The distinction between public and private courses has been blurred a bit in recent years. No one would ever confuse Maidstone with a public course and no one would ever confuse Eisenhower with a private course ( although at one time when it was Salisbury two of its courses were indeed private ).

But how about the ostensibly public course that offers a limited membership of reserved tee times. Walk-ons are permitted but they can be made to feel like second class citizens. The business model of these new clubs has often been described as a country club membership for a day. The courses are privately run, often in beautiful condition and all sorts of services are available, from bag drop off to club cleaning. So are they public, semi public, semi private or private? I would answer public. I guess that makes me a purist but if anyone can play there at some point without being a member or a guest of a member than I would say they are public.