Guide
How to Get a Tee Time When Everything’s Booked
You open the booking page for Saturday and there’s nothing before 2 pm. Here’s why that happens, when times come back, and what actually works.
Why good tee times are so hard to get
There aren’t many of them. A course sending groups off every 8 to 10 minutes has about 25 to 30 tee times between 7 and 11 am. That’s roughly a hundred golfers on a Saturday morning, and a busy public course has many times that number wanting in.
Some are gone before you see the sheet. Leagues, outings, members and season-pass holders often book ahead of the public, and town or county courses frequently give residents a head start of several days.
The rest go on release day. Most courses open each day a set number of days in advance, commonly 7 to 14. The good weekend times usually go within hours of that release, sometimes minutes.
When tee times open up again
A fully booked day almost never stays that way. Tee times come back for a few ordinary reasons:
- Cancellation deadlines. Many courses charge if you cancel inside 24 or 48 hours, so golfers who can’t make it cancel just before that point. That’s the busiest window for spots reappearing.
- Weather. A forecast that turns wet or cold sends groups off the sheet in bunches, sometimes the evening before.
- Groups that shrink. A foursome that becomes a threesome opens one spot, and that’s perfect if you’re playing alone.
- Held times. Blocks held for outings or events are sometimes released back to the public when they don’t fill.
None of this is announced. The time reappears on the booking page, and the first person to look usually takes it.
What actually works
- Learn the booking window for each course you play. How many days ahead, what time the new day opens, and whether residents book first. Be on the page when it opens.
- Check again 24 to 48 hours before. This is when most cancellations land.
- Be the single. Booking one or two players opens up far more options than a foursome.
- Go later or go shorter. Twilight rates, weekday afternoons and nine-hole or executive courses fill last.
- Have a second and third course. Pick backups nearby before the weekend, not on Saturday morning.
- Let something else do the checking. Refreshing a booking page all week doesn’t work. A tee time alert checks it for you and tells you the moment a time you want opens.
Yoink
All 6,390 courses across 52 states, watched for you around the clock
Pick the courses you'd play and Yoink keeps an eye on all 6,390 courses across 52 states. You see what's open in one place, and you hear about it the moment a time that fits your day, window and group turns up, cancellations included.
How Yoink’s tee time alerts work
Yoink watches the online tee sheets at 6,390 public courses in 52 states and territories. You choose the courses, the days you can play, a time window and how many players, and Yoink checks those sheets every few minutes. When a time that fits appears, whether it’s newly released or a cancellation, your phone gets a notification.
You book directly with the course, on its own booking page, at its normal price. Yoink doesn’t hold, resell or mark up tee times.
Questions golfers ask
Why does a course that was fully booked show open tee times the next day?
Because people cancel. Most cancellations come in the day or two before the tee time, ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and when the forecast changes. The time goes back on the booking page with no announcement.
What time of day do tee times get released?
It varies by course. Many release a new day at a fixed time each morning or at midnight, a set number of days ahead. Check the course's booking page or call the pro shop and ask.
Is it better to book as a single?
It's easier. A single or a twosome can fill a gap in a group that isn't full, so there are more spots you can take. Some courses only let you book full groups online on weekends, though.
What is a tee time alert?
A service that watches a course's online tee sheet for you and sends a notification when a time matching your day, time window and group size appears. Yoink is one; you still book directly with the course.
Are tee time alerts worth it?
If you only play when a friend books, probably not. If you keep missing weekend mornings at a busy course, an alert is the only practical way to catch cancellations, which rarely last long on the sheet.
Stop refreshing the booking page
Tell Yoink the courses, days and times you want. When one opens up, you'll know.