HEVER 2K

[Pjwgov]

Hever Castle have just released new fees for this coming season, and for a New member it will be £2k.
Although this is a year its hardly playable for 3/4 months.
Has the golfing world gone Bonkers?

 

[IanM]

No knowledge of the course or area, but depends on what it's competing with.

I wonder how many members it has or is it all green fees anyway. If its daft, it won't sell many.

Bit like some holiday accommodation I've used previously. They've hiked their prices massively this year. A quick look at their availability reveals they are virtually empty all summer.

 

[tugglesf239]

No knowledge of the course or area, but depends on what it's competing with.

I wonder how many members it has or is it all green fees anyway. If its daft, it won't sell many.

Bit like some holiday accommodation I've used previously. They've hiked their prices massively this year. A quick look at their availability reveals they are virtually empty all summer.

I’m glad they are empty.

I’ve seen similar and the outrageous inflated prices on UK holidays is etwatering.

I’d much rather give my cash to Johnny Foreigner than to fill the coffers of some uk holiday home landlords.

 

[arnieboy]

Hever Castle have just released new fees for this coming season, and for a New member it will be £2k.
Although this is a year its hardly playable for 3/4 months.
Has the golfing world gone Bonkers?

You are so right. We have recently recruited a couple of new members from Hever who are happy to travel circa 30 miles to play our near all year round course rather than lose several months of the year due to the state of their course.

 

[Pjwgov]

You are so right. We have recently recruited a couple of new members from Hever who are happy to travel circa 30 miles to play our near all year round course rather than lose several months of the year due to the state of their course.

If you don't mind me asking, where is your club?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Hever Castle have just released new fees for this coming season, and for a New member it will be £2k.
Although this is a year its hardly playable for 3/4 months.
Has the golfing world gone Bonkers?

Assume it is on clay soil and gets very wet and some holes are unplayable or very, very wet. Looking at the website its only £40 to play as a green fee. I don't know what other courses are down there but is does seem high but the website says it's a championship course so are members paying for the prestige of hosting things like the Europro tour?

 

[hairball_89]

Wowza. I'm in Tunbridge Wells. Not a member anywhere, but considered it every now and then if finances would allow. Hever is one that springs to mind although I've still not ventured to playing it. Looking around briefly... (full fee, not age related discounts and 7 day) Knole is £2081 for a full member, The Nevill is £1700 + £850 "Development Levy", Sweetwoods £1400 (although that is for 21/22, so I'd expect it to increase and heard whispers of nearing £2k).

If they're full (enough) then maybe it's just a way of reducing the numbers? it is 27 holes too, but I'd never considered it "level" with Knole? That would be where my money was thrown, if I could...

 

[PhilTheFragger]

There is an economic theory called the “doctrine of diminishing marginal utility”

Which was a thing when working out how much to charge for the use of a telephone way back when.

If it was free, then people would be on the phone all day and overload capacity, so charges were levied to reduce queueing to a manageable level.

What we are seeing here is supply and demand in action, demand increases, the supply of quality courses is finite, so they set the price at a level that they can get away with, because they can. …….. at the moment

The fact that the average member could be priced out, doesn’t seem to register, even on a course that has winter issues.

 

[Bratty]

Hever is a nice enough course in the summer months, but as the OP says, 3 to 4 months of the year, it's underwater, and sometimes they keep it open when it's just unplayable. Couldn't ever justify joining it when I'd hate playing it for a 1/4 of the year
Westerham is likely going up to £1,900 but drains pretty well in winter and rightly or wrongly, no temporary greens. We get a fixed 10% discount once there for 10 years too.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Whilst the headline figure says "ouch", perhaps they have already factored in the price rises in everything a club needs and has raised their subs accordingly. I was told yesterday that the chemicals alone used on and around the course have increase by 30% already.

 

[IanM]

Given the economics reference, had to share this.......my economics professor described "falling marginal utility" as follows,

You love Mars Bars!!
Eat a Mars bar, you say yummy yummy!
The second is yummy, but less so
The third, well you know
Eventually, you eat one and throw up!

 

[IanM]

One thing to think about in relation to Subs is how the finances of the club operate.

I know a "club" that inflates it's annual subs, to keep numbers down as their revenue per player targets are best served by green fees/hotel guests. They also don't need the subs to cover fixed costs.

If they can fill the sheet with visitors paying £40, they are happy!

 

[gopher99]

Unfortunately quite a few courses in Kent are clay based so almost unplayable for 3/4 months a year, when I was at Nizels it was an 8 month golf membership for a 12 month fee?. But that did include the gym and classes which I used more than the golf, I am looking at joining Kings Hill but for the 2k they charge and my personal circumstances it’s not going to be worth it.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Nizels is over £2k. Good value if you want the health club and then add the golf on, not good value as a golf only proposition.

Hever’s price is consistent with the area. Which is unfortunate for me, given I live there.

 

[Oddsocks]

The running costs would have impacted this hugely, fuel to run the plant and energy for the club and facilities would have been factored in. £1600 in the south east near the m25 gets you a mediocre track that I would put below hever so it doesn’t surprise me as it’s still recognised as a members course. Most others around the 1600 mark are still offering green fee p&p to substitute costs

 

[SyR]

Wow, East Sussex National is less than 2k without a joining fee for their 2 courses. It's only 20 miles from Hever too...

 

[Oddsocks]

Wow, East Sussex National is less than 2k without a joining fee for their 2 courses. It's only 20 miles from Hever too...

It’s also an over used resort course that’s over used even when it should be closed.

Nice spa though!

 

[Deleted member 18121]

I was a member at hever for 5 years... That ended in 2017 when I moved down to just outside Hastings.

The theory with hever was always to make it slightly more expensive than usual, to encourage less foot traffic and therefore keep the conditions better.

For my time there I loved their amen corner run of holes, but on the whole I always found the course a bit bland and just a bit of a slog... Even being a reasonably long hitter.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

I was a member at hever for 5 years... That ended in 2017 when I moved down to just outside Hastings.

The theory with hever was always to make it slightly more expensive than usual, to encourage less foot traffic and therefore keep the conditions better.

For my time there I loved their amen corner run of holes, but on the whole I always found the course a bit bland and just a bit of a slog... Even being a reasonably long hitter.

Was that theory what you saw in practice? My experience of Hever, as a non-member admittedly, is that it's a busy course and one where on weekdays, there are often societies clogging it up. Seems like they make a fair bit of cash from visitors to me.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Wow, East Sussex National is less than 2k without a joining fee for their 2 courses. It's only 20 miles from Hever too...

Crowborough Beacon would be my choice if I lived the right side of Tunbridge Wells. £1,560 is good value for that course in my opinion.