getting people in their 20's into Golf?

[turkish]

Our club pro made a few proposals to the club for getting this age bracket more into golf but most of them seemed pretty naff- poker tournaments, pool tournaments etc which I honestly don't think would have any effect.

Also our club are next to a motorway so it's not easily accessible for people wanting to have a drink so another thing was proposed shuttle buses away from the club after medals which might sound good in theory but not sure the other members would appreciate the club being used for a lads p*** up.

Appreciate what they are trying to do but IMO it's like flogging a dead duck as people in their 20's have too much on for golf (In general) Whether it be starting a family, studying, early in career or generally just out every weekend having a good time... not to mention most of this demographic have less money but expected to pay a significant amount of money as no longer juniors (albeit young adults pay less than full subs)

So what's your opinion into getting this demographic more into golf- whether it be continuing after playing in youth or attracting new people to the game?

I only took the game up in my early 30's and really wish I did play earlier but looking back I too probably had too much going on.

 

[patricks148]

TBH, i think the whole " getting 20 and 30" somethings into golf is a bit of a red herring.

Time poor, better things to do such as other sports, cricket Football and Rugby etc, social life. Not to mention having to drop the price so much they are paying much less than other members.

I would have thought golf appeals more as you get older, more should be done to get more middle aged into the sport... at least they can pay their way

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Catch them as kids and early teens and hopefully keep some of them through the 20’s when life kicks in.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

At one point we had 1 or 2 members who were aged 20-30

We introduced incremental membership fees which reduced how much they had to pay - at the last count I believe we have just over 50 ?

That’s has certainly given the place a younger feel

But it’s always going to have that battle that 20 years old have bigger priorities- uni , work , love , life , mates , getting on property ladder

Golf will always have to fight against that tide

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I find this subject really interesting, was a USA video recently over this :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=013u3E3fFos

I would tend to agree with maybe we are trying to 'drag' in the wrong section(20s),. Me I think you need to try to appeal to the very young(juniors) maybe via school contact and getting families with more than just golf and then more middle aged people(ie. 30 plus).

Go for schools/youngish families and then go for 35 plus people.

When I look back at my life I was still studying for my qualifications whilst working full time upto 24(evenings/weekends), then had a child a year later, then work pressures and so on. No chance for sport due to work, time, family and financial pressures. Wasn't until late 20s/early 30s that I could afford, had time, looked to take daughter to golf and so on.

 

[Garush34]

Have to agree that the proposals your pro has put forward don't seem the best. Being in my 20's I wouldn't be attracted to golf by going to play pool or poker etc.

I played when I was younger and then gave it up coming back due to a friend inviting me to play one day. Got the bug again and went from there.

I suppose its hard to say what will get them in, open days and the like are probs the best idea. I'd also say my try targeting other sports clubs like rugby and football. One of my main reasons for continuing to play again was that I was no longer playing rugby due to many knee injuries and wanted something to keep active and take up my time after having played sport most weekends for 10+ years prior. It gave me a new challenge and desire to be competitive.

 

[Curls]

Can't argue with any of the that. I like many others knocked it about as a teenager but found it impossible to keep on once I went to Uni for all the reasons above. Came back to it in my early 30s, that's possibly a better demographic - I was starting to notice my knees didn't enjoy football as much as I did.

Do you have a range? What about free introductory group lessons? These could end with "closest to the pin" competitions between rival teams. That sort of individual within a team sport mentality might appeal and keep people coming back?

 

[pendodave]

TBH, i think the whole " getting 20 and 30" somethings into golf is a bit of a red herring.

Time poor, better things to do such as other sports, cricket Football and Rugby etc, social life.

This is it for me. Although I would be a better golfer if I had started in my 20s rather than 40s, I think that my time was better spent on running around sports while I still could. Playing team sports while you can is also A Good Thing.

 

[Slab]

Common theme I guess but unless your club has maxed out the membership opportunities from the 30’s 40’s & 50’s age group in your catchment area it might be more fruitful to look at these people (unless there’s a reason you need 20 something’s)

 

[Val]

Cheaper membership with stepped increases up to the full fee at 30. We have it stepped till 25 but fancy it’s not enough

 

[Orikoru]

You touched upon it but the key things will be (a) keep membership cheap, and (b) if your club has a fairly relaxed non-stuffy attitude that will help. But besides those two things, if 20-somethings want to play golf they will do, but a lot just don't.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I think it is a similar situation to attracting girls to golf. I heard a strong argument which changed my mind on this one. I previously thought clubs should really push this but now I am less sure. A smaller amount of effort targeting older people, male or female, is likely to bring in far more players. If it were your business what would you do? Young girls, men and women in their 20's, all tough to crack so don't bust a gut over it. Focus on the core groups that do play golf in numbers. It is hard sometimes to walk away from prospective business but sometimes it makes sense. Focus your priorities elsewhere.

 

[patricks148]

You touched upon it but the key things will be (a) keep membership cheap, and (b) if your club has a fairly relaxed non-stuffy attitude that will help. But besides those two things, if 20-somethings want to play golf they will do, but a lot just don't.

there in lies the problem, keeping it cheap is all well and good, but that is being subsidized my the older members paying full fee's.

Golf courses cost a lot to run.

 

[turkish]

Thanks for the replies... i understand why we would want to attract this demographic as they are the members of the future so the earlier we can get them (and bitten by the golf bug) the better. The reality is tho its a busy time in people's lives.

Our club are still investigating getting a range installed which would hopefully have all the tech- trackman or gcquad etc and that modern aspect of the game could attract younger generations.

I was also thinking a sub 30 open could be a good idea but think it would need to guarantee some kind of wow factor prize- maybe winner gets a membership but then if youre talking new players to golf they wouldnt have a handicap so hard to police winners. Unless its just a fun day and if we get say 100 players a raffle for each entrant with winner getting a membership.

Tomorrow im off to a clay pigeon golf driving range event. Basically have to hit clay pigeon with your ball for a £1000 which im guessing is statistically more improbable than a hole in one but is a bit of fun. Every time i have been its been a fairly young demographic.

So in terms of events i think it needs ti2 be golf related but yeah i think we shouldnt set expectations too high.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

there in lies the problem, keeping it cheap is all well and good, but that is being subsidized my the older members paying full fee's.

Golf courses cost a lot to run.

Does that include all the clubs that offer discounts to many people that are over the age of 60 yet Prob play more golf than anyone else ?

Or how about the 5 day members that pay less than 7 day members but play mon to Friday where most 7 day only play on a Sat and Sun

I suspect there is not one single golf club that has a flat rate for every single person in the golf - there will always be varying levels of fees dependent on age or level of playing access - and just because it’s cheaper for some doesn’t mean that others are “subsidising” those cheap fees - most golf clubs will have worked it out correctly within the budget to ensure the level of fees are appropriate. But then there is always that one person who only thinks about the now and doesn’t think about the future of the golf club and getting these young people into the club.

What clubs could do though is not give out reduced fees which would i suspect mean empty membership slots and then the current members would have to pick up the shortfall and increase subs allround

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Over the last 2-3yrs we have managed to recruit and retain a significant bunch of 20-30 something lads - primarily by offering fantastic deals on essentially full membership...

These deals require the rest of us to ignore how cheap they get their golf - focussing on what they bringing to the club and accepting them and incorporating them into our roll-ups etc as full members - that they are. Because without them our membership would be in shortfall - and inevitably subs of existing members would have to go up.

The original groups have become pretty much fully embedded in the club as any new member - and have done their bit recruiting their mates and others.

Whether the guys feel sufficiently 'part of the club' and how much they enjoy the course - which is improving year on year - will determine how many stay once their intro offer expires. Resentments that some full paying members might feel toward these guys are pointless and counter productive.

 

[Salty J]

My club pro runs get into golf sessions. Group lessons, weekly, £10 a week. Either on the course in the afternoon, or local range one evening a week. Aimed at beginners. My Mrs decided to give it a go and is now really enjoying it. Golf lessons are generally very expensive. Especially if you only want to give it a go & see if it's for you.

Also golf has a very elitists image. I'm new to the game and was put off starting for years because of it. By holding these sessions you show off the other side which I've now discovered. Which is extremely welcoming & friendly.

 

[duncan mackie]

TBH, i think the whole " getting 20 and 30" somethings into golf is a bit of a red herring.

Time poor, better things to do such as other sports, cricket Football and Rugby etc, social life. Not to mention having to drop the price so much they are paying much less than other members.

I would have thought golf appeals more as you get older, more should be done to get more middle aged into the sport... at least they can pay their way

Heretic! :cheers:

Need to introduce them into the game as youngsters - parents job, clubs (inc professional staff) to properly support.
Let them come back to it when they have the time and inclination.

 

[duncan mackie]

Over the last 2-3yrs we have managed to recruit and retain a significant bunch of 20-30 something lads - primarily by offering fantastic deals on essentially full membership...

These deals require the rest of us to ignore how cheap they get their golf - focussing on what they bringing to the club and accepting them and incorporating them into our roll-ups etc as full members - that they are. Because without them our membership would be in shortfall - and inevitably subs of existing members would have to go up.

The original groups have become pretty much fully embedded in the club as any new member - and have done their bit recruiting their mates and others.

Whether the guys feel sufficiently 'part of the club' and how much they enjoy the course - which is improving year on year - will determine how many stay once their intro offer expires. Resentments that some full paying members might feel toward these guys are pointless and counter productive.

Our experience suggests that when they arrive because of the price and, to a great degree, they move on for the same reason to someone offering the best discount for their age (and there seems a bit of a battleground on 'intermediate membership'.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

there in lies the problem, keeping it cheap is all well and good, but that is being subsidized my the older members paying full fee's.

Golf courses cost a lot to run.

They're not being subsidised though if the alternative is they're not members.

So long as they are contributing, they're bringing in revenue to the club and are a positive thing. The only scenario where they are effectively being subsidised is if the membership is full and they are getting a place at the cost of someone paying full rates.

Otherwise you're saying you'd rather have nothing than something.