GoPlayGolf.com Feedback/Warning

[Mr. 82]

So my brother sends me a gift card from GoPlayGolf.com for my birthday, and it's supposed to be something you can use to pay for rounds of golf or whatever at any one of 5,000 golf courses.  So I was up in NC, and I figured I'd use it for one of my rounds of golf while I am up there.  Well, to save you some time, their system for redeeming this gift card for rounds of golf is so complicated and convoluted that I would steer clear of trying to use it towards greens fees or whatever.

Essentially how it is supposed to work is that you fill out this long, complicated form online ONCE you have made a tee time, and then this company is supposed to call the golf course, and pay for your greens fees BEFORE you come to play your round.  Well, not really knowing this, I called the golf course a few days before I wanted to play and made a tee time, and asked them if I could use this card towards my round, and the guy on the phone at the course said, "sure, we can use it."  Well, I showed up the morning of, and it didn't work.  My failure was the fill out the online redemption form, and submit it to this company so that they could pay the golf course.

But seriously, who does golf like this?  If you're like me, I rarely plan that far ahead with tee times, especially as a single.  Normally it's either the day of, or the day before that I decide to play somewhere, mostly because I am always worried about the weather, and don't want to book a tee time if it's going to suck outside.

The good news, if you want to call it that, is that you can redeem these gift cards for merchandise or Top Golf, or lessons, or whatever.  So I explored the merchandise options online, and they take you to Worldwidegolf.com where you can enter the gift card to pay for whatever they have online.  Not a total loss overall, but the card definitely is next to impossible to use towards a round of golf.

Just thought I'd share my experience with the group here.

[tony@CIC]

2 hours ago, GSwag said:

So my brother sends me a gift card from GoPlayGolf.com for my birthday, and it's supposed to be something you can use to pay for rounds of golf or whatever at any one of 5,000 golf courses.  So I was up in NC, and I figured I'd use it for one of my rounds of golf while I am up there.  Well, to save you some time, their system for redeeming this gift card for rounds of golf is so complicated and convoluted that I would steer clear of trying to use it towards greens fees or whatever.

Essentially how it is supposed to work is that you fill out this long, complicated form online ONCE you have made a tee time, and then this company is supposed to call the golf course, and pay for your greens fees BEFORE you come to play your round.  Well, not really knowing this, I called the golf course a few days before I wanted to play and made a tee time, and asked them if I could use this card towards my round, and the guy on the phone at the course said, "sure, we can use it."  Well, I showed up the morning of, and it didn't work.  My failure was the fill out the online redemption form, and submit it to this company so that they could pay the golf course.

But seriously, who does golf like this?  If you're like me, I rarely plan that far ahead with tee times, especially as a single.  Normally it's either the day of, or the day before that I decide to play somewhere, mostly because I am always worried about the weather, and don't want to book a tee time if it's going to suck outside.

The good news, if you want to call it that, is that you can redeem these gift cards for merchandise or Top Golf, or lessons, or whatever.  So I explored the merchandise options online, and they take you to Worldwidegolf.com where you can enter the gift card to pay for whatever they have online.  Not a total loss overall, but the card definitely is next to impossible to use towards a round of golf.

Just thought I'd share my experience with the group here.

Thanks for the heads up. I sometimes wonder if companies create these convoluted processes so you don't end up redeeming the full amount of the cards. 

[downlowkey]

I checked out their service and mock filled out the required forms for a local course in about 90 seconds. It seems like the main reason this service might not be a good fit for @GSwag is that he prefers to make tee times same day and GoPlayGolf needs a heads up to get the golf course paid in advance of your arrival. They do list a couple small add-on service fees if you want the company to also book your tee time or you cancel last minute. Otherwise this seems to be a perfectly reasonable way to gift some golf.

[Steve L]

I agree. The process is way too complicated. It appears that they make it so complicated so they keep your $$$.

[ncwoz]

It's definitely a little more limiting than just popping in to the clubhouse to get the next open tee time, but for what it's worth I just used a GoPlayGolf giftcard with no issues at all. The card does give instructions, seems like the biggest two things to check are that they work with the course you're trying to book with, and that you book a tee time a few days out and tell GoPlayGolf the tee time info.

I had $25 on the giftcard and the round was $40, showed up that morning (after filling out their form online a few days prior) and told the pro what the deal was and he had a voucher set aside under my name, wasn't an issue at all that the giftcard only covered the partial fee.

Not saying it's the most seamless, fantastic, no-hassle process ever, but I had no issues with it and wouldn't be upset to be gifted another one of these cards in the future. Bummer for the negative experiences you guys had though!

[smlopez40]

Terrible gift card. I do not recommend it. It has so many restrictions. It's too difficult to actually use for a tee time. If you have multiple gift cards they cannot be combined. The Go Play Golf gift card is literally the worst gift card I have ever used. DO NOT PURCHASE. You are better off purchasing a store gift card for golf equipment and gift cards directly through the golf course for tee times.

[Chones]

I agree with several other bad reviews. I don't know why they just don't let you use this as a payment card. They have a convoluted way of redeeming the card saying they will contact the course and pay for your tee time but both times I tried to use this, the courses acted like they have no idea what I was talking about and I had to pay full price. Just go to a course and buy a gift card or use a VISA gift card. This is terrible

[heavygolffeels]

Glad I stumbled into this, as I received one of these about a month ago and wasnt sure how I would use it. Off to the online shop to get some balls. 

[goplaygolf is a joke]

To check the balance of the card the goplaygolf site tells you to email an image of the back of the card and email it to them. What a scam!

[Jeff Petos]

I received a GoPlayGolf gift card. could not redeem it. 2 times I arrived at the course, and they had NO IDEA what I was talking about. I had to pay. I tried ordering golf balls. Nothing. I received no help from "customer service".  Wasted $50.00

[Wayne Burke]

Horrible product!! Do not use almost 100 phone calls to customer service and no call back, finally through email contact, Adam was able to resolve my issue. Just buy a pre-paid visa or mastercard and give that to them.

[Tomco]

On 8/2/2021 at 8:37 AM, Chones said:

I agree with several other bad reviews. I don't know why they just don't let you use this as a payment card. They have a convoluted way of redeeming the card saying they will contact the course and pay for your tee time but both times I tried to use this, the courses acted like they have no idea what I was talking about and I had to pay full price. Just go to a course and buy a gift card or use a VISA gift card. This is terrible

The more complicated it is to use the the more people that get them that never use them. More profit for the card seller. This is the way of all gift cards but this particular card takes it to another level of difficult. For certain all gift cards bank on the fact that 6 to 10% are never redeemed. Another percentage only partially...more money more money.. I just tried to see what the balance was on the two I received...go figure. It couldn't tell me and I had to call in to find out. Had to leave a message for them to call me back..They did and quickly gave me my balance..only wasted about 10 minutes of my time. I will redeem them for a round soon now that I know how the system works but as others have said here it would be so much easier if these were like a pre paid credit card...They're not and the reson their not is mo money mo money. 

[poprocksncoke]

I have had one sitting in my drawer for over a year that I was given as a present.  May check out the online shopping thing.