Crazyface
Tour Winner
Really?????? I think he was just offering a comparision as to the possible stupidity of the question.
Really?????? I think he was just offering a comparision as to the possible stupidity of the question.
Orikoru
Tour Winner
Most clubs near me are doing this sort of thing. One club even has the following brackets:
Full: £1300
30-39: £1180
29: £925
28: £825
27: £725
26: £625
19-25: £525
It's a decent idea to try and get 20-somethings on board, but I imagine it must sting a bit having to pay an extra hundred every time you have a birthday.
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
We have a few age related breaks in memebership up to 35 when you pay the full rate (around £1700 or so). It has definitely attracted some younger blood in and it's competitive agains our local competitors. Not so sure our full fee is though
Crazyface
Tour Winner
I had a discussion on this last night with a mate. We both agreed it was wrong, to put it politely. These younger lads sometimes have LOADS more disposable income than the ones expected to pay full price. This is annoying the full members, as well as the "deals" that clubs are offering. We both play at the same place. He pays full fees, £800. i pay deal fees £400. All he gets extra is play on comp day, and therefore comps which cost another £3.50 per comp, of which he's won nowt for three years! So who's getting the best deal? Members are, apparently, a tad disgruntled and are leaving in droves. The only ones left are the old fogies in the senior section who have been there for years and are all wadded and don't care. These are running all the committees and the club into the ground. Apparently, the club finances are in a mess.
Clubs have got to get real about this. Bit the bullet and drop fees down to realistic levels and remove all age reduction fees. Juniors should be reclassified as well. All under 12's make them as cheap as chips, but as they get older, make their fees more realistic. Jesus, to play football for a team you have to pay £250 for your kid to play. This is where gold fees should be as well for 12 to 16. Then increase for 17 and 18 and get them integrated into club comps as soon as they can play off 28!!! That's how you get the kids involved with the club!
Clubs have got to get real about this. Bit the bullet and drop fees down to realistic levels and remove all age reduction fees. Juniors should be reclassified as well. All under 12's make them as cheap as chips, but as they get older, make their fees more realistic. Jesus, to play football for a team you have to pay £250 for your kid to play. This is where gold fees should be as well for 12 to 16. Then increase for 17 and 18 and get them integrated into club comps as soon as they can play off 28!!! That's how you get the kids involved with the club!
Jacko_G
Blackballed
I'm 100% with you.
I went through college working part time and full time during the holidays, my parents never took "dig money" off me while I was in education. I was flush. I left college and got a job, I was even more flush, even paying rent/mortgage I had great disposable income.
Come my 30's I had settled down and started having kids. I was skint. Yet golf clubs expect you to happily pay full subs at that stage in your life. Personally I think the up to 30 get cheap golf deal is absolutely nonsense!
Forward thinking, get reduced golf up until your child turns 12! Regardless of age.
I think this will be the case at many clubs, it is at mine, I do understand why they do it though, it's about the demographic of most clubs. I thibk the average age at my club is something like 57, so it doesn't take a genius to work out that the long term of the club isn't great if they have no younger members coming through, hence the carrot.
We have had 170 new members join in the past year on various categories, that's 170 more than they would've got had they not introduced said categories, yes the full members aren't overly chuffed about it but the club see it as a way to try and survive.
some times these reduced fee;s are a nonsense for some.thers guys at my club all driving around in 50k Cars, a few are even members at other clubs.. two i can think of are members at Luffness and Royal Burgess
Orikoru
Tour Winner
The point is not what people can afford though, it's clubs trying to attract younger members because people in their 20s don't want to join golf clubs. Ultimately it's not about how much money they have, it's about how they spend their time.
Jacko_G
Blackballed
You're wrong.
It was brought in due to juniors chucking the game when there was a huge jump from junior fees to adult fees.
GB72
Money List Winner
But part of the argument is as to why people in their 20s don't want to join golf clubs, is it purely a matter of cost. I suspect that there are a number of reasons why golf and golf clubs are not attractive propositions. What you do have, I suspect, is a decent number of people in their 30s and 40s who would love to join a golf club but find the fees prohibitive. These are more likely settled in the area and have a greater potential to remain members for the long term but they are not going to see the value in taking up a membership if the fees are high and they can only play once, or sometimes twice a week.
The other area hard done by are working women. I suspect far more would show an interest in the game if a majority of events and comps were not based on a week day.
Crazyface
Tour Winner
A concession could be allowed for young players up to the age of 18, because they are supposed to be in some sort of education, but beyond that, nothing. I've decided that I will not join any club on full membership that operates these stupid reduced fees. Young golfers, I think, come from your middle class, yup shoot me down on this, and these types go on to do well in education and therefore get better paid jobs have more money and can afford the full fees. Why are they then offered cheap golf? Drop the full fees for everyone. That will bring in your golfers. My last place did this and this brought in 30+ extra members. Good job I'd left by then!!! I will be hunting down these massively reduced fees for new members and will sign up for one I like. (I've got two in my sights at the moment).
Parsaregood
Head Pro
I think the reduced fees is a great idea because most young people playing golf are likely to be students working a day or two a week or apprentices earning peanuts, at a time when their car insurance etc costs ridiculous sums I think reduced fees is an incentive to keep junior members playing who might otherwise have given up. I think after 27 the fees should be full, young people shouldn't be priced out of golf and have to save up for mortgages and the like so if a club is accomadating enough to offer good deals when they are young they will probably be more likely to remain members for years. These guys are the future income of golf clubs, clubs should be doing all they can to get them in the door. Golf is losing young people for all sorts of reasons and finance is definitely one, golf is expensive, equipment, clothing, tuition it all adds up
Crazyface
Tour Winner
Sure get that, but just how long are they students? Whilst they are, no probs, give them cheap golf. Once out in the big world, grow up and make your choices.
Oldham92
Hacker
Sometimes have more disposable income but it's very rare. If you're a student you'll be lucky to have 3k to last 5/6 months. And if you're an apprentice or on a starter job you'll have 1k a month approx. When you consider car insurance will cost them 2.5-3k or around £200/month alone, you'll realise they don't have that much spare.
Parsaregood
Head Pro
Most probably until 23/24, then go on to poorly paid jobs until experience is built up and it might take them a year to find a job, still have expensive car insurance etc and for most early 20's people there are more interesting things to do other than golf. Golf memberships my way for full start at about 900 and can be as much as 1400 so to think a young person could afford that or would pay that is just silly in my opinion
Crazyface
Tour Winner
And is it any cheaper for those of us who are older???? They have more disposable income, once working. most don't have to pay board and lodgings (remember that?). Parents left them live there for free!!!!! No wonder they never move out!!!! But I digress. They, once working, have more money to spend and should NOT be given any concessions. The world is no cheaper for me, than any student.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
The gradual step in membership fees for juniors through to 30 sometimes 35 has helped increase the amount of young golfers playing the game , it has also helped clubs survive and grow the game. When we started it we had about 3/4 people between 18-30 - we now have around 60/70 at a guess and the ones going over 30 have stayed at the club and the average age has dropped. It’s only a positive thing - a lot of younger people did want to play the game but couldn’t afford it because despite what people think their disposable income is less between the age of 20-30 - uni fees , less wages ,insurance higher , maybe starting a new family and first mortgage.
Clubs aren’t going to get young people paying full fees - if they think they can survive without that demographic then they will get a shock when those older people start stopping the game
Clubs aren’t going to get young people paying full fees - if they think they can survive without that demographic then they will get a shock when those older people start stopping the game
Crazyface
Tour Winner
1,000 - 200 = 800 Golf full price is....say 100. so that leaves them with 700 a month for booze or whatever vice they are into. Nope you've not put a good argument up there.
Parsaregood
Head Pro
It sounds like you have your knickers in a twist because you no longer have the same disposable income you did have. Not everyone has parents that let them live there or rich parents, i personally grew up with both parents being mostly unemployed, learned to play golf by a mixture of skipping on a local course and hitting balls on common ground. Don't get on with parents so wasn't an option for me to stay with them unfortunately
D
Deleted member 21258
Guest
To me the point of lower fees for younger people, is to keep them playing the game when typically their earnings are low, time is fairly tight as well and they would just give up the game completely. And good on clubs for offering some sliding scale to them we need young people
CF I think you must mix with different people than me, as most young people(say upto mid 20s) I know are not in high paid jobs and do not have massive disposable income. For me it wasn't until very late twenties/early thirties that I earnt more(I went to uni and qualified as a professional), I could never have afford golf subs at full rate prior to that stage in life(ignoring the issue of time). To think you only have £200 by way of bills is very strange (what about phone/car/petrol/food/clothing/house rent/insurance/repairs/job costs/light and heat/rates and so on)
Can think of quite a few sons/daughters of friends or people I know, that went to uni and struggled to even get a job that warrants a degree (working in call centres, macdonalds, cafes as examples) or ones that did not go to uni they generally were not earning a great wage in their early 20s.. I really struggle to think of any sons/daughters/or people I know that are earning good money(say £20k gross plus) in their early 20s and have a high disposable income at say 20 or 22.
CF I think you must mix with different people than me,
as most young people(say upto mid 20s) I know are not in high paid jobs and do not have massive disposable income. For me it wasn't until very late twenties/early thirties that I earnt more(I went to uni and qualified as a professional), I could never have afford golf subs at full rate prior to that stage in life(ignoring the issue of time). To think you only have £200 by way of bills is very strange (what about phone/car/petrol/food/clothing/house rent/insurance/repairs/job costs/light and heat/rates and so on)Can think of quite a few sons/daughters of friends or people I know, that went to uni and struggled to even get a job that warrants a degree (working in call centres, macdonalds, cafes as examples) or ones that did not go to uni they generally were not earning a great wage in their early 20s.. I really struggle to think of any sons/daughters/or people I know that are earning good money(say £20k gross plus) in their early 20s and have a high disposable income at say 20 or 22.
