club going to the wall

[viscount17]

I heard today that the course I played last weekend may be heading for trouble.The course is a muni but apparently the council bailed the club out last year and will not do it again.

Sad this as I liked the course, the fees are pretty reasonable (under £500 for 7-day) and, providing it survives, it could make a good option for a new club if it doesn't flood (as mine does). It's only 20 mins from home.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

That is bad news although I doubt it will be the last to suffer. Do you know why it needs council help? Is it badly managed or just not getting the revenue through green fees?

 

[mono217]

Hope it stays open for you sound good.

 

[Jahmoo]

Not good for some at the moment, my industry is suffering at the mo also, company's calling in the receivers left right and centre......

As you say, good price, though should be more if they cant make ends meet.

Lets hope it all turns out good

 

[TonyN]

£500 for a muni, no wonder its going to the wall, you can join Private clubs for less!

 

[Herbie]

I think it a little unusual for a club that is part owned by the local authority to be struggling? I dont know the club or its funding structure, but most muni's have far fewer costs/overheads to deal with and often a very good turnover of members and green fee payers, simply because its cheaper to pay and play and membership.

I would keep an eye on this one just in case this muni turns into a housing estate in the next 5 yrs.

 

[KeefG]

Its not the first and it certainly wont be the last thats going to be in trouble!

I know we've done the membership thing to death lately, but its a sign of the times that clubs that had waiting lists only 2 years ago are now practically begging for new members.

I honestly expect a lot of clubs to go under in the next 12-24 months as golf, afterall, is little more than a pastime & a hobby to most of us, albeit a serious one but in the financial crisis we are in it is one of the 1st things to be culled.

 

[Deleted member 1740]

£500 for a muni, no wonder its going to the wall, you can join Private clubs for less!

TonyN, you live in a catchment area of so many quality tracks that are able to offer memberships under £500 because there's not enough golfers prepared to take on a membership, but don't forget big cities like liverpool manchester etc i would guess the average for a private track is around £850+.

In certain places £500 for a muni is a bargain

 

[Imurg]

If I didn't know any better I'd say you were describing my old club that I stopped being a member of at the begining of the month.
Went in this week for a pay'n'play round and had a countup of the members. 3 weeks into the new year and a few competitions so the membership is fairly set (historically they don't get meany newbies after May) and how many are on the handicap list?

71 -- including me! They havn't taken me off yet! There are about 20 ladies and a handful of juniors making less than 100 in total. You can't run a club on that number.
I also think the course will be a housing estate in a few years time. Aylesbury is set for another 10,000 houses in the next 10 years and they're going to be built in that part of the town. It would be just too lucrative to turn down the money they'd get for the land and then retire.

 

[KeefG]

I've had another think on this, and i'm not so sure the credit crunch could be a bad thing for golf!!

Lets just say, that the worst courses, or worst run courses, are going to go out of business. A course wont lose members for being a good track, or having a good pro, or having somebody in who knows how to run a business properly. No, a course will go out of business for all of the opposites.

Now, if a bad course goes out of business, is that really a bad thing???

Lets look at it from the members of that club point of view. All, or at least the majority, are going to find a new club to join which will swell the ranks of that club hence giving that club a better annual turnover and giving them more scope to improve....isnt that a good thing?

I personally believe there are too many golf clubs now as it is anyway, and they are all vying for our hard earned. Maybe if some of the lesser run clubs go to the wall its not going to be detrimental to our game and will infact improve standards at other clubs?

Just another view on the subject....

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Keef

Thats a very interesting point. It would certainly help private members clubs who are also losing members as the crunch bites. However and I know this sounds elitist I hope there is still a modicum of selection retained (certainly at my club) as I wouldn't be overly happy with some of those I see at some P&P's locally becoming members as they have truely shocking etiquette (certainly watching the fun at one of the local courses yesterday)

 

[SammmeBee]

There probably more private members club's in serious messes as opposed to the more 'business' orientated ones....

 

[haplesshacker]

Whilst Keef makes a very good point regarding business in general. I'm not so sure it works with golf clubs.

Most of us started this game on Munis, pay and plays and par 3 courses. Whilst these may not have been the best courses in the area, they did provide cheap (relatively) access to the game. You could buy a package set of clubs for a ton, a pair or £20 golf shoes and be on the course for what amounts to next to nothing.

Yes Munis are crowded, full of folks who don't know the rules or etiquette, but hey, what do you think we knew on day one!

If these types of places close, where do you think the people who do play on these courses regularly (for whatever reason, though I'd imagine it's mostly financial), will go go and play. They won't or can't pay for a 'members' club, and therefore they're left with no option to either quit the sport or severely reduce the number of times that they can play.

On the other hand. Those clubs that are the middle ground between the Muni's and the private clubs, such as our club. Where pay and players, societies and members are welcome. The course is just going to get busier. It's already noticable this season. For the members, it's bad news because rounds now take between 4 and 5 hours, it has too many societies, and food is not always available because of societies or wedding functions etc. This weekend was awful. I've never seen so many unrepaired pitch marks!

The societies complain about how slow play is, the members complain about how slow play is and how are the 'rif raf' allowed on our course, etc.

I know of members looking at private clubs, but they still demand a kings ransome for membership and still require a joining fee, interview and being put forward by two existing members.

Yes, there are too many clubs around, and badly run business probably deserve to go out of business. However, golf is a strange one and I don't think it would be good for the sport as a whole if it reverts back to 'type', ie elitest.

Apologies if I've gone on.

 

[viscount17]

I don't know all the ins and outs of the problems they're having, I've only played there once.

The Bedford area is fairly well off in terms of courses though this is not the worst by any means. I think it is the only muni in the area though.

In this area you don't stand a cat in hells chance of joining a private club at a decent track for £500. Of two that I know of that have fees in this range one has the worst bunkers that I have ever seen and by reports they are no better after a year.

 

[viscount17]

Keef,

I'm not wholly sure that I agree with your conclusions.

If clubs are suffering because members aren't renewing at clubs that have more modest fees then those members left homeless aren't going to be looking with much favour on what are, in some cases, over-expensive private clubs.

The take up will be in the lower priced area (surviving munis, pay-and-plays etc), possibly the spawning of more societies and almost certainly in Greenfree and 2-for-1 deals.