Everyone knows Chelsea. She is that system for tee time reservations that confounds so many in the quest for a decent tee time in season. She is necessary, yet unloved, and yet daily, she performs a vital task to the management of the golf course. But we know so little about her. Let’s take a short walk through the genesis of our current set up with Chelsea.
1999 Initial set-up
- Installed by the Bonita bay group
- Each member received a number and play totals calculated by individual members.
- Chelsea was never based on unit play, nor were any Bonita Bay development courses
- all classifications were given equal treatment as far as placements of groups (example: groups with all members were not placed ahead of groups with members and guests, etc)
- Play totals were based on the previous 30 day’s play
2001 1st Change
- Approved by Perry Smith, former Head Golf Professional in September 2001
- Members were classified by players in the group. classification 00 was groups with all members, classification 01 was groups with members with guests and transfer members. Chelsea placed the groups in classification 00 first and then placed groups in classification 01 next.
2003 2nd Change
- Recommended by the Golf Committee and approved by the Board on March 27, 2003
- Chelsea was changed to a 14 day rolling average on play totals (previously a 30 day rolling average)
- Classification 00 and 01 were dropped and all members, members with guests, and transfer members were treated equally. All transfer members would have an average play total applied to their number when they arrived so they would not start with 0 points.
2004 3rd Change
- Recommended by the Golf Committee and approved by the Board on May 28, 2004
- Chelsea was changed to ask the members with guests if they would pay the higher green fee if they played before 12:00. if they played after 12:00 they would be able to play for $70, if they played before 12:00 they would pay the higher fee of $100. Also no guests are allowed to play 9 holes before 12:00. Discounts of 20% off greens fees could be used after 12:00 only.
2010 4th Change
- Recommended by the Golf Committee and approved by the Board for the 2010 Season.
- Owners and Transfer members are given the percentage of tee times that they occupied in the community. In other words, if 20% of the units in Spring Run were occupied by transfer members then they would initially receive 20% of the tee times and the owners would receive 80% of the tee times.
Owner times and Transfer times are now classified as follows:
Owner time
4 Owners and 0 Transfer members
3 Owners and 1 Transfer member
Transfer time
2 Transfer members and 2 Owners
3 Transfer members and 1 Owner
4 Transfer members and 0 Owners
These times are blocked off on a per hour basis on the tee sheet. So if 20% of the community in February is comprised of Transfer Members, every 5th time would be blocked off for Transfer times.
Owners compete with Owners for tee times, and Transfers compete with Transfers for tee times
Note: after the tee sheets are printed, and then it is first come first served to fill in the empty times on the tee sheet without regard to the above mentioned system.
2011 5th Change
- Recommended by the Golf Committee and approved by the Board for the 2011 Season.
- For Member/Guest Tournaments (Ladies, Men’s and Couples) and Spring Run Charity Events:
- Any Member playing in a Member/Guest Tournament receives 1 Chelsea point for each round and 0 Chelsea points for the Guest.
- Any Member playing in the Spring Run Charity Event receives 0 Chelsea points.
The 4th change is the one that impacts the membership the most, and the one that is most beneficial to the membership. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Head Golf Professional Joe Allinder x223 or GM Mike Zigler x232
Springing Forward 
Thank you for a very clear and concise history of this system and how it works
. I am sure it will be an eye opener for many of our members.
I think most of us have a greater knowledge of Chelsea than we did before thanks to the problems this season, but understanding it or not understanding it is not necessarily the issue. The issue is that owners who occupy their unit are spending more time at Spring Run. Our president has acknowledged that as a fact. These people, like myself, did not buy here to rent the unit or use it as an investment. They bought it to use it themselves. Because more of us are spending more time here we find ourselves in greater competition with transfers for the available tee times. Owners who do not rent but live here should have preference over the transfer people for tee times. I realize the owners who rent their properties think they are paying the same as owners who don’t rent but the difference is significant in that the owner who rents receives income to offset his expenses. The problems that occurred this season give me pause to question whether to stay at Spring Run due to lack of reasonable tee availability or go elsewhere regardless of the loss I would incur on my property because Spring Run values are down so much. I have heard that more than a few people are beginning to feel this way.
I think that the system in place is fair. Owners who rent (I don’t) pay like everyone else, plus their renters generate additional revenue at a higher rate than owners….this helps keep my overall rate low and a good value.
Gary Ward
If the system is fair for transfer members and owners then why did there fee go down 20% 4/1 when owners stayed the same?
i am unaware of any transfer fee that went down 20%. Can you please clarify this? thanks.
The Transfer Member rate for golf went to $45.00 April 1, down from $55.00 the previous three months.
That is our standard off season April pricing. Most transfer members have now gone home for the season.
Did the system work better for Spring Run owners from Nov 2012 to April 2013, or were there still problems getting a tee time?
in reviewing the changes to the Chelsea system, I did not see the 2005 changes listed that were significant. Having been drawn into several discussions with owners that were affected both ways, I would like to review the the synopsis that predicated those major changes as to limited tee times and Chelsea points.