D
Deleted member 16999
Guest
People don't only move to cheaper clubs, they tend to move to the club that suits their needs.
Arn't joining fees making it harder for new members?
- Thread starter Sashisg
- Start date
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
It's not a one size fits all though
Joining fees will work for some clubs whilst it would put others out of business
If you charge a joining fee at a golf club that can't justify it no one would join
Robobum
Money List Winner
At some clubs, yes it does work. At many others you will have a very unhappy membership base who are paying a significant amount of money for sod all.
It has to be one hell of a "club atmosphere " to stomach that for too long.
Agree with the above, i was just editing my previous post, last few lines
bluewolf
Money List Winner
Sorry, but I fundamentally disagree with your post. What you appear to be saying is that the best thing for Golf is to engineer a situation in which clubs keep members because they can't afford to leave. Congratulations, you've turned Club membership into marriage!!!
Disagreeing is fine, you are allowed to be wrong
Golf in general has an image problem in the UK and USA and that is it is being cheapened at every turn
Clubs should be aiming to present their course as somewhere worth a fee, a course of value a course that never offers stupid discounts on 3rd party sites
If you think ok lets waive the joining fee and how about offering 2 4 1 green fees all year too.. Do you REALLY think your club is going to be in a good position in 5 or 10 years?
Next stop groupon and golf now who take 90 or even 100% of some green fees
Then clubs wonder why they cannot balance their books?
Stop the rot.. aim to charge a joining fee by presenting the value of the club
Contrary to popular belief their are plenty of golfers out there, the problem is they are less inclined to stick with golf than previously, the USA has 2.2. million NEW golfers each year, so golf should not have a problem but it does.
Who cares about joining a club now? paying a joining fee? Why would you if you can play a round of golf at a huge discount, course seems to be struggling etc
I am not saying a club that is poor is going to thrive charging a joining fee, but they should look for commitment somehow and not via a discount either!
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bluewolf
Money List Winner
Like I said. Just like marriage 😉
ahahahahh
Sorry, i tend to post, then edit when i realise i have not written all I meant, it is a long term habit i cannot kick
Would you rather your club were in a position where they had a joining fee and a waiting list
OR
No joining fee, no waiting list and no idea who was going to be a member next year?
I suggest aiming for the first scenario is by far and away the aim for a golf club, now how the club actually gets to that position is a different conversation.
Sure fees can put people off, especially when less and less clubs charge them, but all clubs should be aiming to be in the first scenario v the 2nd, the erosion of joining fees is massively down to huge discounts year round by almost half the clubs in the uk, it is INSANE!
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D
Deleted member 16999
Guest
Unless of course some of the newer courses are built for that exact scenario, we've got a relatively new course nearby and it has very very few members, the owner has come out and stated he markets at the nomad and currently he's being very succesful.
At the other end of the scale Trump Aberdeen has only this year offered memberships as again they were looking at it at being a non-members club, they had less than 20 members when we played it in May.
Building a course for nomads makes a lot of sense, if all the surrounding Private clubs have no commitment from their members!
It is bound to do well.
Members who have paid 0 pounds at other clubs might simply just leave for the quick saving of only paying when you play, but losing the social element that should exist within a decent club and thus over time being less inclined to play golf.
The Trump example is so extreme it is hardly representative of 99% plus of clubs in the UK, what he does or does not do has no bearing on what your 700 quid a year course does.
Like buying a porsche GT3 RS (If you like cars) you are buying the symbol as much as the product
It is bound to do well.
Members who have paid 0 pounds at other clubs might simply just leave for the quick saving of only paying when you play, but losing the social element that should exist within a decent club and thus over time being less inclined to play golf.
The Trump example is so extreme it is hardly representative of 99% plus of clubs in the UK, what he does or does not do has no bearing on what your 700 quid a year course does.
Like buying a porsche GT3 RS (If you like cars) you are buying the symbol as much as the product
D
Deleted member 16999
Guest
On what basis do you associate no joining fee with no commitment, my club is 104 years old and has never had a joining fee, if they tried to add a joining fee I could guarantee our membership would decline instantly.
bluewolf
Money List Winner
In all honesty, surely the best policy is to present a Club that is in great condition, with a friendly membership, regular competitions, professionally run etc etc etc.. If they do it right then the members stay put... If members are leaving then there's a motivation to find out why..
I left a previous club (after paying a £700 joining fee 2 years previous) because they presented an elitist attitude and cliquey membership. Roll ups were impossible to join. drawn comps always favoured certain sections of the membership (for example, Presidents day - drawn comp - we got the choice of a morning or afternoon tee time. I preferred afternoon, and got the group 3 from the back. Strangely enough, every one of the final 4 groups were new members. All the long term members got the prime slots.)
My new club dropped the membership fee 2 years ago. They've had over a hundred new members since. They've been able to buy all new machinery and put in 4 new bunkers.. Now, they may not all stay, but even if only half do, then that's a sizable improvement..
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fundy
Ryder Cup Winner
Lol, so the only way a course can hold onto its members is by charging a hefty joining fee to create a feeling of loyalty (falsely through trying to get some value for money). So basically you want to distort the supply and demand equation.
There is an alternative, its called producing a product (in this case the golf club; course and everything that goes with being a member) at a fair annual price in the current market place. Hundreds and hundreds of golf courses up and down the country do this pretty successfully without feeling the need to tie members in for more than a year
Damn, fallen for the trolling again
There is an alternative, its called producing a product (in this case the golf club; course and everything that goes with being a member) at a fair annual price in the current market place. Hundreds and hundreds of golf courses up and down the country do this pretty successfully without feeling the need to tie members in for more than a year
Damn, fallen for the trolling again
I did say many times you have to make the place desirable, worth joining, worth paying the premium for, the alternative you present is not an alternative to what I have described courses should aim at at all!
P.S i do not appreciate being called a troll
P.S i do not appreciate being called a troll
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Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
Hacker Khan
Yurt Dwelling, Yoghurt Knitter
I'm sure the first position is preferable but society has changed, it's not the 70s or 80s, very few people, especially those under say 40, now see joining a golf club as something to socially aspire to. Fewer and fewer people now have the free time even if they had the resources, to make the most use out of golf club membership and see the value in paying a joining fee on top of annual membership to do so.
Of course there is still an element of society that does and that is fine, and there are clubs to cater for that and that is great. But you seem to just want to go back the the good old days, introduce a financial measure across the board that I am sure will lead to more clubs attracting even fewer new members to mostly try and ensure they keep hold of the ever dwindling pool of existing ones.
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Engineer a situation where golf clubs have value to sustain them ongoing, which includes being able to charge a joining fee due to demand
Nothing to do with not being able to leave, it is the other side of the coin, where they WANT to stay and the fee is worth it due to the fact they club is worth it and there is a lot of demand.
Forums suck for discussions sometimes, there seems to be infinite ways to twist someones words
I am about the club creating the desire and demand for golfers to want to join, be happy to pay a fee and commit to the club versus, no commitment, discount golf
Golf is in decline as golfers are paying less and less and the game of golf is being devalued, it has to stop or clubs will keep failing
Nothing to do with not being able to leave, it is the other side of the coin, where they WANT to stay and the fee is worth it due to the fact they club is worth it and there is a lot of demand.
Forums suck for discussions sometimes, there seems to be infinite ways to twist someones words
I am about the club creating the desire and demand for golfers to want to join, be happy to pay a fee and commit to the club versus, no commitment, discount golf
Golf is in decline as golfers are paying less and less and the game of golf is being devalued, it has to stop or clubs will keep failing
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
Again it's not a one size fits all and never will be
A lot of people move around the country now and they won't join golf clubs that have a joining Fee because they could be moving in a year or less
That's a lot of golfers that clubs need to cater for
Golf isn't in decline because people are paying less and less and it certainly isn't being devalued because there is the ability to get cheaper green fees or membership
A lot of people move around the country now and they won't join golf clubs that have a joining Fee because they could be moving in a year or less
That's a lot of golfers that clubs need to cater for
Golf isn't in decline because people are paying less and less and it certainly isn't being devalued because there is the ability to get cheaper green fees or membership
D
Deleted member 16999
Guest
But why can't Golf Clubs offer everything you state without the need for a joining fee, simply create all that and do it through slightly higher membership fees, surely it would make members stay because of what you've created rather than the fact they've paid a joining fee.
Slab
Occasional Tour Caddy
I think too many things have changed in the last 50 years to hope that all clubs can aspire to use a joining fee model
Our parents (or grandparents) may have stayed in the same house all their lives, how many of our (& the next) generation will be able to say that, if anything there will be multiple house moves
How folks spend their social time has also changed dramatically so that going to the club isn't a 3-4 times a week event for many people
Golf for many may become just that, a game of golf with no clubhouse required! (just a starter, changing rooms and vending machines) but it'll still be golf. It just caters for players with different requirements
Our parents (or grandparents) may have stayed in the same house all their lives, how many of our (& the next) generation will be able to say that, if anything there will be multiple house moves
How folks spend their social time has also changed dramatically so that going to the club isn't a 3-4 times a week event for many people
Golf for many may become just that, a game of golf with no clubhouse required! (just a starter, changing rooms and vending machines) but it'll still be golf. It just caters for players with different requirements
