Weekend Golf Course Cancellation Fee "Free if Canceled 4 Days in Advance"

Fair Trade Commission Revises Standard Terms for Golf Course Use... 10% Cancellation Fee if Cancelled 3 Days Before
Prohibition of Forced Sales of Food and Goods, Use of Standard Terms Required for Tax Benefits for Public Golf Courses

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] The Fair Trade Commission has established standard terms and conditions for golf course usage, including cancellation penalties for weekend golf course reservations.

On the 18th, the FTC announced, "If a weekend golf course reservation is canceled 2 to 3 days in advance, a penalty of 10% of the team’s course usage fee must be paid; if canceled on the day, 30% must be paid." The standard terms and conditions are a type of model contract promoted by the FTC for each sector, which businesses are not required to follow. However, starting next year, to be designated as a public golf course and receive various tax benefits such as exemption from individual consumption tax, businesses must use the standard terms, thus increasing their utilization.

According to the revised standard terms, if the reservation date falls on a weekend or public holiday, cancellations made up to four days prior will not incur any penalty. The deposit will be refunded. Cancellations 2 to 3 days prior require a penalty of 10% of the team’s course usage fee, 20% one day prior, and 30% on the day of use. For weekday reservations, no penalty applies if canceled up to three days prior; 10% penalty applies two days prior, 20% one day prior, and 30% on the day.

The FTC explained, "Some businesses have previously charged 100% of the usage fee as a penalty or arbitrarily set entrance fees. For businesses that charged the team’s course usage fee as an entrance fee, the penalty level under the standard terms will increase from 5-10% to 10-30%. However, as more businesses adopt the standard terms due to penalty standardization, cases of excessive penalty charges are expected to decrease, leading to an overall reduction in market penalty fees."

The revised standard terms exclude ancillary costs such as cart usage fees from the fees that serve as the basis for golf course reservation deposits and penalties. If a business cancels a reservation due to circumstances at the golf course, it must compensate users with a penalty of 10-30% depending on the cancellation date. The FTC also introduced a clause prohibiting forced purchases of goods or food, preventing businesses from requiring customers to use clubhouse restaurants or shaded rest areas as a condition for reservations.