder to make sure you are satisfied, not less. Is there a board of directors or a general manager over the activities. You are not just paying for the camp, you are paying to belong as well. I hope it gets worked out. 

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When you complain, mention you love how well the swim team is going and that your girls have enjoyed their golf camp, but that makes it all the more perplexing that the advanced golf camp seems disorganized. If you do that, it's clear you aren't someone who complains about everything.

Of course, it may also be wise to write out your thoughts and then set them aside. After one or two nights sleep, read over it and decide whether anything needs to be softened, but in the end, send it! They should know. My guess is someone is cutting corners and others will be surprised and displeased to learn of it.

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I'm going to let my hubby type out the email and then we can read it together. He'll do a much better job of leaving the emotion out of it and keeping it concise and to the point.

I really think we have to address our concerns but I don't want to sound like I'm nothing but negative. Yes, I'm pretty angry at how they've handled things. If only they had stayed in communication with the parents. It's very frustrating.

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So you, your dh and your whole family have been involved in this club for a while, have participated with no problems in multiple activities, and this is the very first time something like this has happened, right?  Why not talk face to face with the leader of this group and ask what is happening? Why jump to a letter as your first response? I can understand your frustration, but why haven't you already spoken to the golf pro or the assistant? I don't get it. If it's a small club, and you know the assistant, why not just ask them what's going on with the seeming disorganization, timing and lack of supervision of minor children in their care? If you don't get anywhere after talking, then write to the club executive. 

Edited by wintermom
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My hubby did talk to the pro. He got brushed off. So he wants to have a paper trail of our frustration about how this program has been handled. So he's already talked with the pro twice actually. Now we're going with an email.

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Be sure to be clear about what will satisfy you. So, "although we have found this camp unsatisfying and unprofessional we do like the quality of the coaching. We would like the money we have already paid for the camp to be used for 8 hours of one-on-one coaching for my son with (coach of choice)" or something like that.

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I would be fuming if I were you. 

 

Since the golf pro brushed off your husband's comments, I would email the general manager about your concerns. 

 

The general manager will not be happy when he realizes that your son was left alone during a time when you paid the golf pro to provide instruction and supervision - that is a huge liability for the club.

 

When my kids were 10 years old, I would drop them off at our club to play 9-holes unsupervised.  However, they also participated in the club's golf camp that was run exactly how your club's was advertised to run, and I would have not been happy if they were told to simply go out and play 9 holes of golf unsupervised when I was paying for them to receive instruction during that time. 

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My hubby did talk to the pro. He got brushed off. So he wants to have a paper trail of our frustration about how this program has been handled. So he's already talked with the pro twice actually. Now we're going with an email.

 

Hopefully he sends it to the president of the golf club. It could he helpful to add that he/you want to hear back from the president about what action he takes in this matter. This worked for my dh when he had an issue with our tennis club. 

 

 

Good luck.

Edited by wintermom
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