Shopping · Community report
Book a hard-to-get golf tee time
Book a hard-to-get golf tee time. Watch a course for an opening at a pace that will not get your account blocked, and see every booking.
What you can get
Reaches your accounts Creates or changes things in accounts you connect, with your approval.
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It does
- Checks the course's booking page at the interval you set
- Books only within your limits, or asks first
- Reports every check and any booking as it happens
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It stops and asks
- Before watching: dates, times, players, interval, daily cap and end date set by you.
- Before booking: your approval, or limits that include deposit and cancellation terms.
- After booking: confirmation checked in the course's system.
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You approve
- Approval before booking, or narrow limits within which it may book
- No authority to accept fees or terms beyond what you set
Derived from this task's own brief and steps, not from the source.
- Set the limitsStops for your approval
Dates, window, players, interval, daily cap and end date.
- Learn the release pattern
Online, members-only, fixed schedule or phone.
- Watch with a log
Each check recorded; captchas or errors stop the watch.
- Approve the bookingStops for your approval
Time, deposit and cancellation terms confirmed by you.
Editorial, not from the source
Works when
- The course releases times online and you are flexible within a window.
- You are happy to cap how often it checks.
- You want a record of what it did.
Does not work when
- Times are given out by phone or to members only, and you do not want an agent calling.
- You cannot risk your account on the booking site.
- You need a guaranteed time for a fixed event.
Book a hard-to-get golf tee time: review template
| Item | What it is based on | Status |
|---|---|---|
| [Checks made] | [Log with times, against your cap] | [Within limits or stopped] |
| [Opening found] | [Course booking page] | [Awaiting your approval] |
| [Booking terms] | [Deposit and cancellation policy] | [Accepted by you or declined] |
The source case
In a post on X comparing two personal assistants, @milliemyang says Instinct got a golf tee time for their head of commercial that should have been impossible to get. The same post names the cost of that persistence: Instinct will hammer a site until it gets what was asked for, and the author saw someone's OpenTable account blocked after it scanned a couple of hundred times. The author adds that a lot happens in the background with no view into it, and that some people found out it had transacted on their behalf after the fact. The post does not say which course, how the time was found or what it cost. Checked on 2026-09-24. This is one person's report plus secondhand accounts, not evidence of what any course will allow.
A public report by someone outside this library. Not independently reproduced here.
From the source
Source excerpt
Instinct will hammer a site until it gets you what you asked for. Saw someone had their OpenTable account blocked because it scanned a couple of hundred times. I got a golf tee time for our head of commercial that should have been impossible to get. ... With Instinct there's a lot happening in the background that I have no view into, and there are people who found out it had transacted on their behalf after the fact.
Quoted from the original posts. Not written by this guide, and not a result produced here.
Suggested prompt
Bring Course, dates and time window, Number of players, Checking interval, daily cap and end date, Deposit and cancellation terms you accept. Acts Checks the course's booking page at the interval you set. Books only within your limits, or asks first. Reports every check and any booking as it happens. Source community report, checked 2026-09-24.
Written by this guide as a starting point, not quoted from the source. Your edits stay in this browser.
Other ways to ask
Editorial rewrites of the brief above, for a different emphasis. Copy them separately.
What you need
Editorial, not from the source
You supply
- Course, dates and time window
- Number of players
- Checking interval, daily cap and end date
- Deposit and cancellation terms you accept
Connected
- Your account on the course's booking system
How to try it
Editorial, not from the source
- Name the course, dates, acceptable times, number of players, and anything that matters such as carts.
- Find out how the course releases times: its own booking page, members-only windows, a fixed release schedule or the pro shop phone.
- Set a checking interval, a daily cap and an end date rather than leaving it open-ended.
- Decide whether it may book on its own within limits or must ask first, and whether a deposit or cancellation fee is acceptable.
- Ask for a log of each check and a message the moment anything is booked.
Persistence is the feature and the risk
The report behind this page comes from a post comparing two personal assistants. Its author says Instinct got a golf tee time for their head of commercial that should have been impossible to get. The same paragraph explains how: Instinct will hammer a site until it gets what was asked for. And it gives the cost, secondhand: the author saw someone whose OpenTable account was blocked because it had scanned a couple of hundred times. Both sides belong in the instruction. Persistence is what finds an opening that appears for a few minutes; unlimited persistence is what gets an account flagged. Set a checking interval, a daily cap and a date after which the watch stops, rather than leaving it to try as hard as it can.
Know how the course releases times
Courses release tee times in different ways. Some open new days on a fixed schedule, some hold times for members, some put cancellations back online and others only hand them out by phone. Find out which applies before a watch begins, because checking a web page every few minutes is pointless if openings go through the pro shop, and a release time known in advance is worth more than hundreds of refreshes. Give the course, dates, acceptable time window, number of players and anything that matters such as carts. Check what a booking commits you to: some courses hold a card and charge for late cancellation or no-shows. Those terms should be accepted by you, not in passing by the agent while it completes the booking.
Ask to see what it did
The same author writes that with Instinct a lot happens in the background that they have no view into, and that some people found out it had transacted on their behalf after the fact. For a task built on repeated checking and a possible purchase, that is the part to address directly. Ask for a short log: when the course was checked, what was available, and what was passed over. Ask for a message at the moment of any booking, not a summary later. If you would rather approve each booking, say so, and accept that a slot may go while you are replying. If a booking appears that you did not expect, check the course's cancellation window straight away, before a fee applies.
Open Instinct to try it. That is the product's own site; this guide is not part of it.
Limits and confirmation points
- One report of success, with no detail on how it was done. It does not show that openings exist at any given course.
- The same post describes an account blocked after a couple of hundred scans. Repeated checking can cost you access to a booking site.
- The author says much of what happens is not visible, and that some people learned of transactions after the fact. Ask for a log and a message on every booking.
- Courses may hold a card or charge for late cancellation. Nothing here authorizes accepting fees or terms without you.
Editorial, not from the source
- Before watching: dates, times, players, interval, daily cap and end date set by you.
- Before booking: your approval, or limits that include deposit and cancellation terms.
- After booking: confirmation checked in the course's system.
Editorial, not from the source
- The booking site starts showing captchas or errors
- Stop for the day and lengthen the interval. Treat it as a warning before an account block.
- A booking appears that you did not approve
- Cancel within the course's window if you do not want it, and change the instruction to ask first.
- Nothing opens up
- Widen the dates or time window, or call the pro shop yourself; some openings may never be released online.
Common questions
Can an agent get a tee time that is hard to book?
One user reports that Instinct got a tee time that should have been impossible to get. The post gives no detail on the course or method, and this directory has not reproduced it.
Could repeated checking get my account blocked?
The same post describes someone's OpenTable account being blocked after a couple of hundred scans. Set an interval and a daily cap.
Will I know what it booked?
Ask for a log and a message at the moment of booking. The source author says a lot happens in the background, and some people learned of transactions afterwards.
Should it book without asking me?
Only within narrow limits you set, including deposits and cancellation terms. Otherwise have it ask first, accepting that a slot may go while you reply.
What if the course only books by phone?
Then a web watch will not help. Call the pro shop, or decide whether you want an agent calling on your behalf.
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